Travel

a weekend in portland

September 16, 2011
portland
road trip
labour day weekend post coming to you weeks later…typical. after a mesmerizing ray lamontagne concert on friday night, we left vancouver at about 5 am saturday morning. did you know starbucks doesn’t open until 6 am? lesson learned! anyway, the drive is easy and only takes about 6 hours.
entering oregon
the mark spencer
we’ve stayed at the mark spencer hotel twice now and it has worked out really well for both trips. it’s perfectly situated by the heart of the pearl district and only minutes away from downtown. we booked it through portland perks, which got us a really great deal including coupons and free breakfast and parking! last time we went in the off season and got a $50 credit card too.
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stumptown is definitely worth checking out. the jj bean of portland.
stumptown
latte o'clock
The Ace Hotel
after getting up at 4:30 am, driving for 6 hours, and shopping/sightseeing for the entire afternoon, we wanted an easy choice for dinner. we opted for mothers bistro because it was walking distance and had been recommended. i had a lavender vodka infused cocktail and the most amazing salad. the perfect meal at the end of a looong day!
Mother's Bistro
isable cantina the BEST Portland breakfast
we skipped out on the free breakfast after finding isabel cantina. best. breakfast. ever. we actually went both mornings because we wanted to try more items on the menu. worth the wait to be seated…seriously!
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pancakes with bananas and blackberries and a raspberry compote
off to nw23rd street for some shopping.
tourist day 2
NW23rd
portland you rule on 23rd
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there are tons of great boutique clothing stores like this one, reveille. beautifully decorated, with gorgeous hand picked vintage pieces. i found my ideal pair of fall cowboy boots in a great shade of cognac, totally should have bought them!
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adam insisted on trying a sandwich from the pb and j food cart on nw23rd. we tried the cream of the crop, and it was even more delicious than it looks.
Grilled Sandwich from the PB & J Food Truck
great vintage, i could have spent hours rummaging through the treasures.
POP-UP Shoppe
our last dinner at montage was the best meal we ate the entire trip! montage serves up southern food with common shared seating at long tables (which we saw at a few places in portland). adam wanted to try the alligator jumbalaya, and i had the green basil pesto macaroni…sooooo good! and they pack your meal up in an adorable tinfoil animal. a must try!
montage restaurant
mac and cheese
alligator jumbalaya
the leftovers in tin foil animals
the night ended with drinks, operation: the sponge bob square pants version, and yahtzee!
sponge bob operation at a bar
Yahtzee at the bar
next up, cannon beach!
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  • lisa September 19, 2011 at 6:22 am

    LOL the picture of Adam holding the tin foil squirrel and swan is priceless! It sounds like you had a lovely time. Your recap post is making me REALLY psyched for my trip to Portland with Lawrence next week.

  • Jen September 19, 2011 at 6:43 am

    Aww lovely photos Alicia! You and Adam are adorable and re: the tin foil animals…. is there food packed throughout the entire animal?! Very interesting concept haha. It was great to see you today. Have a great week and I'm sure we'll see each other again soon!

    xox
    Jen

  • alison*elle September 19, 2011 at 6:47 am

    Love all these photos. I've never been to Portland but it really is such a short road trip away… hopefully I can get over there one day soon!

    xo, alison*elle

  • JIN @ The BrownBerry September 19, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    gorgeous photos! looks like u had lots of fun

  • Cara September 19, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Ok, firstly, I am so very jealous you got to see Ray Lamongtagne, he is one of my favorites!!
    Secondly, this trip looks amazing, it is so nice (and important) to do a weekend getaway. You look beautiful in all of these shots, and I am so impressed at how chic and put together you look considering you got up at 5am!!
    I absolutely love that old Hotel sign shot, such a cool piece.
    It was so lovely to see you yesterday, looking forward to our next get-together
    xo Cara
    http://www.afashionloveaffair.com

  • abeautifullife.ca September 19, 2011 at 4:39 pm

    wow what a fun weekend. I still want to go visit portland – i haven't done it yet but from everything I've ready it looks like a lot of fun.

    Great summary on places to eat and shop!

  • Stefanie September 19, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    Aw, it's so cool to see pictures of all the stuff you guys told us about Portland! Those foil animals are even cooler than I imagined!

  • joansocs September 19, 2011 at 4:58 pm

    yay! you went to montage. did you have the mad scientist waiter??

  • This Charming Style September 19, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    Wow, this looks like SUCH a fun trip! I am jealous… The food and vintage stores look amazing! And the hotel too 🙂 xx

  • chellemorgan September 19, 2011 at 10:32 pm

    Looks like such a great time Alicia! If I'm ever in Portland I'm definitely taking your recommendations. The food looks delicious, and the shopping seems amazing!

    Xo Chelle
    discoveringelegance.com

  • Cee September 20, 2011 at 12:43 am

    I've never made it past Seattle because we have yet to eat at every restaurant there… But this post definitely makes a compelling argument for driving the extra hours to Portland. I'm dying over all of the delicious looking food you ate, particularly that pb&j- amazing! (But then, it probably doesn't help that I'm typing this as I wait for dinner to be served :D). It was fabulous to see you yesterday! Apparently there is still room on the Ishara guestlist if you wanted to join on Sunday night 😉
    xox,
    Cee

  • Huda September 21, 2011 at 3:04 am

    love the pictures and tourist review, we'll definitely check them out when I'm there.

  • Marie a la Mode September 21, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Looks like you and your bf had a great time! I love Oregon! It's great you guys are so close : )

  • Jaclyn September 27, 2011 at 12:04 am

    I went to Portland this summer too and absolutely loved the city. Went to a few of the places you pictured here too. I love your photos and it looks like you had a fun trip.

  • Hayley September 29, 2011 at 5:10 pm

    I JUSt found your blog thanks to Veronika and I honestly want to print this post out and go to Portland and visit all these same places! This trip looks amazing! Great blog.. new follower here!

    Hayley
    http://theweekendfile.blogspot.com

  • Anna October 10, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    what a great city! i want to go there! looks like you had a fabulous time!

    http://www.simplystylishmom.com