I’m super tired tonight so I’m going to make this brief. Here are today’s pics- it was a great opportunity to experience Seattle and Portland back to back, literally in the same day. I was able to compare these two cities which prior to this week had been kind of “mystical faraway lands” in my head…I wasn’t sure which I would like better, if either, but I have always felt like I would really enjoy living in the Pacific Northwest so I’ve had a lot of curiosity about these two cities in particular.

Seattle blew my socks off yesterday and this morning. I felt instantly connected to it, and very comfortable there quite quickly. Last night’s exploring about town on my own left me feeling confident navigating around this morning (and I directed us to Lola for a spectacular brunch of spinach and feta omelets, fried garlic potatoes and cucumber lemonade). There was something so quaint about Seattle, and something so familiar, that it just felt like home.

The drive to Portland down I-5 took about 3 hours (in traffic) and it wasn’t incredibly scenic, just a lot of cars, and a lot of highway. Our hotel here is a Kimpton hotel called the Hotel Vintage Plaza and it’s by far my favorite place we’ve stayed so far. Everything is right up my alley, from the Italian restaurant downstairs called Pazzo (which had delicious tiramisu) to the wine bottle decor. It’s an older building that feels new because they have done an extremely good job maintaining it and keeping it current. Very classy.

This afternoon was delightful…we met an old friend of mine from college for drinks and a light late lunch next door to our hotel. It was so great to see Jeff and catch up since it had been about three years since I saw him last. He was also able to give us some recommendations on where to go and what to do in Portland. He told us to check out the Rose Garden and the city’s Pinot Noir- apparently they have great Pinot here. We sat outside and had some afternoon cocktails and some Thai food, soaking up the sun and laughing for a couple hours until it started to rain suddenly and we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I then came upstairs and napped off the few brews I’d had, and got ready to head back out to dinner.

Overall I’d say Portland isn’t my favorite of the two, but I also don’t feel like I’ve seen a whole lot of it. Seattle just seemed clean and cool, trendy but smart, and full of places to go and things to see. Portland was pretty closed up- all the bars and restaurants were closed, but it could have been the holiday today- there just wasn’t anyone around.

I do like that people get around here on bikes- it’s seriously the bicycle capital of the Northwest. Everywhere you look there are people cruising by on bikes (some without brakes, which I think are called “track” bikes). Anywho….I said this would be brief, and now I’m even more tired and it’s time to call it a night. Night y’all!