Portland, Oregon - Monday 27 April

I woke up with a start this morning! The sun was shining, I had had a deep sleep, and it was only half an hour later than my alarm, which I had completely slept through. Perhaps I'll have to rethink the peaceful nature sounds. Anywho, I leapt at the day, with my (subtle) pink sneaks ready for some walking. If you've every travelled in the USA, you know you get a LOT of questioning looks when you say you are going to walk anywhere.

First stop was some hydration -

It did taste good, but the ingredients would not have been Food Babe approved.

Second order of business - walking the right way. Despite two maps (quote "I need all the help I can get") and spoken instructions, I still boldly walked away from Downtown. It's always important to look confident. The cons of going the wrong way are obvious, but there are definitely pros - I always find something unexpected. This time, I found out where the cinemas were, and also got to spend some time in the local park. This looks like fun.

The walk in was perfect. Lots to see, the weather was amazing (82 degrees and clear), and my new walking shoes did everything they were supposed to do.

Can you see the huge metal bar on the left, designed to hit the bell hard?

This sign is in two places around the fence. I wonder which spoilsport put this up? I would have liked to see everyone jump. I know, I'm easily amused - but we all have things that just never stop being funny.

My walk had a purpose - the mecca that is Powells. Long, long ago, I discovered this bookshop online, and fell in love. It seemed to have everything. It was mindblowing. And now I would get to see it.

Powell's takes up a whole city block. There are books, books, books and more books. Then some merch, some mags, and then more books. There is an espresso printing machine for books on demand, so if you can't find what you are looking for on the shelves, you can make your own. It is just wonderful.

Despite having seen it often, I still can't get over how Americans use bookstores as libraries. It's perfectly OK to eat and drink and flip through books you haven't bought.

After Powell's (which, seriously, I never wanted to leave) I went to Jake's Famous Crawfish for lunch. Jake's is an institution, it's been here for 100 years serving fresh seafood. The North East Seafood Gumbo I had was amazing, and the creme brulee (sans seafood) was probably the best I'd ever had. Yum.

I am not good at not shopping, so I bought a scarf kit (using Thai silk yarn) from Knit Purl and some craft supplies from Scrap (similar to Reverse Garbage).

Then uphill it was to the International Rose Test Garden. What a peaceful place! Thousands of rose varieties neatly laid out. I can only imagine how glorious it will look in June.

I bravely caught the light rail back to the hotel, and finished the day with hickory wings and a Marionberry Cosmopolitan. Yes, It WAS as good as it sounds!