Portland is one of those cities that I’ve always wanted to visit but never did because of its close proximity. It just seemed too easy to get to, so i never wound up going. But when Southwest had a deal that included $40 flights, it just seemed like the right time to finally go.
I flew up this past October with my boyfriend. We both went with the expectation that it would be a pretty weird place since that’s how the city brands itself, but we were both pretty underwhelmed in the weird department. As people who live close to San Francisco, “weird” was nothing new to us.
It was Halloween weekend, after all.
With that being said, the city was absolutely beautiful. We went in early fall so the leaves had already began to change color and fall to the ground. This is the thing that the Pacific Northwest has on the Bay Area. The views are just incredible if you’re someone who appreciates nature.
After a bit of hiking, we decided to try the infamous “Voodoo Doughnuts.” It’s one of the first things you think of when you think of Portland as it’s all anyone seems to talk about. There was an extremely long line when we walked in which was fine because it gave us time to decide which flavors we wanted to try.
We wound up getting an assortment of crazy flavors including Butterfinger. Maybe it was just me and i wasn’t very hungry, but the doughnuts really weren’t that great. At home, i live near a mom and pop donut shop that makes a delicious assortment, so Voodoo paled in comparison to those. The flavor wasn’t great, they were overly sweet, and they were hard and crunchy. Ick.
Once i got the bad taste of Voodoo out of my mouth, i wanted cheese. Luckily i had just heard about Cheese and Crack via Buzzfeed, so i had to give it a try. The brie brulee had me sold. We walked in to the tiny cheese shop and ordered a platter with extra bread. Everything was delicious and it lived up to its hype. My boyfriend and I filled up on cheese and waddled our way back to our hotel.
Overall, Portland was great. It was similar to the Bay Area in a lot of ways, just greener. As someone who loves the city life and the mountains, i would definitely consider calling Portland home one day.