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Published: September 17th 2017
Geo: 45.5118, -122.676
Now back in Portland, we stayed with and were escorted around town by a native for the day. After breakfast at the house, we walked around the NE Alberta St. neighborhood, exploring shops and on the lookout for a good cup of tea. Without a doubt, the place to go in this area is Townshend's Teahouse at 2223 NE Alberta St (http://www.townshendstea.com). It is a true teahouse which brews drinks from loose leaf blends listed in a small catalog. Drinks take about seven minutes because you can't rush a good steep. I tried the Alberta Chai which was very good and one of several chai blends available. I visited two more times before I left town. I wish I ha one of these places at home. If you are in the mood for something cold, they have iced and bubble teas as well.
Portland is a very fun foodie town. One quirk which I like a lot is that groups of food trucks will gather on empty pad sites and put out a few picnic tables and trash cans to serve small groups or individuals. You can smell and see what's on the various menus pretty easily and it's a
snap to mix and match cuisines or suit groups with different tastes. Just don Alberta from the teahouse, we stopped at one that had a cheese shop, an Indian curry place and a pink trailer emblazoned, "Retrolicious." We cobbled together a meal that was inexpensive, interesting and tasty.
After lunch we drove to the Pittock Mansion. It is a favorite tourist attraction because it has history (Mr Pittock founded and owned The Oregonian newspaper), architecture (the home was designed and built by local artisans from local materials), gardens (lovely and extensively labeled) and a view (unless the weather thwarts you). Try to get there at least 45 minutes before closing to see the house. You can walk the gardens at no charge and the garden is open longer hours. Details are on their web site.
From there it was a quick hop over to the International Rose Test Garden. What a cool place! Just outside it there are public tennis courts which have fences covered with lovely rose climbers. Inside there are rows and rows of almost every rose variety imaginable. I felt that the garden was best seen up close. Each individual bush or flower had its own charm, beauty and
Tea samples
You can reference the tea catalog and/or sniff tea samples before you orderscent. Because it is a test garden and not a display or ornamental garden, it's not as easy to appreciate the plants from afar as it is up close. They are set up in orderly rows for the most part. If you are in the market for a bush, take notes. Everything is labeled. There is no admission charge.
We walked around the Mississippi Avenue area at dinner time, taking in the sights and shops and trying to decide where to eat dinner. We ended up at Mee Sen Thai Eatery where we scored an outside table for people watching. They had a nice variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. We followed dinner up with some killer ice cream at Ruby Jewel Scoops. A few times as we walked the streets we saw party bikes where a group of 16 or so would pedal while drinking and touring the area. One of the groups we saw was a bachelorette party. Everyone seemed to be having a blast. One down in the Pearl District was called Brewcycle. That area is near the Pittock Mansion. There was another one in the Mississippi area, but I forget the name.
I wish I had more meals
to eat in Portland. I never got to eat at the Waffle Window. This seems like a significant miss.
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