Theres quite a bit to cover since we haven't had a chance to properly report from Portland yet. Firstly, Obama won (in case you didn't already know) so we had a party on Tuesday night. That was fun, luckily for the sake of peace and solidarity the house was only represented by Democrats. Shockingly as well as amusingly the other half of Americans did not seem to take the re-election news so well as Facebook etc. was immediately flooded with some pretty ridiculous commentary. Anyway, we were all very pleased with the outcome. Cheap wine ($2.99 for a bottle of locally produced red) and Minttu was flowing and we also filled the table with some pretty amazing mini tacos found in the frozen isle and home made guacamole.
A few words about Portland in general as I dare to say that most Europeans have zero clue what the state/city is really known for. We came here knowing nothing, which was good in a way that we also didn't have any pre-assumptions what to expect. Turns out, Portland is THE hipster capital of America. It's obvious immediately when you step your foot outside. Organic, vegan, vegetarian this and that, recycled everything (not even plastic bags in any grocery stores) no giant food corporations like Walmart anywhere in the city, cycle lanes everywhere..And along with all this of course come the hipsters themselves. In terms of the food culture, alternative thinking is reflected there as well. There are no famous American food chains (Chilli's, Applebee's etc) and instead, the city is packed with one of the coolest things we have seen so far; food carts and food trucks, which offer dirt cheap, amazing authentic quality food from around the world. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE shit American chain food, but no doubt will i be getting that more than enough once we hit the road next week.
One of the many streets packed with food carts
We ended up experimenting Thai food, which did not disappoint. This giant pile of green curry fried rice only cost $5 and easily fed 2 people
Post-election hangover lunch in a local pizzeria. $2.50-$3 a slice
Last night, instead of hitting bars/drink, which we could not have handled, we decided to catch a movie in an AWESOME movie theater you have not seen before. This place was an old elementary school from the early 1900s that had been turned into a hotel/entertainment complex. Class rooms had been turned into tiny bars with lots of character as well as into rooms for people to stay in.
Theres a number of places that this company has done similar things to, located in both Oregon and Washington. We will really try to stay in one of them before leaving Oregon. Definitely won't be finding anything like it anywhere else.
Here's a link to that company's website that does all the conversions: http://www.mcmenamins.com/
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