Portland

We loved Portland! We went down the day before the wedding so that we could have some time to check out the city, and it was well worth it. Our hotel was right downtown, and the core of the city is so convenient and walkable, it's amazing. The streets are all quite narrow, and the blocks are really short, so what looks like a long walk on a map is really just a quick jaunt. We ate some great meals - huge portions! - and visited lots of neat shops in some very cool neighborhoods.

For some dumb reason I wasn't really on my photography game, but here are a few. The first four are from the Lan Su Chinese Gardens. It's such a beautiful oasis in the centre of Chinatown. I'm so glad we went in, though I've never even been to the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden here in Vancouver.

This picture is taken looking back at downtown from the Burnside Bridge. Portland is a city of bridges; it makes Vancouver look skimpy. Also a city of cyclists. Almost every street has a full bike lane, and there are bike racks everywhere!