Beautiful Afternoon in Portland...

So I ended up not doing any of the things I mentioned in the below post because it turned out to be much too nice a day to spend inside. I ended up having lunch on a Portland Street at one of the many food carts that are popular and prevalent here. Had a yummy, yummy, gyro all wrapped up in foil that was piping hot when it was served to me complete with fork and napkin. I sat on a bench and listened to a couple fight behind me (I mean they were right behind me) about someone’s in-law. Fascinating! Called my friend Susan and explained how she really needed to move to Portland because she’d love it so and then I started making my way to Little China. On the way I stumbled across another bookstore! Can’t remember the name of it now, but it is totally used books and it starts with a C. Floor to ceiling books…heaven.

Made it to little China and took in the sites and the smells. This city is so fascinating, all the little nooks that may only encompass a street but seem to be chock-full of meaning and worth. After a slight unplanned detour to get a tad (teeny tiny bit) lost, I did find the beautiful Chinese Garden. So peaceful and amazingly beautiful…but I wasn’t too sure of my future. It said something like “Beware of an envious friend.” So if there are any envy-ers out there you should come forward now. Diane even met me there and we were able to experience this lovely piece of serenity together. We wanted to do tea at the tea house but they were just closing, but we did manage to get to the little gift shop where I bought a few things for some special people!

We walked back towards our hotel by way of the River Walk which was gorgeous. This was a simply amazing day.

From there we ate dinner at an Irish restaurant called Kells and made plans to come back there later for drinks and to listen to the live Irish Music!

And back we did come! We were there right around 9 and enjoyed Pat Buckley playing such favorites as Dirty Old Town, Spancill Hill, Irish Rover, Tim Finnigan’s Wake (at my request) and that Scottish song about how you should take the high road and I’ll take the low road…We even met someone from the conference and not a librarian! Kay is in audiobooks and was relaxing after a taxing evening of stuffing goodie bags. One unique thing about this bar was all the quarters wrapped in dollar bills stuck to the ceiling. We got to see a bar-tender do this trick but we never figured out if the collar had gum on it or what. Pat was really fun and he even had a friend come up and accompany him on the Irish Drum.

It started to rain while we were in the bar and it filled the whole place with a scent that was earthy and fresh and green all at once. I was glad I stowed my umbrella in my purse. Must not forget it tomorrow…We left and realized we’d have to run to get our train which we did and we got “home” safely.

Having a wonderful time bashing around the city but really looking forward to learning more during the conference. (And what ever happened to the Chocolate? Anna, we may have to figure that out sometime tomorrow…)

Pictures and links coming tomorrow...it's almost 3 my time so I have to go to sleep!!

PS: Diane says I should add that I've been carded twice since we've been here! ;)

Chinese Garden
Kells
Portland Food Carts
Cameron's Books