Things to do in Portland, Oregon

Wow, Portland! You stole my heart. In short, you could some up our weekend there it would be food, coffee, whiskey, weird encounters straight of of Portlandia scenes, and bikes. Truly, I could even potentially see myself living there one day. So many parts of it were reminiscent of home, but a lot more foilage, which definitely made my soul content.

First off, let's note fall is my favorite season. As our plane was landing, you could see trees for days... all in the midst of their colorful transformation. When I got there leaves were falling, and boy, we just don't get that same feeling in the bay. I knew at that point I was in for a treat.

Jupiter hotel

Through a recommendation Tigran received from a lyft passenger, we booked a room at the Jupiter Hotel. It is a boutique hotel with hipster vibes, and it was right near the heart of downtown PDX. Each room comes equipped with a chalkboard door (front and back) and wall mural of some sort. We didn't get lucky enough to book the Spiderman room, but the corkboard themed walls and ceilings had Portland written all over it. The hotel is also connected to the Doug Fir lounge, a great bar spot to hit up in the area, and had a campfire going every night.

Clippers v. Trailblazers Game at the MODAcenter

One of the main reasons we went to Portland was to watch this game. I think I've finally found my way to get Tigran and I to travel... find a city that has an NBA team, and book it the same weekend as a Clippers game. Noted. We got great seats for the game. As expected, the teams were a great match. They were neck-and-neck the whole time, and Tigran the LA Clippers fan left happy, which meant it was good for me too.

We got some much needed rest after the long day of traveling and basketball. The next morning we woke up refreshed, and I was eager for adventure.

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Downtown PDX Nike Bikes

I don't I think I would have considered using the bike share system in San Francisco, only because I am so comfortable using the muni system and lyft. But we wanted to really wanted to do something different. The bike sharing system in downtown Portland is managed by Nike, and the stations were literally everywhere. For $12 a day, you could catch me ridin' dirty. We took the bikes between bars (yes, safely lol), amongst other places all around the city.

Powell's City of Books

Of course, we couldn't leave Portland without visiting the well-known Powell's City of Books. I told him to put aside a few hours, because I could be in there all day. I got lost in there for hours, and so did he, no joke.

Romantic Dinner at Portland City Grill

30 stories up in Portland's big pink building, we made reservations for dinner with a breathtaking city skyline view. It was a romantic setting, a much needed way to spend our Friday night after a long day of biking around downtown Portland. The food and whiskey was just as delightful as the view, and I'll post more about my good eats in another post. Yeah, we ate that much.

Outside the restaurant's building, we found more Nike bikes and took them to our next stop, a rooftop bar called Departure.

Departure Restaurant and rooftop bar

Wow, Departure was probably my favorite spot of them all. As soon as you walk in the decor is reminiscent of Tron. Electronic  vibes and spaceship windows and all.  Departure also has a rooftop bar with heaters, which had to be the best part of all. I felt at home when I walked in seeing the decor, and hearing "Reverse Sky Diving" by Hot Natured on the speakers.

We loved it so much, we went back again the next day. 

Portland... This isn't the last you'll see of me. Take my word.

Cooking Classes at Sur La Table

My long time ride or die girls and I had a private cooking class at Sur La Table! Okay, quick confession: by private class I mean an open pizza-making class, and we were the only people registered for that class. So, we lucked out and had the whole kitchen and instructor to ourselves.

Unfortunately, Arielle was sick that morning and was missing in action. :(

Appetizers

Our class was first thing on a Sunday morning, and the shopping center in Walnut Creek was barely opening their doors. When we walked into the kitchen, they offered us (much needed) coffee, and even prepared snacks for us to eat before we got started!

...so no, we did not make the appetizers. We just ate them. :)

blackberries and grapes

proscuitto wrapped peaches with balsamic vinegar

The Kitchen

Making Pizza Dough

We started off by making our pizza dough from scratch: mixing all our ingredients together, kneading the dough and then allowing time for it to rise.

Activating the yeast with a little sugar, and stirring until it becames frothy like the top of a beer

Using the kitchenaid to make our pizza dough, pouring the dry ingredients first.

Joanna tossing pizza dough like a pro.

Kneading the pizza dough, and then we let it sit to rise.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

While our pizza dough was rising, we learned to make our own marinara sauce from scratch as well. We added crushed garlic, added a hint of red wine, seasoned it with thyme, basil and mixed those ingredients with our tomato sauce and creating the perfect saucy base for our pizza!

Getting garlic ready for our marinara sauce from scratch

Topping it off

There was one step that we didn't get many pictures off. Once our dough was bouncy and had finally risen, we used a rolling pin to flatten what became our pizza crust and set it over the stovetop for a few minutes.

Next, the easiest and most fun part of the entire pizza making process... adding the toppings! We were given two options and could mix and match as we pleased. One option was heirloom tomatoes, proscuitto and garlic. Our second option was fennel, sausage and kalamata olives. 

The trays of topping ingredients were labeled and laid out so nicely for us in small glass bowls.

The End Result

We placed them in the oven when they finally came out, we were ready to eat! Each of our pizzas came out delicious, and we even got to use our extra ingredients for a second round.

Overall, we loved the Sur la table experience! It was so different from other things we usually do with one another. Such a fun bonding activity and we plan to take another class together in the future! 

A Behind the Scenes Tour on Alcatraz Island

Tigran and I ran across the street with few minutes to spare. After playing frogger across the Embarcadero to Pier 33, we luckily made it on time to board and we didn't miss our boat.

Thanks to my work, I had the opportunity to bring a guest to Alcatraz Island for a behind the scenes evening tour.

We hopped on the boat with a few other employees and their guests. Normally, the ferry holds hundreds of people at a time. With all the extra room, we got the best views on board and had quite a comfortable ride.

Just a few days away from what San Francisco residents call "Fog-ust", we were lucky enough to catch blue skies! Like always, it was short lived... and the sky eventually faded into a grey hue.

Behind The Scenes Tour

I've been to Alcatraz several times before, but this tour took us into areas most other tours don't feature. Many of the these fenced off areas we went through probably wouldn't accommodate the masses.

See, Alcatraz Island is one of the most visited National Parks there are, and this summer, the tickets are selling out further in advance. This tour we went on is considered a VIP tour and visitors can now buy tickets for the same experience.

From prison escape stories, to the history of Alcatraz, Tigran was interested and asking questions all through the tour. I was pretty happy to see him genuinely engaged.

Locked up in D block. This was Robert "Birdman" Stroud's cell.

THe Audio TOur

After the guided tour, the general public started to trickle onto the island. We joined the hundreds of people for the audio tour. For an audio tour, it's pretty dynamic, and the narration is far from monotone. 

As the evening carried on, the wind really started to pick up. Thankfully, that evening, we spent more time from inside the prison walls. That didn't prevent my hair from getting in my face for the one picture we took outside.

After about 4 hours on our feet, we walked down to the dock, and caught the ferry back home. 

The ride back was a lot more cozy in comparison to our ride there, but at that point our feet were just happy we could sit down and make our way across the bay. 

All in all, I'm thankful that working with National Parks has given me special opportunities to explore places like Alcatraz Island, especially when I can share those experiences with others.