I'm actually trying not to look at too many pictures of Portland but I'm trying to pick a few places to show you that I can't wait to go.
This is a bookstore!! They have over a million books, nine color coded rooms and over 3,500 sections!!! Plus, they are not too far away from:
Can you say Vegan-Chinese-Lunch-Buffet!??!? I am SOOO FRIGGING EXCITED. They have vegan orange chicken :)
Another awesome thing about Portland is the food carts!! I'm really excited about this one:
They have a few interesting vegan topping choices for your fries (which I heard are out of this world to begin with): banana ketchup! rosemary truffle ketchup! and of course vegannaise :) They also make their signature "pb n j" fries. I can't wait to try them!
Another thing I'm going to see if we can shove into our schedule (between all the eating) is:
a bike tour! Look how beautiful...again, trying not to look at too many pictures because I want to be super excited when I get there but they have a tour that goes out and stops at about six different waterfalls! I don't think I've ever seen a waterfall in real life--just fake ones at all the amusement parks in Florida.
We also want to stop at all the gardens (Chinese, Japanese, and Rose Test).
There's a Saturday Morning Market (also runs on Sunday morning)
and of course we'll be there for Veg Fest!
All in all, I am incredibly excited!!!! There will be tons of pictures when we get back as well. I'm borrowing my Mom's digital camera (lost mine) and gonna try to throw a few disposables in my pack..not sure how much I can fit on the way there. My plan is to shove a huge duffel bag in my backpack so when we buy things in Portland we can check it on the way back but not have to check it on the way there (save time). However, I'm pretty sure it's about as big folded up as my backpack is to begin with. I'm packing really light, though. I figure anything I need I can get in Portland and I'm sure I will want to buy a shirt or two so I'm wearing like one pair of pants there packing shorts and that's it, etc. Light packing.
Just booked the hotel as well...decided not to stay at a fancy hotel because we could use the extra money for food and souvenirs. If we were only staying a couple nights I would have gone for it but five nights would get a bit expensive.
What's your favorite city you've ever been to?
I've really only been up the East Coast--Atlanta, South Carolina (when my old job moved), Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Rhode Island.
Kristi(E)
that looks so cool! i wanna go to veg fest! :D you'll definitely have a photodump after that trip huh? :)
ReplyDeleteBig time!! I think there's a Boston Veg Fest..actually, I KNOW there is one!! The Tampa one where I live just got scheduled for October 15th so I will be doing a photodump for both :) ...even though they're a ways away!
ReplyDeleteI want to go to those food carts soo bad! And that bike ride is going to be amazzzing!!
ReplyDeleteOh! Oh! I've lived in Portland, and I'm vegan. I'd like to give you some recommendations!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I like the vegetarian house, and it's downtown. I do prefer the Green Wok though, which is similar (and also has a vegetarian lunch buffet, mon-fri, for $6.50) but is a little harder to get to because it's on the outskirts of the city.
NE Alberta St! This street has Vita Cafe. They have vegan fish and chips with tartar sauce! It is amazing! AND AND AND! Just down the street is Back to Eden. This is a vegan bakery and they have vegan soft serve ice cream! It is amazing! They have vegan white chocolate chips, gummies, and all sorts of other toppings. It's amazing, seriously.
Food carts! They are all over downtown. I strongly recommend DC Veg!
The vegan strip mall! Portland has a vegan strip mall. It has sweet pea bakery (they have a sandwich called The Higgins which is just stacks of different veggie meats, it's delicious) and they have a vegan clothing/bookstore called Herbivore and Food Fight! This is a grocery store full of vegan convenience foods.
The saturday market is NOT for produce. The saturday market is a craft/handmade market and is super easily accessed through the public transit system. The max, which is teh light rail, has a free zone downtown. YOu'll wanna take note of this because it will make getting around super easy.
I'm guessing that your bike tour goes along i-84. You're in for a treat! This is a great stretch, the waterfalls are beautiful. Good decision!
If you have any questions or want more tips you can feel totally free to email me, (i'm faithmckay on gmail) I love helping a fellow vegan out :) You'll have a lot of fun at the vegfest, I have a lot of friends who are volunteering there! I'm sure you'll love Portland!