I was drawn into this place because of the really fun and colorful decor in their window, and…read morebecause the signs said chocolate! This place specializes in salt, and had popcorn available to try with their seasoning blends! There were also flowers for purchase too, a little bit of everything here honestly. The popcorn was very tasty with the seasoning they had on it! I've never seen so many unique chocolate bars in one space! It was a library of bars instead of books, each section separated by type of chocolate! I ended up purchasing a few of the truffles and one The Meadows chocolate bars that was popular called Bagel Milk chocolate. The truffles were delicious! I would definitely recommend taking a look inside this shop if you're nearby.

What a warm, magical little store!…read more Walking in feels like entering the cottage home of a French kitchen witch. They've got a table full of freshly grown flowers, shelves upon shelves of ingredients and pantry staples. And, perhaps most importantly, an entire wall of locally made or direct retail chocolate bars. Staff was kind and when the price rang up for less than what was listed on the tag, they gave the lower option. The goods aren't cheap, but you can tell that thought was put into their curation and sourcing.

If you are looking for a unique experience in Portland, you should definitely visit this museum! It…read morewas in a middle of a residential area, as it was inside a residential house structure. From the moment you step inside, you are surrounded by interesting items that catches your attention. The first floor is more like a workshop with few things you can purchase, like really cool looking postcards. The second floor is where you will gasp over and over again. Every inch of the space was filled with oddities and curiosities. It was honestly so memorable and fun in so many ways. The gentleman owner (and creator) of the museum was very welcoming and friendly. We had such interesting time in this museum!

Oddities galore, a very unique museum! It is inside a house on two floors, but I stayed in there…read morefor almost an hour because it was so different from any museum I've ever been to! Some of the displays made me cringe lol (see photo I posted of a skeleton with two heads in a glass dome from artist Kiyomi Hessling). There were other skeletons by her, hair-raising...

Peacock Lane reminded me why the holidays used to feel magical…read more The last few years have been weary since COVID, and it's easy to forget what community actually feels like. Walking Peacock Lane this season brought that feeling rushing back. Neighbors, families, couples, kids, all moving slowly side by side, bundled up, sharing space, sharing smiles, sharing the moment. House after house was lit beautifully, each one with its own personality. My favorite this year was the Home Alone house, playful, nostalgic, and impossible not to smile at. But what made the night truly special was hearing live music from neighbors, joining in caroling with complete strangers, watching families take photos in front of glowing homes, and realizing how rare and meaningful that kind of togetherness feels now. Peacock Lane is a reminder of what the season is supposed to be about. I left feeling happier and genuinely grateful. If you need a reason to believe in the holiday spirit again, this is it.

Night one for the pedestrian-only walk this year was packed with carolers and visitors (as…read moreexpected) but Peaceful for us- year 3! Although we drove around looking for parking for some time we eventually found one. We wore light up gear but husband still couldn't find us when we happened to split up lol We noticed there's a school lot a couple blocks away charging $10/car. Good to now for next time. Thanks to this Starkwood neighborhood for keeping the holiday spirit going, since 1932!?!

On the Eastside Esplanade by the river is this lovely, large ship. This reminds me of one of the…read moreships from a child's story book in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series by C. S. Lewis. Very unique. This is just north of the Morrison bridge on the walking/ running/ bike path on the East Bank of the Willamette. It is one of the highlights of the walk, in my opinion.

Man, is this about a halo effect or what? Look at all these 5s, meaning "as good as it gets." Is…read morethe major street, Hawthorne Boulevard, and its side streets, running through a trendy, counterculture, and hip close-in neighborhood really "as good as it gets?" I will admit that, coming from Los Angeles, the very name Hawthorne makes for a knee jerk reaction toward the negative. In SoCal, there is also a Hawthorne Boulevard. However, it is very different. That Hawthorne begins near the airport and works its way down through Hawthorne, Lawndale, an actually banal dogleg of Redondo Beach, Torrance, and then up into Palos Verdes. Only the southernmost reaches of that wide boulevard, when in South Torrance and Palos Verdes, are nice. North of there, it is strip mall hell and blight. Even an indoor mall named Hawthorne Plaza in the city of Hawthorne didn't thrive and was abandoned. Visit YouTube. Now, I'm not that narrow minded about the Hawthorne label since there are Hawthornes everywhere, being that it's a name like Springfield and Bloomington. There's a Hawthorne in New Jersey, for example, which is a ho hum town west of and across the Hudson River from Manhattan. However, Portland's Hawthorne neighborhood causes some people's eyes to widen, almost if they're sweeping the pros and cons under the rug, because they're in love! Basically, it's a little hub of culture and, in this case, culture means indie restaurants, diners, coffeehouses, brewpubs, doughnut stores, book stores, thrift stores, and the like. To me, culture would imply museums, theater, art galleries, and, yes, some, but not as many, of the things listed above. The main landmarks are the Bagdad Theater, a branch of Powell's bookstore, Blue Star Doughnuts, eateries like Bread and Ink, and similar venues. But there are really two Hawthorne neighborhoods ... one west of 39th, and one east of 39th. The aforementioned businesses are west of 39th. The only corporate venue is the Fred Meyer store there, on the very corner of 39th. (Good luck finding a parking spot there.) East of 39th, it's quieter and less hyped while still containing indie eateries, bars, and coffeehouses. Not only that, that part of Hawthorne sort of melds with the Mount Tabor area, which is topographically interesting. Hawthorne is in demand and thus priced accordingly. Most of the housing stock is older and newer housing is either infill homes or boxy and trendy San Francisco type new condos like the ones you will find going up on the Eastbank and in the Alphabet District. Another thing about Hawthorne is that it might be cool, but it's not very diverse. If diversity means guys with beards and stocking caps and women who look like Carole King as she did on the cover of "Tapestry," then it's diverse alright. But almost everyone you will see partaking in its offerings is white, young, educated, and progressive, though they can run the gamut from being put together to being frumpy. And there sure are a lot of Subarus ... a lot of them! And it's hard to find a parking spot for that Subaru or whatever type of sled you may have. And you can even still "feel the Bern." In my mind, diversity would mean that enough different types of people and points of view are represented. That's not the case here. I need to cool my jets. However, an in-flight magazine that once featured an article on the City of Roses corroborated the hip and cool enclaves in Portland, showcasing three of them: Hawthorne, Multnomah Village, and NAAD (North Alberta Arts District), so I'm not off base here. To sum it up, I am giving Hawthorne 2 stars: 1 for existing and housing some of Portland's residents and 1 for how conveniently located it is to downtown and not being too distant from the freeways. Stars are missing because of (1) the prices, (2) not enough (of what I think is) culture along with a somewhat ample supply of "groupthink," and (3) the aloof and even surly service and attitude that you may encounter in many of the places you might step into because they seem to believe they have a captive audience. Of these hip and cool villages, I'd go with 3 stars for Multnomah Village on the West Side for being near the ethnic diversity surrounding PCC, lacking a rigid gridded street pattern, and having more topography and trees, 2 stars for the Hawthorne neighborhood, and 1 star for the NAAD, as in "not my cup of tea" ... at all. O.k., I'm done being an ass.

This is one of the better neighborhoods to explore, well at least in Portland. Lots of small shops…read moreand restaurants. And of course the Bagdad theater. One of the things I like is that, at least so far, there arn't many big chain stores. It has a reputation as home to Portland's hippie population. It does but there are a lot of great businesses here.

This is a pretty great open event space. The staff are pretty friendly. The bartender was great and…read morevery helpful plus a healthy pour is welcome though I did long for more than two vodka choices since it was well vodka or Grey Goose and I don't want either - just a middle road is ideal. I was glad a friend later said I am not alone is loathing Grey Goose and a lot of the supposedly higher shelf vodka's - weird after taste for those of us who actually like tasting our alcohol but a nice mid ground too. Also, I hear the upstairs is neat too but alas, that is a long stair way up - like a lot of the older buildings in Portland, those of us who are not able bodied and have yet to master levitation cannot do it. I had a great time at the Meow Mixer last week an look forward to more events in this space though!

Fun bar & went to support & watch drag queens & kings…read more They also have game consoles to play video games Do not order the food it was not goood however drinks are severely strong but delicious

I learned about this museum from an article I read and had this placed bookmarked for ever. It's…read moredefinitely worth a visit. Their collection of vacuums is really quite stunning. I asked and most of them have been acquired through donation. I found the history of vacuums really interesting. It was remarkable to see how the very first vacuum is still reflected in our current vacuum use, the Bissell. Visiting this museum is also free so absolutely no reason to pay them a visit. **NOTE: if you try to find this place on google it will try to take you to NE19th street. This is incorrect and the address on Grand is the correct one. Instead of typing into your gps Stark's vacuum museum, just type in Starks vacuums.

No longer here but, as it turns out, a better use of the space than a disco Instagram bakery…read moreflorist that was only open about half the time. This room simply held old vacuums and lasted about five times as long as the shop that followed. It required a base level of Portland knowledge to know why the city valued weird old vacuums it could stare at for free over $17 bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches it was asked to stand in line for.

Drive by Colonel Summers park on Belmont on the right day or a few other select Portland spots…read morewhere hipsters are likely to converge in the pursuit of alternative leisure and you'll catch a glimpse of America's newest and most insane sport--Bicycle Jousting. Mostly driven by riders of tall bikes (think someone who has welded an extra bike frame on top of their already tall bike) the bike jousts run like what you would imagine bike jousts to be. Two guys hurtling at each other carrying long poles usually with something soft on the end--a pillow or stuffed animal. What's especially interesting is that unlike their Medieval predecessors, these jousters aren't competing for territorial dominance but rather just for the fun of it. I'm sure that Bike Jousting is sweeping the nation but I like to think of it as being particularly Portland. And just a little bit crazy.

Ava Genes was incredible. A unique and intimate dining experience with amazing service and…read morefantastic food. Beatrice was our server and they provided excellent service from seating us to bringing us our bill. They were a complete delight. I consider myself a foodie and this was a top-tier dining experience I had a pasta with fennel sausage filling, great size and delicious My dining partner had a pasta with clams which was also extremely good. I only got one bite. We shared a beet salad with pistachios and Clementine oranges huge flavor, fresh and delicious. I am a connoisseur of pate. We had a chicken liver mousse with a variety of bread so delicious. And tiramisu all I can say is Ava Genes has the best tiramisu in Portland hands down. The tables around us ordered different things and everything looked delicious I cannot wait to return.

Great atmosphere - cozy yet bustling, refined yet rustic. Alas, 2.5 hours and $200+ later... it's…read morestill just pasta. Not the best you can get in Portland by a mile, especially at its price point, and not the worst. Just an incredible time and money suck. Even with lots of encouragement up front to order everything at once, there's a LOT of downtime - so much so that it leans on neglect, forcing you to desperately toss any impression of a request their way without the courtesy of a second pass at the menu, let alone thoughtful council. Don't order anything by the glass and expect to see it refilled promptly. That said, service is friendly and thoughtful - one of a very few places that seems to pay attention to reservation notes. I wouldn't say it's necessarily worthy of a 20% auto-gratuity, much less a tip above that, but at least the few people working there are well paid.

Another Portland landmark when it comes to signage. This is an iconic sign and you see it in films…read moreand tv shows and such when the setting is in this particular city. Portland is indeed a weird place and that is one of the reasons that I love it so much. It's quirkiness and art oriented drive is the "weirdness" I am referring to which makes this sign highly relatable to me. Anything that can make you lovably eccentric. Of course there is the weird element where it can delve into creepy but most people can flesh out as to what is purposeful and with intent as opposed to the opposite. I consider myself to be a weirdo and people have accused me of just that throughout my life and it's something I learned pretty early on that it's a thing to be embraced rather than treating our uniqueness and eccentricities ( the harmless kind) as a crutch, burden or handicap. I remember when I was a fairly new transplant to the Pacific Northwest there was a friendly rivalry that I would hear off and on as to what was the weirdest city in America. Austin, Texas and Portland were neck to neck and from what I heard Portland won out but of course I haven't been to Austin in a very long time and before I ever heard of the rivalry so maybe down there they say they are the victors. I may find out when I go there later this Spring. But for me seeing this sign whenever I come across it is an enduring thing and I feel like I am with my tribe... both in Portland and the Pacific Northwest.

This is located right across the street from Voo Doo Donuts. The sign is pretty cool. There's…read morealways cars parked there so not sure how some folks get photos without any cars. Still, worth checking out when you're in downtown.