Always Anna

Two weekends ago, I flew out to Portland, Oregon to visit my sister.  My mom made the trip up from California too, so we had our first non-Christmas-related visit in… god, I don’t even know how long.  We only had four days, but we made them count with lots of food, drinks, and touristy stuff.

Portland was an amazing city - so cool and laid-back, but with a strong current of energy running under the surface.  It was the kind of the city that people migrate to because they’re looking for a big city attitude with a small city individuality.  I loved it. 

These are a few of my favorite things from the trip:

I loved these bumper stickers that we saw everywhere.  Of course, I do love all things weird.

As a life-long bookworm, I was obsessed with Powell’s City of Books - the largest used and new bookstore in the world!  I was also obsessed with their low prices, so much so that I ended up with 10 more books than I left Boston with.  Whoops.

We stopped and smelled the roses in THE rose garden: The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park.  It’s amazing how much more wonderful outdoor roses smell than hothouse roses. 

While in Washington Park, we also visited the Japanese Gardens - a fabulously tranquil park.

Overall?  I loved everything I saw and did in Portland, and can’t wait to go back and continue exploring.