PORTLAND CITYSCAPEText and Photography by Sandy Katz |
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| Portland, Oregon:In 1801, our newly inaugurated third President, Thomas Jefferson, was eager to find and control the imagined "Northwest Passage". In an effort to document the land and animal life in the newly acquired Louisiana territory and establish a water route to the Pacific, the president appointed Meriwether Lewis & William Clark to lead a 44-man expedition up the Missouri River. The successful 8,000- mile journey that lasted two-and-a-half years opened up the American west for expansion. |
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My journey to follow some of the same routed Lewis & Clark adventured on started in Portland, Oregon. Here is where I boarded the Queen of the West for a seven-night cruise on three rivers cruising along the Lewis & Clark route. I have always wanted to visit Portland, Oregon, because of all the praises bestowed upon the city. Among the most significant was Money's "Best Place To Live 2000" so two days prior to the cruise my husband, Gerry, and I played 'tourists' here with the help of Gretchen, our tour guide. We arrived early our hotel, the Doubletree Hotel Portland Downtown (1-800-222-TREE) and decided to follow the desk clerk's suggestion to take the free bus downtown. This turned out to be a marvelous idea because downtown Portland was in the holiday spirit with an all-brass quartet playing seasonal music on the corner. We had fun shopping at Pioneer Place, especially since Portland has tax-free shopping (503-228-5800 ) www.pioneerplace.com. Bright and early Gretchen met us in the hotel lobby for a driving tour of the city, but first we had breakfast at Besaw's in Nob Hill (one of the many neighborhoods in Portland) (503-228-26190).
Visitors to the African Rain Forest experience simulated thunder, lightening, rain and fog while viewing crocodiles, monkeys, insects, tropical birds, rain forest plants and many other exotic creatures. For more information, call the zoo at (226-Roar, 226-7627) They had a great gift shop and there was no holds barred when I saw all the zebra items. They kindly shipped my 'zebra' purchases to my home in South Carolina. The International Rose Test Garden, the oldest garden in the United States offers more than 550 varieties of roses and 9,000 plantings. Thusly, Portland is called the "City of Roses" Our stop at the Japanese Garden was too brief because this time the gift shop was so inviting to Gerry who added to his Asian collection.
The next time we visit we plan to stroll through Pond Garden, The Tea Garden, The natural Garden, Dry Landscape Gardens and Flat Gardens. There are five traditional gardens, each with an individual theme, a ceremonial teahouse and oriental pavilion. These gardens have been acclaimed as the most authentic Japanese gardens in the United States.
A giant pillar stands as guard to Powell's City of Books, one of Portland's most popular attraction for visitors and locals alike. The pillar states" Coeme Librum-Buy the book; Lege Librum - read the book; Carpe Librum - enjoy the book and Vende Librum - sell the book. Powell's buys over 3,000 used books every day. New and used books are shelved together. You need a map to get around this gigantic bookstore. It was quite an effort of self control, not to convince Gretchen that we wanted to spend the rest of our time in Portland at this place, lost among the three million books.(800-878-7323) www.powells.com.
The dining opportunity at the new Zinc Bistrot in the bustling Nob Hill neighborhood (503-223-9696) was worth leaving Powells to feed our weary souls. The atmosphere was so invigorating and food delicious.Next morning, Gretchen took us to the downtown Bijou Café for a breakfast of omelets prepared in the French manner. (503-222-3187)
We then went quite fortified and satisfied to Pittock mansion, a 1914 National Register property. The antique-filled mansion was built by Henry Pittock, the original owner of the Oregonian, still Portland's daily newspaper. This mansion features old world craftsmanship in a lovely natural setting.This renowned National Landmark is located atop Portland's west hills, revealing sweeping views of mighty rivers and Cascade peaks.
Gretchen wouldn't let us go onboard the Queen of the West until we had a nice lunch at Mother's Bistro & Bar. The spirits of mothers everywhere are united in this homey bistro. We were certainly well cared for Gretchen-style. We left Portland with a delicious taste in our mouths and feeling that our souls were filled with all the pleasures that Portland had to offer including the chicken soup for our souls at Mother's Bistro & Bar. (503-464-1122)
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The tour started in Washington Park, home of the Oregon Zoo where we stopped to meet some of the animals, especially those beautiful white mountain goats at the entrance. Portland's zoo specializes in a breeding program for rare and endangered species such as Asian elephants, Humboldt penguins and snow leopards.
Named Lan Su Yuan, or "Garden of Awakening Orchid," this is the largest Suzhou-style garden in existence outside of China. Think of Portland Classical Chinese Garden as a Chinese landscape painting on a long, horizontal hand scroll slowly unfolding to reveal its layered beauty of both nature and culture.
Winding walkways, a bridged lake and open pavilions frame this exquisitely landscape of plants, water, stone, architecture, and poetry. These are the five elements essential to this Ming-style urban garden from Portland's sister city Suzhou, the city of gardens.
More than 60 artisans from China spent months living and working in Portland, lending their talent and expertise to the "Rose City's" newest treasure. (503-228-8131) 
It would be soon time to board the Queen of the West for our cruise, so Gretchen took us on a quick driving tour through the cultural area of downtown including the area of famous Saturday market, the largest weekend open-air market in the nation. We passed Portland Art Museum, the Northwest's oldest museum with treasures spanning 35 centuries of American, European, Asian, Native American and contemporary art(505-226-2811