Just spent a few days in Portland, Oregon, and had a great time, but “coveting” is not a pleasant experience, I have to say. Anyway, Portland in July is so beautiful it’s kinda sick. The sun is bright, the air is clean, the breeze is perfect and everything is in full bloom. It’s like walking through a very convincing sales brochure designed to keep you there forever (with no hint of the less than perfect weather of fall/winter/spring).

CITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS: Portland is fairly condensed with it’s famous and smart urban planning. Outside of the downtown area is a whole host of connected neighborhoods, and each of these has a specific feeling and it’s own little commercial district. It’s actually easier to walk or bike than to drive, which makes the streets very active on a human level.

Portlander’s love their gardens in the summer!

LOCAL FRESH FOOD (and coffee!!) CULTURE: You wanna see some people freak out over food? Talk to a Portlander about coffee, or watch them all glaze over when talking about berries in the summer. Chef-owned unique restaurants are everywhere throughout downtown and mixed through the neighborhoods. Almost all of them pride themselves on using local fresh ingredients and tailoring the menu to what’s in season. And the Saturday Farmer’s Market is packed with people! You can even get authentic southern Chicken and Biscuits from fellow Raleighite, Walter Alexander at his Pine State Biscuits stand.

Saturday Farmer’s Market in Portland

TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS: Wow. I’m not a big city girl and figuring out a bus system or mass transit can be a little intimidating to me. Not so in Portland. The city grid itself is very easy to understand and on top of that, there is a great (and free) streetcar system downtown, a light rail system, and a bus system which are all used by the whole population. Cycling is hugely encouraged and supported through bike lanes and paths. There is even a skateboarding/skate route noted throughout downtown. AND they have Zipcar, cars that sit around in convenient places for you to reserve for an hour or longer and then just walk the block or two to where it is, hop in, and get where you wanna go.

Portland Skate Route

Portland Bike Crew watching an anti-Foie Gras protest

PARKS and RECREATION: There are big and small parks all over the city, some celebrate nature and big scenic views, some are restful, or for dogs, or fun for children, or for roses. Whether in the heart of downtown or in larger natural areas within cycling distance of the core, they are all well used. There are also street festivals and markets everywhere all summer long.

Enjoying the rock fountain at Jameson Park

Tanner Springs: quiet urban park with natural grasses and sustainable water features

EMPHASIS ON QUALITY OF LIFE: It’s a different vibe that as an east-coaster, I just find shocking. At least through my rose-colored glasses of a visitor, it seems like in Portland, yer not about “what you do” as much as yer about “what you did last weekend.” The emphasis is different. The competitive feeling is more about what kind of outdoor “gear” you own than your work status.

Green roof in Alberta Arts district

I’ll have a “things to do on your visit” post tomorrow, and then I’ll leave it alone

Public Art that’s gorgeous, AND with a purpose! “Green Energy Design” is an event hosted by Interni Magazine during Milan Design Week. “It focuses on the creative processes of a series of Italian and international design talents, through projects characterized by a highly experimental, multimedia approach, capable of transmitting design culture and expression to the city as a whole.”

The Solar Tree shown above is by Ross Lovegrove, with Artemide. “Solar Tree, doesn’t use energy but takes it from the sun, and is a sinuous tree made of steel tubes that support bubbles, each of them accommodating 38 sophisticated solar cells linked to a system of batteries and electronic devices hidden in the base. LED lighting. The bubbles light up at night thanks to the light accumulated by the solar panels by day.” Look at it! A beautiful and whimsical sculpture in an urban setting. YEA!

Ofigea, by Jacob Foggini, with Nice, is a giant centipede-like series of lit up discs. “It has a linear development of 55 m x 1.2 m dia (disc), 4 m high, and consists of hundreds of LED-lit discs in iridescent colours, made in methacrylate M-Cryl, a regenerated product, saving 70% of energy compared to a first-rate equivalent.” It symbolizes metamorphosis and regeneration…and it’s super cool.

See Interni Magazine for full details
Storry originally seen on MocoLoco.com

Mr. Simpson’s shop is on the corner of the site. We stopped in and were lucky enough to find him there working. You can only see his smaller pieces,the ones available for sale to the public, if he’s there at the shop to show them to you. There are not standard visiting hours or anything like that, so we felt lucky indeed. A neighbor and friend of Mr. Simpson’s came by while we were there because heneeded a piece of farm machinery welded for strength. So, we also got the pleasure of hearing all sorts of stories concerning the goings-on of the surrounding community.

Mr. Simpson is close to 90 years old, and continues to be incredibly prolific in both his art and his stories. He started working with metal and wind about 50 years ago, after returning from WWII. About 30 years ago, he started adding artistry and fantasy into his already functional wind devices.

Vollis Simpson’s whirligigs are now in museums and galleries around the country, and his Windmill Farm is listed as one of NC’s stops in Roadside America. He has been on 60 Minutes, PBS and lots of art or outsider art publications.

To find out more go to:
Science Museum of Minnesota (great overview of site and interview with Vollis)
Roadside America
Folk Art Magazine
Off the Map Travelogue, PBS

Pokadot stairwell. A celebration of Halloween near the Star Ferry, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

One of the weird things we saw was their approach to erosion control…just cement over everything…

We saw the sun go down from the top vista of the park. From that direction, the I.M. Pei Bank of China building steals the show.

We then trekked back down to Wyndham Street for another cocktail. A truly great spot to go for a drink and be in the thick of it while being outside of it at the same time is the rooftop terrace at The Fringe Club. It is only 3 floors up, so the skyscrapers surround you and make you feel like you are actually in a room with walls. It is also, different from the other bars of the area, which is to say it is completely unpretentious, complete with astro-turf and plastic chairs.

We ended the night in the Lan Kwai Fok district, which is an expat frat boy haven/heaven. 3 full streets where cars basically dont drive, and it’s all lined with bars open to the streets. We people-watched for a while, periodically commenting on how all those girls could possibly walk down the steep hill with 4-inch heels on. It was funny, because it seemed like the largest singles bar in the world…we saw the same people over and over again, as they just did laps around the streets. I think this sign says it all about the area. Hopefully you can read the subtext…I wont right it here cause who knows what kind of ads we’d end up with…