Epic in Portland!

On our way to Portland we started making contact with our city tour guides “Mike Z” and Olivia to see where the happenin’ places were located. Mike suggested staying near downtown and knew of a few options, but made the point that the city wasn’t too big and that where we stayed didn’t matter a whole lot. We scouted out several locales on the phone and we wound up choosing the Ace Hotel located in downtown Portland. Well, The Ace did not disappoint. It was just the understated, hip, and unique type of place we were looking for on an authentic Portland visit. As we rolled into town we parked on the side of the street outside the hotel, next to a very large, completely full bike rack….yep, we were in Portland. Walking into the hotel, there were several “rent-a-bikes” to my left, a couch lounger to my right with several folks on their laptops (all Apple brand, blogging I’m sure)…Portland, sure is. The inside was pretty cool, definitely an old renovated building with a coffee shop on the first floor and it was also connected to a restaurant/bar.

The Ace Hotel

We got our room key and grabbed our luggage to take to the 3^rd floor. We took the elevator and staring my right in the face as I select floor 3 is a sign saying “If you would’ve taken the stairs you would have been there by now.” …gee thanks for the condescending comment but I’ll take the elevator over carrying all of our stuff up 3 flights of stairs. In reality, we ended up taking the stairs every other time (sigh).

A view of the lobby at the Ace Hotel.

More of the lobby.

Bikes anyone? 

The room. Hipsters be jealous.

Ringlers Cellar Annex is below this building. Can you spot the entrance?

Mike was on his way to meet up with us for the evening, but in the meantime he suggested we go to “the labyrinth that is Powell’s Books”. Hmm, ok? We weren’t sure what that meant but we looked outside our window and there it was, just across the street! We said, “What the heck, let’s go.” We walked over and found out that Mike’s description was completely accurate. Powell’s Books truly is a labyrinth. Picture every section in your local bookstore having its own room, and sometimes its own floor. The bookstore was multiple buildings within a city block all connected together. Inside you could walk up stairs, down stairs, around corners, and through doorways; it was all connected in this really interesting way. We spent awhile at Powell’s and headed back out to walk around the neighborhood before meeting up with Mike and Olivia back at the hotel. Our first stop of the evening would be at the Rogue Alehouse where we sat outside and enjoyed a few locally brewed drinks, burgers, and seafood. John, another Portlander and friend of Mike’s, also joined us at the Alehouse for a while as well before we all headed over to “Ringlers Annex Cellar Bar” for some local music. This place was definitely a hidden gem. We first walked up to “Al’s Den” which was an establishment on the corner of two streets, but then proceeded to walk under it via a stairwell to get to what looked to be our final destination. Nope, we then walked through all the tables, next the bar, and through a doorway in the back. At this point I’m thinking, where the heck are we going?? We walked down a few stairs to find a quiet, all candle lit area with tables and a stage where a solo act was performing to a small crowd. Very neat.

Voodoo Doughnuts

After sticking around for a couple acts we left the cellar and headed over for some more music at a different locale but alas, music had been cancelled/rescheduled, oh well. We then decided to head to Voodoo Doughnuts for an evening snack. “But not before we get some Spanish Coffee!” said our knowledgeable tour guide. A Spanish huh? We headed several blocks down to this unassuming building that looked more like a large hotel, or a bank maybe? We walked in and strolled down a few hallways to what seemed to be yet another super-secret, hidden establishment, Hubers. Walking into this place was about like going to an office and opening a random door in a hallway to find a replica of set of Cheers. The Spanish Coffee did not disappoint and neither did this place, good find again Mike.

We arrived at Voodoo Doughnuts to see a line out to the street (on a Monday??). We decided to wait it out for some unique twists on the average pastry. Jami got a “Maple Bacon”, Chris got a “No Name”, Amy an “Oreo”, and I got a maple cruller and a blueberry cake. With our stomachs full and smiles on our faces we headed back to the hotel for some must needed rest.

Nearly everything we had heard about Portland turned out to be very true. While there were a lot of things very unique, it's all in a good way. The people are friendly and I could easily see myself walking around the pleasant streets (maybe even bike? *gasp*). I guess I'm a supporter of the "Keep Portland Weird" campaign.

Thanks once again to Mike and Olivia for being such excellent hosts and guiding us through the great city of Portland. We really enjoyed our time and it was glad to catch up with old friends. We definitely want to come back!