So here are a few more photos from my trip to Portland, Oregon (you can see part one here!).  I forgot to tell you in my first post but we stayed at Ace Hotel Portland.  It’s right in the heart of downtown and next door to Stumptown Coffee (yum yum).  My favorite part of the hotel is the lobby, where you can hang out on the comfy couches and read newspapers and magazines.  Here’s Kyle in deep concentrated thought on said comfy couches:

One of my favorite activities that we did was visit the Portland Farmers Market on Saturday morning.  I’ve never seen a farmers market so massive and prolific.  They had everything you could ever want or need, and for much cheaper than any LA farmers market I’ve been to.  Every single type of berry, every kind of root vegetable, the most beautiful peaches and plums, rows upon rows of unique specialty items like pickles and jams and delicious-looking pastries – I was in heaven!

I took it easy at the farmers market and ate a simple crepe with raspberry jam and bananas.

But Kyle spotted a stand for Pine State Biscuits.  Now Pine State Biscuits has somewhat of a cult following in Portland and Kyle definitely wanted to try it (and wait in line for 30 minutes to order).

And there she is:

Besides eating constantly, we also went to a Bon Iver concert at The Edgefield with Kyle’s aunt (who lives in Portland).  Besides the fact that I love everything about Bon Iver, the venue was really neat because everyone lounged on blankets and picnicked.  But on the way to the show, Kyle’s aunt took us on a scenic route and showed us the Columbia River gorge.

One of my absolute favorite meals we had was at Broder, a tiny little cafe in Southeast Portland.  We waited at least an hour to get seated but it was well worth it.  To be honest, when I’m on vacation, I love when places have long waits because that’s how you know it’s really good.

At Broder, Kyle had a bloody mary and an egg dish with smoked trout, potatoes, and pickled beets.

I chose the Aebleskivers (big circular pancakes) and oh my, they were divine.

And then Kyle puts the camera in my face right after I put one of those giant pancakes in my mouth.  Real hot.

Afterwards, we went over to Washington Park for a little outdoor exploring.  I forgot to mention that it was raining on and off this day.  The Hunter wellies were a necessity.

And then those thick gray clouds started rolling in and we were totally screwed – forced to hide under a tree until the rain passed.  PS – I don’t recommend hiking in rain boots.  Those are heavy suckers.

We took quite a few breaks at Stumptown Coffee next door to our hotel.  I don’t know all the proper terms to describe coffee but Stumptown is damn good.  Funny story – we took home 3 bags of ground Stumptown beans and stored them in my suitcase.  Let’s just say that my entire wardrobe now smells like coffee.  I’m not complaining though!

On our last day, we had plans to take the train from Portland to Seattle because we wanted to take a scenic route for part of our travels.  Plus, we had booked a flight from Seattle to LA.  This was all a fun and great idea in thought.  Of course, we get on the train and the conductor tells everyone there are major delays so the train won’t be leaving any time soon.  Awesome.  We got off the train and booked it to Portland Airport and flew to Seattle instead.  Note to self: do not rely on trains when you have a plane to catch.

But we got home safe and soundly!  Oh Portland, I miss you already.