USA Road Trip: Portland

If you're into excellent street food and craft beer- HEAD TO PORTLAND. I have wanted to visit this city for quite some time, the city piqued my interest after I'd watched a foodie documentary that focused on Voodoo Doughnuts a couple of years ago. While the Saturday Market, Powell's Bookstore and the food trucks preceded Voodoo on my Things-To-Do list, we did end up making a sneaky midnight trip to Voodoo following a session of 'Strippereaoke' (look it up). I had the Old Dirty Bastard doughnut, which was full of chocolatey Oreo and peanut butter goodness. 

Voodoo

If long lines aren’t your thing, try Blue Star in the Hawthorne District. I have heard that it’s really good- while we did visit the Hawthorne District; we chose to visit the thrift stores instead. Getting back to the food, Emily, Marci and I stumbled upon Wolf and Bears: we had the most delicious falafel wraps I have ever come across! They were inexpensive and so, so good. We also got some fresh lemonade because it was hot! Wolf and Bears was located in North Portland, on Mississippi Ave. We then headed to Interurban, which was a little bar on Mississippi.What I liked most about Portland was that everything was relatively close by- if you wanted to spontaneously head out for some food or a drink, you could just walk down the block and there'd be a cluster of restaurants, food trucks, bars and shops. 

Falafel at Wolf and Bears

Mississippi Ave. 

We also walked around the Pearl District- which had a lot of pricier shops (in comparison to the other districts), but it was still great to walk around. Powell's Book Store was definitely a highlight- it was huge! and the different departments are organised by colour. There are new and used books mixed in together on the shelves, which was pretty cool. If you're in Portland on a Saturday, I highly recommend the Portland Saturday Market. It is full of some amazing food stalls, and stalls that had some awesome handmade crafts. I picked up some catoos (temporary cat tattoos) from a stall called Business Catual. If you're into parks, gardens, and flowers, visit the Rose Test Garden! It was so beautiful (and free!)- especially because we went on a sunny day. They have some unique roses with interesting names (my favourites were Caramel Kisses and Betty Boop). 

Powell's

Portland Saturday Market 

Market 

Pioneer Square

Rose Test Garden 

Finally, we had the most delicious Ethiopian food at a restaurant called Bete-Lukas. There were six of us, so we shared a giant plate of 6 different sauces- it was a great way to bring everyone together. We headed to the Cascade Brewing Barrel House the next day, which had a lot of IPAs- if you're into that. I also had a feta cheese and fig panini which was excellent. Overall, I freaking loved Portland. I will definitely be back!

Cascade 

Bete-Lukas (excuse the poor quality photo)

Choc Cherry Milkshake at Burgerville