36 hours in Portland.

I had a really great time getting to see Portland, Oregon last week.  I flew in early Tuesday morning and was back on the last flight out on Wednesday, so it was a super short stay, but I feel like I took full advantage of it.

I had to head to Portland to train a new gal I'd hired to manage the Pacific NW territory of our business, so we spent the working hours on Tuesday and Wednesday doing just that - hopping all around town, in and out of all the boutiques in the city meeting the owners and really getting a grasp on the layout of the city.  

Tuesday night, per the recommendation of our amazing concierge (we stayed at the Paramount Downtown), we had an amazing dinner at Southpark Seafood.  Post-dinner, I was exhausted from waking up at 5 that morning and running on three hours sleep, so I headed up to my room, fully intent on drawing myself a hot bath, pouring a glass of wine, and reading til I fell asleep.  

Upon entering my room though, I realized there was neither water nor wine in the room, so I popped back down to the bar to grab both and head right back up to my room.  I should've known better though - I got to chatting with the bartender and another patron at the bar, and before I knew it, my newfound friend at the bar (his name was Kelly) asked me if I wanted to go somewhere else for another drink.  It was my one and only night in Portland, so I decided, Why the heck not.

Our first stop was for a glass of prosecco at a bar that Kelly had helped open years back, Brasserie Montmartre.  Second stop was a great spot called Portland City Grill, which is on the 30th floor of one of the taller buildings downtown that had sweeping views of the city.  (I totally recommend this for any visitors to the city - fantastic views!)  Lastly, we hit another cool lounge/restaurant with great city views called Departure, where we grabbed our final glass of prosecco and a few tapas to round out the night.

After my bar tour, it was close to 1 in the morning (I was sooo exhausted!), but Kelly insisted on taking me through a little walking tour on the way back to drop me at my hotel, and he showed me some of the oldest buildings in Portland, the gorgeous old bank buildings, the statues that line the streets, told me about the history of Portland politics, and anything else he could think of to share with me about his beloved city.  

I still can't get over how lucky I was to meet such a great new friend to show me his city firsthand!  It had me leaving Portland really feeling like I experienced it as much as I could have in my short time there.

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