My thoughts on Portland; if Boulder, Denver and Burlington, VT. all had a love child it would be named Portand.  The vibe is very relaxed and hippiesque like Boulder, but the city size and nieghborhoods are more like Denver, and the highways and lush landscapes are similiar to Burlington.

We arrived late Saturday night and have been graciously hosted by Jonas and Suzy (cousins) right outside of metro Portland.  They have taken or lead us to all of the best neighborhoods in the city. Of course, as with any city the day is planned around meals and the down time is spent exploring the neighborhoods between each restaurant.  We have sampled Moonstruck truffles, Voo Doo Donuts, blue cheese and pear ice cream, the many food carts and of course beers! With all of the food we also fit in Maltnomah falls hike too.

My wise cousin once told me that Portland is the preschool city of the Northwest, Seattle is the middle school and Vancouver is the high school.  Tomorrow we graduate and head to middle school (Seattle) by train.