We visited Portland, Oregon for my husband’s birthday this year in April and it was the perfect way to celebrate. We are fans of the show Portlandia with Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen. We find references everywhere we go and feel like several moments in our daily lives could easily pass for an episode of the show. So I say that to say that Portland was a place on our list of cities to visit ASAP.
HOTEL
We stayed at Hotel Modera in Downtown Portland and we absolutely loved our stay. There were so many options to choose from but we decided to go with Hotel Modera because it was a great price for the location and it looked gorgeous in all the pictures! The hotel did, in fact hold up to all of our standards. It was so nice to walk outside of the hotel and be a few blocks away from all the fun.
Ps. I really wish I would have taken more pictures of the hotel!
THINGS TO DO
Our trip to Portland was very short with two nights and three days to explore. We had the hardest time putting our cocktails down and taking a ride to the airport on our last day (I’m actually surprised we made it to our flight on time)! Prior to our trip, I made an itinerary, or more like a list of things to do, places to go and food to try. The main part of our time there consisted of walking around and riding around in rented bicycles. Truly the best way to explore Portland. #bicyclerights
So I’ll let the pictures do the talking now.
A stop at the Ace Hotel
A stop at Powell’s Books
A pit stop at Voodoo Doughnut
Mill End’s park
The market downtown where they sold delicious coffee and gyros.
Bicycle riding
FOOD & COCKTAILS
Aside from walking and riding all around town, we made a few stops at restaurants and bars… there are so many great choices that it was hard to pick! Like I said in the beginning.. putting that last cocktail down before the end of our trip was the hardest thing we had to do… and for me specifically, it was holding myself back from ordering another one! So here’s a list of places we visited for food & cocktails that we LOVED.
El Gaucho (we had steak for his “birthday dinner”)
Urban Farmer (we went for brunch and it was perfect – they had a Bloody Mary bar!) not pictured
Nel Centro (this restaurant is a part of Hotel Modera and is not your average hotel restaurant & bar.) not pictured
Dan & Lois Oyster Bar (the perfect place for some fresh oysters and cocktails, which is all we had when we went)
Departure Restaurant + Lounge (their rooftop bar was so nice we went out there even though it was raining!)
Cartopia Food Carts (It’s basically a place with food trucks.. our favorite!)
and.. (drumroll please.. our favorite bar in Portland..)
Multnomah Whiskey Library (So this place has a “green room” and the main bar, with the massive collection of liquor neatly placed in shelves. The drinks were like no other. Definitely a place to try when in town!)
So I realize the pictures I took of these places are terrible. They really don’t do the places justice. All I can say is.. I was enjoying the moment with my husband and sometimes it’s nice to put the phone down, away + tucked into your purse.
Thanks for reading!
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