PORTLAND, OR

I grew up in the Portlandarea and have lived in Seattle when going to University. Two of my favorite cities. Have lived overseas Asia Latin America Europe for over 20 years but this is still my favorite place. Transportation is free in fareless square and the near central eastside across the river. Other transportation is inexpensive and quite accesible including the Max light rail system and extensive bus system. Taxis are quite reasonable. Waterfront Park on the west (downtown side) and the Eastside Esplanade give several miles of riverfront to enjoy. There are a number of less expensive hotels for $60-$100/ night for a double (2 queens or a king) such as the Jupitor Inn at the Convention Center Shilo Inn at the Rose Garden La Qinta and of course an EconoLodge all located on the near central eastside 5 minutes from downtown. Most of these offer both smoking and non-smoking rooms. Also the Hampton Inn at the airport gives up to 14 days free parking for guests who just stay for one night and are traveling outside of Portland for a trip of a few days to 2 weeks. A neighborhood not mentioned in the review is the Hollywood District just east of the LloydCenter/Irvington area. Sam's Hollywood Billiards (great food reasonably priced) The Hollywood Bowl (next to the Max station and the greatest taco salads in town) and the Art-Deco Hollywood Theater. Other old style theaters include the
Roseway on Sandy the Baghdad in the Hawthorne district the Laurelhurst and my favorite The Mission Theater on Glisan in NW Portland. All except the Roseway offer meals and alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages seved at your seating location. If biking hiking or walking are your forte then Portland is the place to be with the largest per capita green space of any medium to large sized city in the U.S. Most all of your arterial streets have designated bike lanes. Also see the Grotto Zoo Rose and Japanese Gardens. Fuller's Cafe in the Pearl is great