Portland
Today started late, which is probably for the best because it ended late too. We skipped breakfast, and lunch was on our mind when we wandered into Portland. The tourist-friendly Pioneer Courthouse Square has one of those slightly kitch signposts with distances to various places across the world (including the supert-kitch "TIPPERARY - A LONG WAY"), and while looking at that, a friendly man from the tourist office came and gave us a map and some advice.
We got distracted from following his lunch advice however, and our noses led us to Romano’s Macaroni Grill, where we had really excellent pasta.
Sated, we went exploring — using a route that took in the hotel, so Debbie could change into a top that didn’t have sauce spilt on it.
- The cultural district on Park Street, with its farmer’s market
- Coffee at Coffee People on Park St. — the "depth charge" filter coffee with two espressos in it got me buzzing for the rest of the day.
- Powell’s City of Books — claiming to be the biggest new and used bookshop in the country "if not the world". It’s big… Americans do have quite a tendency to assume that the biggest thing in America is also the biggest in the world. An article in one of Portland’s local rags was about a videogames expo; the biggest in the USA. "I don’t know why it isn’t the biggest in the world", wrote the reporter, "I can’t see this kind of thing being all that popular in Burkina Faso".
Among the political books in Powell’s was one written by a neo-con Fox News presenter, including a chapter which began: "Belgium: if it was gone, would anyone miss it?".
- The very good "Everyday Music" for some CDs (Clem Snide’s "A beautiful EP", because we saw one of them supporting Ben Folds, and The Sea and Cake’s "Two Gentlemen", because Amazon keeps recommending it to me and it was $5)
This is on West Burnside St., named after ferocious The Bill character, GLC rapper and prodigious commenter on this diary, DCI Burnside.
- A second hand clothes shop run by a rather camp man, who was aghast that we’d subjected ourselves to the Midwest, with its awful, awful small minded people — which now I come to think of it is quite small minded and insular in itself. He was very very helpful and full of advice about the Oregon Coast. Debbie bought some silver glittery shoes, which she’s not sure when she’ll wear. "Put them on a table and make an art project of them", suggested the owner.
- While ambling back to the hotel, half an eye open for a drink, the funky Diamond Dogs clothes/shoes shop, with a 50% off relocation sale. Debbie got two pairs of Converse pumps for less than one pair would have cost at home. I got some fancy new DMs — Laura claims they’ll be fashionable again soon, and my feet are still the right shape for them from last time around. The experience was marred only by one slightly surly cashier, and the fact you had to ask for and pay for a bag.
Portland has a lot in the way of public art and statuary. Portlandia is the "second largest hammered copper statue in the world", after the Statue of Liberty. To be perfectly honest things drop off severely after no. 1. The trompe l’oeil on two sides of the Oregon History Centre is quite convincing from certain angles. I took some convincing that the windows on the left and right are not real.
After a very little rest in the hotel, we decided on the great American tradition of dinner and a movie. We had left it too late to see The Calamari Wrestler in the Clinton Street Theatre, out of town, and decided to wing it after dinner. Dinner ended up being at a rather swish brasserie, where a middle of the road jazz duo accompanied our shared platter of pates, my salmon and Debbie’s steak pasta.
We proceeded to visit every cinema in downtown Portland, twice — the first one wasn’t showing anything we fancied. The second one had nothing starting for over an hour. The third one was just the same. We ended up at the second one, bought tickets for The Island at 10:00, and sat down with some local free papers to kill some time — shops were closing by now.
The Island is very silly, but you can’t fault the adrenalin rush from the action scenes — all hectic cutting and motion blur and sparks and twisting metal. The digital effect whereby they make Scarlett Johanssen’s lips look three times bigger than the rest of her head is clever too. It’s a little cruel how they tease the viewer with the prospect of S.J. in a kinky nurse uniform, only to deny you at the last minute… and surely Steve Buscemi’s character wouldn’t have actually passed up that opportunity? Motivation and characterisation, people. Come on!
It made a change to be out on the streets after midnight, and for other people to be around — not many of them, it was Wednesday after all, but a few, and making some noise. Tired, we went straight to bed, this diary postponed til the morning.