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I went to college in Portland in the 80's. It has changed a LOT in 25 years. There's a whole new neighborhood of high rise condos on the waterfront, a cable car from that neighborhood up to the top of the hill for the hospital, and so many light rail cars. Areas of town that were warehouse districts are new hot loft neighborhoods. And the city is bustling! On Saturday there were so many people downtown. It was busy!
I started at the Saturday Market. It used to be under the Morrison bridge, but has since moved to the Ankeny area.
This plaque talked about Captain Ankeny's influence on Portland architecture having to do with cast iron work (like the frame).
And this building is a prime example of that architecture.
We walked by Voodoo Donuts - the home of the maple bacon donut, and the line was around the block!
I met my college friend and we decided to go to the Chinese Gardens. First we needed to go through Chinatown.
I had been to the Chinese Gardens before and loved them. I highly recommend them.
The entire complex is a Chinese scholar's home transported from Sozhoou, the sister city in China. They took it apart piece by piece and recreated it in Portland. Portland also has a beautiful Japanese garden but the two types are very different. I prefer the Chinese garden. This garden is considered to be the most authentic Chinese garden outside of China.
The Chinese make every section have a theme and place everything for feng shui. When you look through every door and window you are looking at a framed picture. Every garden area is balanced with yin and yang, male and female.
For instance, this courtyard was the crab apple courtyard and this is the pattern for crab apples. Notice the balance of black and white for yin and yang.
There was a very good puppet show while we were there.
After your tour, take some time to enjoy a huge selection of teas at the tea house.
We stopped by Pioneer Square where some family oriented event was going on and the place was a mass of people. I love this sign there.
And to end, a shot of Mt. Hood in the distance. It was a beautiful day for revisiting Portland.
