To Portland We Go

This morning we left the Emerald City and traveled onward to the Rose City (Portland). It took us about 3 hours with I-5 traffic but , we finally reached the hotel with no problems. After unpacking our suitcase, we caught a free train into downtown and began our exploration of the city. One of the awesome pluses about Portland is that a large majority of their transit coverage is free. Oregonians apparently pay high taxes but it does benefit the tourists who ride the trains with no charge. Alexandra was also totally excited about all the bicyclists and trails she observed; it's top bike friendly city in the nation.
Throughout our afternoon walk, we were totally impressed with the hipness and friendliness of Portland. The buildings and sites were quaint but modern at the same time. We checked out the Portland building which is considered the first Post Modernist structure in the world. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating with us, so we grabbed a cup of hot chocolate at Stumptown which is a highly popular local chain. After warming ourselves up, we checked out Powell's Books. It's the largest independent bookstore in the world. The store we visited takes up an entire city block in northwest Portland. I hate bookstores because I can't seem to help myself. I ended up buying three books but at least two of them were on sale. It totally ranks in my "book" as one of the definite sites to visit in the city. To top off the evening, we had some great beers and fries at Henry's, a local Portland micro-brewery, while watching Duke beat Butler..........not a bad way to end our first day in Portland!