Andrew: Good pizza is impossible to find in LA, or at least I have never found it. Like you said, just about everywhere the pizza was great in Phila., of course, I had my favorite places,in Philly, but since then I have pretty much given up on finding really good pizza, so when I said I had good pizza here in Portland, I was NOT comparing it to Phila., I was speaking relative to LA., therefore, I would not say to an ex-Philadelphian, go try this pizza, because I know you would be disappointed. I, too, am a pizza snob and for that matter a bagel snob. I have not had that really good pizza yet, and generally, I have stopped looking. I wonder sometime, if it was my imagination that it was so good. There was a place in Glenside,PA, just outside of Philly called Rizzo's that was wonderful when I was growing up. Last I heard, it is still in business.

Andrew: Have you been to Buenos Aires? Admittedly, a bit far to go for good pizza, but I had absolutely wonderful pizza there!

loved the reports, lived there for several years and now go back for visits to see sister. DH and I have gone up there from SF because of a great exhibit at the museum and then spend time with sis. Playing tourist in a town you know is a ball - hotel, eating out, walking the fab neighborhoods, recalling some old places that I knew as a child and are now new places (Pearl District, the Old Lipman's Dept Store, etc) Beautiful city. thanks for reminding me about it - must be time for another visit.......

I agree Shar! My daughter lives just outside Portland and we had planned to spend a few days at the coast together, but now I am thinking maybe we will get a hotel downtown and be tourists in Portland!! Thank you annetti for all your recommendations and reminders of what a neat city Portland is. My husband is vegetarian so I especially enjoy your restaurant reviews! Also, is Big Bowl the name of one of the food carts? or an item from a cart? if the latter, which one?

No, annetti, never been to Buenos Aires. I've had great pizza in Naples, Bologna, and other spots in Italy (not in Rome, though!) and in New York as well as, of course, the Philadelphia area, Jersey, etc. Great pizza on the boardwalks on the Jersey Shore - yum!

Am still enjoying the report, we leave a week from tomorrow, and your report is really inspiring me.

BTW, Even though we live in NY, where great pizza is readily available, I thought the pizza in Buenos Aires was pretty good too (along with all the Italian food), it's become one of our favorite cities!

Thank you,Shar. Definitely time for another visit.

Roguemckenzie: Yes, Big Bowl is the name of one of the food carts at 10th and Adler. It's the only item they sell.

owlwoman: I, absolutely loved all the fresh pasta in BA and became totally addicted to the dolce de leche ice cream. BTW, if you love dolce de leche ice cream, they sell an excellent one at Whole Foods Market. Can't remember the brand name, but it's NOT hagan das which bears no resemblance to the BA product. Hope you enjoy Portland as much as we have. Our trip is winding down; we've really enjoyed the city.

Andrew: It's about time, I returned East, if for no reason but to taste the foods I remember as a child. And of course, to try the pizza.

Today, we took a break from the city and visited the wineries at Willamette Valley. My husband does not drink wine, but he knew I would enjoy seeing the WV; he's a good sport. We programmed our GPS, bought gas (love the fact that someone fills our tank for us and even cleaned our windows!) and set off to see some vineyards on this cloudy overcast day. Since I am not an afficiando, just someone who enjoys a couple of glasses of wine a week, we were touring the area, mainly to see some pretty scenery and a couple interesting buildings. Vineyards are always beautifully landscaped and have lovely architectural settings. WV is relatively close to Portland, about 40 minutes away. However, take our advice, and don't go on a Tues., many of the wineries were closed; they're only opened Wed - Sunday.

None of the wineries were crowded: I think they were pleased to see us, even with the small business we gave them. I'm cowardly, when someone pours me a glass to sample, I usually buy a bottle of wine.

The scenery is lovely, lots of winding country roads, and now that the trees are changing colors, lots of gold and red trees with views of vineyard in the hills.. We traveled one long gravel road only to find the winery closed, but that was okay since the road was so pretty with the vineyards on one side and the autumn foliage on the other side.

We returned to the city around 3 or so; garaged our car and took a bus downtown to spend some time at Powell's Bookstore. They are really comprehensive; I was surprised to see two copies of a book of a friend of mine on the shelf. None of our local stores carry it.

Another observation: I am enjoying all the art sculpture around town. Near the Pioneer courthouse, there are about 7 or 8 fountains with seals skirting the edges of the fountain
or beavers or bears. In one small fountain is a duck. Elsewhere, on a street corner is a Liberty Bell, and in another place is a large goose. It's all quite amusing and entertaining.

Alas, tomorrow, is our last day in Portland. It has gone so quickly and had been such a treat. However, as good home exchangers, we need to spend the day cleaning and packing to get off early on Thursday. Hopefully, we'll have some time for a short excursion before the day ends.

Oh, too bad you didn't mention you were going beforehand! I live right near many of the wineries down here and could have helped. Oh well, at least you had a good time and saw some of the beautiful windy roads. Out of curiosity, which places did you hit?

mms: Only one name comes to mind, Duck Pond? Sorry, we were not able to take advantage of your kind offer. Our main objective really was to see the beautiful scenery, though we did come back with a couple bottles of wine. I'm not too sure how well they will transport when we travel home.

Rogue: Since you live in this part of the world, you probably know that eating vegetarian is incredibly easy. Every restaurant and food cart (food carts, especially) make sure to post clearly their vegetarian options. It was wonderful to know I had so many options wherever we went. The food quality is so high here, lots of fresh produce, too.

annetti,

I'm really enjoying your report. Recently Portland has popped up on my radar as a destination I might want to explore. Your report has certainly added to my eagerness to explore this city!

Thanks. LowCountryIslander. I feel really lucky to have arranged 2 weeks in this beautiful city.

We spent this morning straightening our home exchangers' home, doing some cleaning and packing. We still have some more to do, but the bathroom and final packing will have to wait for tomorrow morning before we leave.

Around 1:00, we walked down to Wildwood Restaurant at 1221 NW 21st Street for lunch. Cross street is Overton. It is a bit more upscale than the places we have been dining at and I use the word dining loosely. It is a pretty place complete with cloth napkins. N wanted a bit more upscale lunch than we have been doing the last 2 wks. He poured through several travel books and this place sounded to him that it would be the right place.

There were two vegetarian options (out of 6) on the menu. I enjoyed my meal very much, but unfortunately N was very disappointed. We only had main dishes, so our bill was very reasonable without tip, it came to $22. They served two minute slices of very tasty bread ( 1 1/2" by 3" by 1/2") one for each of us with our meal. They were delicious, but we were never offered seconds. However, as we were settling our bill, we heard the server at the next table offering seconds. Perhaps, because we did not order starters? Or just a negligent waiter?

We took the 15 bus into town, exiting at 10th and Salmon. We had passed the main public library the other day when we visited the Portland Museum. I wanted to walk inside and see the bldg. It opened in 1913 at its present location; It's a beautiful brick Georgian Revival style building.

You can pick up a brochure at the information desk or Children's library where you can do a self-guided tour of its art and architecture. The first floor entry way is quite impressive with faux marble columns and a grand granite staircase. There are four floors with a few pictures to admire here and there. In the children's Library there is a bas relief of Alice in Wonderland (from 1930) which is quite nice.

An unknown surprise awaited us on the fourth floor. There was a small exhibition entitled: Literary Chicks: Verbal and Visual Satire in the Age of Jane Austen. There were about 8 or ten glass cases with first editions, some of Jane Austen, others of her contemporaries; there were also some wonderful colorplates, and letters. The exhibit opened Sept 25 and runs into Nov., I believe. www.multcolib.org/events

We then walked into town, browsed a bit, returned to NW 23rd to say our final good-byes mentally and pick up some pastry to enjoy our last evening at home.

And let there be no doubt, the Jane Austen exhibition is of course free.

There is a very nice book store on the main floor of the library with lots of cheaply priced books. We couldn't resist; we bought a couple hardbacks and paperback for very little money. Also, some pretty cards with pictures of the exterior of the library.

Besides books and cards for sale, there were earrings, bracelets, cat cards, small items associated with museum shops,t shirts (I love to read, that kind of thing) etc. Not the typical library store. And the library is open 7 days a week!

Glad you've enjoyed Portland, annetti! Sometimes it's nice to hear an outsider's perspective on the city, since it's easy to forget how people see it when they are visiting for the first time.

Thank you, Andrew.

We left Portland around 10:30 Thursday morning, on Route 5, a fairly tedious route, once you leave Oregon and Northern California, but the quickest way home. However, the northern route can be quite beautiful at times with lovely rolling hills, farmlands, and trees.

We stopped for lunch in Roseburg,OR. We did not get a good impression of the town; it looked out of work and depressed. We tried the mall for a quick lunch, but hardly a soul in sight. We settled on Denny's, no one's epicurean ideal, but it was even worst than usual. My veggie burger's roll was stale and I won't even discuss my husband's omelette.

We spent the night at a Best Western in Yreka, CA which was fine, but the town's historical section (one street) was pretty desolate and there were several empty storefronts. We ended up driving straight home the next day, stopping for frequent breaks. It was good to be home and fortunately for us it has cooled off a bit.

Our house is all in order; always a bit of a relief, I must admit. It rained briefly this morning; I suppose we brought a bit of the Northwest rain with us. Rain is hardly typical in So Cal on Sept 2nd.

We had a wonderful time in Portland; it has to rank up there as one of our favorite exchanges. I expected to love Portland and my expectations were realized. I usually write at the end of these travel journals, that I was lucky to spend an extended period of time in a place, and this was especially true for Portland. Thanks, everyone for reading and for the suggestions along the way.

annetti

Oops! I meant: Rain is hardly typical in So Cal on OCTOBER 2nd.