Portland (OR) Travel Blog

Can you believe it’s December already? Christmas is coming, and there are many enjoyable holiday festivities that do not cause nerves to fray. This Saturday from 1:30-3:00pm check out Tuba Christmas in Pioneer Courthouse Square (or Pioneer Square, as we call it). Approximately 200 tubas will join...

Swedish retailer H&M opened a store in Pioneer Place Mall downtown on Thursday, November 11. Hundreds of people camped outside the night before in eager anticipation of exciting wardrobe additions. The store gave gift certificates to the first 300 people that passed through the gleaming glass and...

There are reasons why Condé Nast Traveler voted Portland International Airport best Airport in the US three years in a row: delicious restaurants, excellent shopping, and lots of free WiFi access. Oh, and did I mention no sales tax? Here’s a map. If you find yourself on a long layover (by choice...

Every traveler knows it is difficult to properly enjoy wandering around town with a full bladder. If you get caught up sightseeing and need a bathroom don’t worry. You have options. Even though Portland doesn’t have many public bathrooms, there are a number of places where you can use the bathroom...

The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island has fun, family friendly activities to celebrate harvest time and Halloween. Sauvie Island is technically part of Portland, and a short drive up highway 30 from downtown. The Pumpkin Patch has free hayrides, a barn full of animals to visit, a café that serves up delicious...

Portlanders like their fashion with a dash of comfort and a pinch of originality. Portland has a mild climate, a little on the damp side, with warm summers and cold winters. We are currently enjoying gorgeous crisp fall days with lots of sunshine and a chill in the air that encourages layering, sweaters,...

Exceptional dance performance transcends boundaries of viewed and viewer and involves the audience in a sensory exploration. I expect no less from Blush choreographed by Andrea Miller and set to an eclectic score from Radiohead to Chopin. According to White Bird Dance Blush, “is an evening length...

How Cheap Is Cheap? Portland is not the most expensive city, but $5.00 doesn’t go as far as it used to. It will buy you some tasty fare at one of the city’s many food carts, a decaf soy mocha at Stumptown Coffee (including tip), a bean and cheese burrito at Laughing Planet or a day pass on the city’s...

Did you know that honeybees are responsible for pollinating 40% of the food we eat? These amazing domesticated creatures do so much for us yet they are maligned, misunderstood and inadvertently starved by many methods of modern cultivation. Colony collapse disorder is rampant. The bees are disappearing....

When I was three years old, my family and went yard sailing with Arthur, my Dad’s best friend. Arthur was an Anthropology professor and art collector. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning in San Francisco, and I had my eye on a sock monkey. It was a fine specimen – bright red mouth, large...