After the long drive yesterday, we wanted to spend a low-key day today in Portland. No agenda - just mope around the city. We went to a Brunch place called Bijou Cafe. As we were walking there, we noticed a long line of people outside a store. We later found out that it was Voodoo Doughnuts - and apparently, it is wildly popular with both locals and tourists. So even after a big brunch at Bijou, we decided to try out this place to see what the fuss is about. I don't remember how long we waited but I would say at least 1/2 hour. I picked up 3 doughnuts: (1) Mango Tango, (2) Maple Bacon Bar, and (3) Voodoo Doll. Verdict: All Gimmick.... maybe except for the Maple Bacon Bar, which actually tastes weird but good. The Mango Tango is too sweet for my taste and the Voodoo Doll is definitely a gimmick. It is shaped like a voodoo doll, with a pretzel stick at the heart & raspberry filling (as blood I guess).
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| Maple Bacon Bar from Voodoo Doughnuts |
Portland's so-called Chinatown is a huge disappointment. There was nothing there other than a handful of Chinese shops. Streets were empty... they don't even attempt to make this place touristy. We spent 10 minutes there and dashed.
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| Portland's Chinatown Gate |
After cruising in the car around town for a little bit, we ended up at Portland's Washington Park - Portland's version of the Golden Gate Park. Inside Washington Park, there are bike trails, museums, the zoo, and the International Rose Test Garden. The rose garden here puts GGP's rose garden to shame. This place is sooooo big! There are over 550 different species of roses here - categorized by tea roses, hybrid roses, fragrant roses, climbing roses, etc. I find joy in looking for the names of the roses...some are really cute. The roses were of course spectacular to look at... This place was also FREE, which made it even nicer. SQ decided to take a nap on the bench in the shade. I must say that it is one of the best places in the world to take an afternoon nap.
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| International Rose Test Garden |
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