Washington Park, Part 3 - International Rose Test Garden

Just steps downhill from the Japanese Garden is the International Rose Test Garden. The 5 acre hillside garden was established in 1917 and is used as a testing ground for new varieties of roses. This city-maintained garden bestows awards on each year's best roses. The variety of colors and types or roses were amazing and made for a very pleasant stroll through the row after row of roses.

Washington Park, Part 2 - The Japanese Garden

Located slightly further downhill from Pittock Mansion is the 5 1/2 acre Japanese Garden. There are actually five different gardens each with a different style and feel. It is one of the most authentic Japanese Gardens outside of Japan. The entire garden was very peaceful and well worth a visit.

Washington Park, Part 1 - The Pittock Mansion

We spent most of today in Washington Park high in the hills overlooking Portland. Our first stop was the Pittock Mansion almost 1,000 feet above sea level. This French Renaissance mansion was build in 1914 by the founder of The Oregonian newspaper. It featured such modern conveniences as multiple shower heads in the bathrooms and a build-in vacuum system. There are great views of downtown Portland, and on a clear day, Mt. Hood. It was clear in town, but clouds obscured Mt. Hood. The interior was lovely, furnished in the style of the era in which it was built. The grounds were nicely landscaped with small gardens intermixed with grassy areas.

V. Q.

Veritable Quandary, or V. Q. as it is known to the locals, was our dinner destination last night. Based in an old historic building, the decor is dark woods and brick walls. The restaurant was very busy at our 8:00 PM reservation time, so we got to enjoy a glass of Pinot Noir in the bar area while we waited on our table. We opted for inside seating, but the lovely outdoor patio seemed to be a favorite for many diners.

For starters we shared a Rabbit Pate with grilled brioche. It was very tasty especially when spread on the brioche. Where can we find a good brioche in Tampa or St. Pete? Frank selected the Braised Short Ribs for his main course. This had a nice hint of cinnamon and was served with onions and potatoes. The meat was fall off the bone tender with a lot of rich flavor. I opted to get away from my meat fixation of the past few days, and selected the Alaskan True Cod with lump Dungeness crab on top. This large filet of light, flakey fish was pan fried with a nice light crust and served over spinach, fingerling potatoes, roasted corn, basil pesto and creme fraiche. Both entrees were delicious. We shared a plumcot cobbler with a johnny cake topping and served with buttermilk ice cream. We left very satisfied but full. Fortunately we were able to walk back to the hotel to burn off a few of the calories.

Thanks Carol for this great recommendation.

In Vino Veritas

In wine, truth. And the truth is that we visited only five, count them, five wineries today on our tour of Willamette Valley. We had pre-booked a personal wine tour with Mike of Wine Tours Northwest so neither of us would have to drive during a day of wine tasting. We wanted to visit three wineries recommended by Carol and her daughter, Sarah. Mike was one of only a couple tour companies that would let us pick our wineries. He also suggested a fourth winery when we initially booked, then we added a fifth as we were touring today. In order of our visit we stopped first at Dobbs Family Vineyard, one of Mike's suggestions which ended up being our favorite. Next was Argyle which Sarah recommended for their sparkling wines. We agree that their sparkling wines were better than their still wines. Mike took us to lunch at Farm to Fork, a small restaurant that locally sources their ingredients. We both enjoyed our lunches especially the brioche bread used for our sandwiches. The next winery was our last minute addition, Stoller Vineyards with a very nice view overlooking the vineyards, (see photograph). The last two wineries were both recommended by Carol: Willakenzie and Penner Ash. Both were very good.

Willamette Valley is noted for their great Pinot Noirs, and we sampled many of them today. But we also found some nice un-oaked Chardonnays, a Grenache Blanc, and a Gamay Noir.

We had a great time and Mike was very knowledgeable about the wineries, the wine makers, and the area. Oh, and we bought a few bottles to ship home. No surprise there, eh?

Am I on the Tiber or the Willamette?

Where am I? I might be in Portland or I might be in Rome. Hmmm. What I do know is that dinner tonight was at Piazza Italia in Portland, but it could just as easily been in Rome. This lively and very busy Italian eatery in the Pearl District is a wonderful find. As you can see from the photo the restaurant is adorned with Italian soccer jerseys. Even better I was able to practice a bit of Italian as all the staff speaks Italian. What fun, I say!

The food was great, very authentic. We shared an antipasti plater for our first course. It included a nice variety of salumi, olives, and provolone cheese. For Frank's main course, he ordered the Linguini Squiarcerella. The excellent sauce contained pancetta, eggs, onions, Parmesan, cream, and pepper - great flavors. For my main course' I continued my fascination with meat, especially meat that we don't see on menus in Tampa or St. Petersburg. Tonight I had Pappardelle con Cinghiale, or wild boar, prepared like a bolognese sauce. I didn't ask where they got the wild boar, but I am thrilled they did. It was great! We both cleaned our plates.

We enjoyed a couple glasses of Italian Barbera wine, while we were waiting on our table and with our meal. Carol and Sarah, reservations are strongly recommended.

Photo Op

The First Congressional Church, reflected in the windows of the Oregon History Museum, with me and Frank in the bottom of the photo.

Art, Food and History

Day 2: Today has been a day of art, food, and history, in that order. We started our day at the Portland Art Museum with a wonderful multi-century permanent collection. It is a relatively small and manageable museum covering two adjacent buildings, one being the old Masonic Temple. The museum has at least one work from every well known artist from the French Impressionist era, including a recently acquired early Van Gogh which was just put on display. Lucky for us, I say! Another period which we both enjoy is American Impressionism and the museum has a number of wonderful works by Childe Hassam. And for our friend Paul, we saw an Elsworth Kelly in the Contempoary section. We really enjoyed our visit to this museum and we were impressed with the depth of their collection.

Next up, lunch at the old Portland landmark, The Heathman Restaurant. We both ventured outside our usual food comfort zone, as broad as that can be. Frank ordered Beef Cheeks, which was very tasty and rich. I enjoyed Braised Oxtail served with Yukon Gold Gnocchi, a really nice combination filled with flavor. I guess we have become part of the "Snout To Tail" movement.

Our final stop this afternoon was the Oregon History Museum. The permanent exhibit, titled Oregon, My Oregon after the state song, followed the history of the state from early Native Americans to the current time. It was well presented and very interesting.

A Carafe of Wine

Last evening we rode the free streetcar a few stops and walked two blocks to Carafe Bistro, a cute little French bistro with a zinc bar and traditional wicker chairs. We shared a 1/2 bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir and we both opted for the $25 prix fixe menu. I had a wonderful chilled heirloom tomato soup with a dollop of crabmeat in the center, followed by a nice Roasted Leg of Lamb (pictured here) with, aioli, beans and a mixture of sautéed onions, red bell peppers and mushrooms. Frank started with a very tasty Swiss Chard Gratin followed by the Sole Normand in a delightful cream sauce. We both enjoyed our dinners. Our dessert was Chocolate Pots de Creme, a rich chocolatey dessert served with candied walnuts. We recommend Carafe Bistro.

I have mentioned the free streetcar a couple of times, but it is more than just a streetcar. The public transportation in the entire greater downtown area is free, what they call the "Free Ride Zone". What a concept! The primary purpose is to reduce traffic congestion in the downtown area. This appears to be very successful based in our walk yesterday.

Our plans today include the Portland Museum of Art and the Oregon History Museum, both a short ride via streetcar from our Marriott Residence Inn/Riverplace hotel. (Thank you Carol, for the recommendation.)

That's all I'm Saying.

Welcome to Portland

Day 1: We took the FREE streetcar from our hotel to Pioneer Square in the Downtown District. This was followed by a walking tour of the immediate area including this landmark old theatre. It is a beautiful day in Portland.