Come with me to explore Portland!
Portland is Oregon’s largest city and is special for its vibrant culture, strong connection to nature, and unique urban features. It is a bustling metropolis that still manages to feel accessible and green, largely due to the Willamette River flowing through it and the proximity of vast, lush parks and wilderness areas. This blend of urban energy and natural beauty is what makes the city so appealing. For us, traveling from Pacific University it takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Portland via public transport, a journey that allows you to observe the landscape shift from suburban quiet to the dense, eclectic core of the city. While it is only a 40-minute drive, choosing public transport meant less stress about parking and a more relaxed start to what we knew would be a full-day trip.
Once we arrived, the city’s pulse was immediately evident. It was lunchtime, the perfect moment to dive straight into the local flavor. We started by visiting the Portland Saturday Market, a landmark cultural event along the riverfront. It was a riot of sights, sounds, and smells. The market was full of different foods to try, ranging from spicy international cuisine to comforting American classics.
Beyond the savory offerings, we encountered an incredible array of pastries, baked goods, and more fresh fruit and vegetables than I have ever seen, piles of vibrant produce stacked high, promising farm-fresh goodness. The air was filled with the sweet scent of flowers and the lively melodies of buskers. There was a real sense of community, a vibrant energy of people connecting over food, crafts, and music, which made it such a welcoming environment to be in. To fuel up for the day ahead, I tried a slice of pepperoni pizza from one of the vendors, which was delicious.
After soaking up the market’s atmosphere, we made our way to a landmark that is quintessential Portland: Powell’s City of Books. This isn’t just a bookstore; it is the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Its sheer scale is astonishing; it takes up a whole city block! Stepping inside felt like entering a literary labyrinth, a temple dedicated to the written word. Given its immense size, navigating it is an adventure in itself. We spent the majority of the afternoon inside the bookstore, which is easy to do because of how vast it is.
The internal structure is surprisingly well-organized; there are different colored sections and clear signage to help guide you, which were incredibly helpful. Honestly, I think I would have gotten lost very fast in there without them! Each room seemed to transition seamlessly into another world of genre and subject, from rare books to contemporary fiction. I could have spent an entire day just wandering the aisles, smelling the paper, and discovering forgotten titles. After making our selections—a process that requires considerable discipline to avoid buying every book in sight—we settled into the very nice café located within the bookstore. This was a wonderful opportunity to slow down, sip on a warm drink, and begin reading the books that we had just bought. This quiet, intellectual interlude was a very chill and restorative way to finish off our time there, marking a peaceful pause in our busy day.
When we finally managed to tear ourselves away from Powell’s, feeling refreshed and carrying heavier bags, we continued to walk around downtown Portland. The architecture and street art provided a constantly engaging backdrop. We came across a shopping centre, or “mall”. This shopping centre had a bunch of very high-end designer stores such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and others that cater to a different budget entirely. More importantly, and far more exciting for us, it had a three-story H&M and Zara. Of course, a detour was mandatory! We spent a good amount of time browsing the collections.
After our successful shopping expedition, we began making our way back toward the tram station to start our journey back to campus. It was on one of these final streets, as the day was winding down, that we spotted something truly special and unexpected: a huge, vibrant mural of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the side of a building. For me, as I am studying politics, seeing such a prominent and inspiring figure celebrated in street art was exciting and deeply interesting. It served as a powerful reminder of the city’s commitment to progressive values and public engagement with important figures and ideas. It was the perfect, reflective note on which to end a day that had been packed with culture, commerce, and community. Portland is certainly a city that rewards exploration, offering something unique around every corner.
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