Please Come to Portland. NMC 302 Post #3

Portland has been on the hearts and minds of students all over the state due to a certain type of news coverage known to draw in the college-aged demographic. With Blazer playoff season in full-bloom, it seemed like a bad idea to write a travel blog on anything but the beautiful Rose City.

An article by Joel Odom from the Oregonian got me thinking about how badly I would like the Blazers to proceed, how proud I am to be from the city that hosts their competition, and how much I would like travelers to get to know it as well.

The ultimate reason I have heartily decided to feature Portland as my travel target in this week's post is because this entire week has been a constant race to the internet or television to find out the scores of the Blazer's playoff games (more on that later.)

Travel + Leisure recently created a profile for the city of Portland on it's website. Visiting it gives readers the options to discover, via the articles provided, the innumerable things to do and experience in this ever-growing-in-popularity Northwest river town. I always lose myself on the T+L magazine website because they do a wonderful job of not only profiling destinations (letting readers know the basic must-sees and -dos) but also always seem to encapsulate the beauty and charm that is unique to each place.

In using phrases like "This northeast Portland newcomer isn’t so much a restaurant as a regularly occurring, eccentric dinner party", "The small and celebrated Lower Burnside space is half civilized bistro and half culinary crack den" and "The sweet, redheaded, and tattooed Kir Jensen serves cupcakes from her cart of desserts" solidifies this trusty travel media outlet as a personal favorite.

The fact is, there is a lot of travel experience under my belt and I wouldn't take back a single one of those trips or visits to foreign lands- not a single one. However, it is by no means beneath me to say that as an Oregonian (officially from Salem-- but a long line of Dewitt relatives resides in Portland), travel to Portland is as vital as any other city.

Here are 3 solid reasons (one of too many) to regularly visit, according to me and Travel + Leisure:

food.

Every good trip needs good food. It's the source of energy that keeps us motivated to walk the streets of the unknown, or continue on to just one more shop so as not to miss a single important thing while we're here. Portland has choices that no other city offers. In the T+L article "Eating Through Portland". This is an entertaining and fun informational article that would get someone

living 1000 miles away to come to the Northwest. It is a good example of the language Portland locals would use to describe what's their's. It abundantly lays out twelve of the weirdest and coolest dining locations, of which I have chosen three:

Voodoo Doughnuts- Made famous from its cameo on "The Amazing Race," this snack location offers a glimpse into the pierced and tattooed urban locale.

Ned Ludd- "A small-scale, pure-hearted restaurant that has no stove." Enjoy quality time here, seriously.

Castagna- For some bonafied comfort food, Portland style.

The Saturday Market.

This is the Saturday Market that puts all Saturday markets to shame.

For me to try to describe the art, the food, the people, the culture

would be to insult it. It gives visitors a genuine sense of the city in a matter of hours, but please make sure and spend at least that. Any less time would not do justice.

The Blazers.

Portland Monthly Magazine and The Oregonian have done fine jobs of keeping readers (especially us readers too busy to sit down and watch entire NBA games) updated on scores and schedules. My heart is with them tonight as they battle the Mavs in Game 6. Come on, Portland!