Portland, OR - 3 Days in November HELP!!!
 

We are going to Portland next weekend for a wedding. Due to the unpredictability of the weather...what are some things that we must see or do? What are some places to eat to experience northwestern cuisine? We also want to do some tax free shopping...where should we go? Are there any good destination spas? We're without the kids...and want to take advantage of this getaway.

Thanks in advance!

Search the forums for Portland - tons of old posts with lots of recommendations, because this sort of question has been asked many times.

If it's rainy, the one place you MUST go is Powell's Books!!! It's a huge book store, an entire city block - there's a MAP of the store (several floors) when you enter!

If you have a car and want to drive a bit, the heart of the Oregon Wine Country is nearby, McMinnville, Newberg, etc.

Your mention of spa and boom_boom's suggestion of Oregon Wine Country made me think of this place: http://theallison.com/. It just opened a few months ago; quite nice!

Maybe take Portland Walking Tours' Epicurean Excursion for a taste of Portland's dining scene: http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/..._excursion.php. Beyond that, we can come up with months' worth of dinner recommendations. Some that I think are very Portlandish: Higgins, Le Pigeon, Clyde Common, Wildwood.....

If it's an Outlet Mall you're looking for, best nearest Portland is Woodburn Outlets, about 30 minutes south. Otherwise, popular shopping districts in the city are NW 21st & 23rd Streets, the Pearl District, and Hawthorne Blvd.

A good mall for tax free shopping is Bridgeport (?) about 10 miles south of Portland on I-5. Take the #200 exit. jantzen Beach has more of the discount stores like Target.

NW 23rd has a mix of chains like Rejuvenation Hardware and funky little shops. I love Kitchen Caboodle. Just park near Burnsideand work your way down. Lots of good places to eat here. I also recommend the Pearl district, and Hawthorne Blvd (funky)from about SE 30th to SE 39th

Good suggestions. One correction though, Bridgeport Village is at exit #290 (Lake Oswego is on the sign).

Thanks mms! that would have really a disaster if they'd followed my earlier post!!

Dragontree for your spa!!

lcuy--It is 10 minutes from my home, so I know it all too well:)

I also like Dragontree spa. it is on Thurman street, right?

<i>WHAT?</i>

A whole day and no **komment***???
:-O

LOL Kal.... give it time ..

lcuy, do you mean Restoration Hardware?
I miss those stores... weep weep...

If I were back in Portland, I would have breakfast at Mothers Bistro, a mid morning snack at the Pearl Bakery, lunch at Wildwood and dinner at Fenouil or Silk .. or lunch at Henrys and dinner at Piazza Italia... or .... breakfast at the Everett Street Bistro, lunch at Oba and dinner at Andina...

Go to Powells... a city of books..
Go to the Japenese Gardens regardless of weather..
Ride the Streetcar to get around town ...

Happy Hour at bluehour or Vault ...

TTT <i>(tick tick tick)</i>

Nah,Kal, she is checking out the brick buildings on the east coast right now:D

yes, and the people are so nice ! Imagine that .. people on the East Coast are nice.

The people in Portland are pretty darn nice too !
November...the lights might be in the trees in the Pearl District... they do it around Thanksgiving through Christmas... so pretty !

Thanks for all the GREAT ideas! I'll look into all these recommendations and browse through their menus.

We're coming from sunny California (we're still in shorts and flip flops)...so we need to winterize our wardrobes when we go to Portland. We'll plan for rain...but will there be a chance of snow?

Snow in Portland is extremely unlikely in mid-November but not impossible. We usually get one or two snow storms a year that last a day or two, tops. Last December we had a rare week with several snow storms that paralyzed the city with over a foot of snow, but that was very unusual.

I so wish I had been there for all that snow :)