Portland

I recently took a three day trip down to Portland, Oregon and thought I would share some of my experience on here. Me and my best friend, Sage, went together as a little adventure/vacation. Portland was perfect for us because it is close enough to home that we could drive down, but far enough away that it felt like a real get away. We drove down on a Monday and spent two nights. We stayed in an adorable little Airbnb in the Nob Hill neighborhood, just a couple blocks off of 23rd.

On the first day there we walked around Nob Hill and did some shopping on 23rd (very boutique-y) and I think both Sage and I would agree that the highlight of that was stopping to grab a scoop of ice cream at Salt & Straw. This place is seriously killing it in the ice cream game, there wasn't a single flavor on the menu that I wasn't intrigued by. Sadly I can't eat dairy so I opted for one of the sorbets, but it was honestly the best sorbet I had ever had. If you go to Salt & Straw you must try the toasted coconut strawberry sorbet because that stuff rocked my world.

The second day was definitely the most jam packed of the three days. First thing, we went out to the International Rose Test Garden. It was seriously gorgeous, there were so many different types of roses and so many different smells to take in (check out my instagram for some rose flicks). Pro-tip (ish): the rose garden is free, but the Japanese garden across the street costs around $25 per person, so if you're on a budget I would recommend checking out the rose garden because it is seriously gorgeous and makes for great pictures as well. After the gardens, we went into the Pearl District. First, we (obviously) had to go to Powell's Books because what would a trip to Portland be without going to Powell's. We grabbed some books and got some coffee and sat and read for a little while. I frequently forget how nice it is to just sit and read in a cafe.

After recharging with coffee and books we decided to do some more exploring in The Pearl. The Pearl District is great for shopping and eating, two of my favorite things!! There's also a lot of street art in this part of the city, so make sure you are looking around and not just at your phone. After walking and shopping and walking and shopping we stopped by Tilt for burgers and fries. After satisfying our hanger we decided to go on a donut quest. Instead of going full tourist and going to Voodoo Donuts, we went to locally recommended Blue Star Donuts and boy was it worth it.

For our last day in Portland we decided to go out for brunch before the drive home. We went to Besaw's in the Northwest District. I ordered the special which some kind of pancakes that I can't remember but they were seriously delicious. They were topped with a cream cheese whipped cream of some sort that was sooo delicious.

Overall I had a great time in Portland and I hope to make it back down soon for even more adventures :)

#travel #portland #vacation #oregon #pnw #food