Our main goal in visiting Portland was to visit family–my cousins and their boyfriends. We even lucked out in being able to stay with one set, which was awesome. We were there for 3 nights and spent most of it hanging out, taking walks, and being goofy. We did get a bit of Portland in, however. Day 1 we arrived late and took a walk around part of Mt Tabor Park, which backs up tot their house. Day 2 we drove over to Pittock Mansion which overlooks the city and has great views. Built in 1914 for an influential Oregonian family, the grounds are free and you can pay for an inside tour. We stuck to the outside for the views.

From Pittock Mansion (and elsewhere in Portland) you can see several mountains, including Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens (pictured above). I loved seeing the snowy tops!

After taking in the views, we went to the Salt & Straw, a famous Portland ice cream shop with crazy flavors. DH and I couldn’t decide, so we both went with an ice cream flight! Alcoholic flights are fine, but an ice cream flight is amazing! 4 kid sized scoops of icecream-wowzers!

Look at those ice cream flavors. We tried sea salt and caramel ribbons, almond brittle with salted ganache, double fold vanilla, chocolate gooey brownie, coava coffee & cocanu craque, cinnamon snickerdoodle, strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper and freckled woodlock chocolate. My cousin got Petunia’s cookies & cream with raspberry swirl, so we tasted hers too. I also had a little taste of the honey lavender. They were all amazing.

After all that ice cream it was time for….lunch! Well, at least to pick up lunch at one of the food trucks and take it home. One place had tons of poutine and topped fries. We didn’t eat there, though the palak paneer fries fascinated me and I wish someone in our group had gotten them so I could try them.

We ended up eating at Tahrir Square, which boasted Egyptian Cuisine–though we agreed it was more generic Middle Eastern, then specifically Egyptian. Yummy, though. Kids both love shawarma and DS is crazy for hummus.

That afternoon we did a photo shoot in the park. One of my cousins is a photographer as well, so we took photos of each other and of our families so we could be in photos, too! Always a fun bonus to get to be in shots as well.

Next day we did Saturday Market downtown, but I didn’t take photos as it was a bit drizzly. I was so impressed with the food choices, though! I got a caprese panini made fresh in front of me with a side of grilled asparagus with shaved asiago cheese. YUM! Kids were happy with pizza 🙂 Tons of cute little stalls and we got one of our moms her Mother’s Day present! shhhhh…..

In the afternoon, we went over to our other cousin’s house to meet her cat and see her place. Her cat hadn’t seen little kids before. DD3 knows how to be patient and quiet with pets and they got along. DS1 adores cats, but more in the shrieking and running at them method–which was not as appreciated!

Sunday we saw a couple friends for a great brunch, played, packed up, and headed to the airport hotel for a very early flight out. I adored Portland and would love to go back and spend more time sightseeing. I love the funky vibe, the focus on nature and being green, and how fun walking around was. Highly recommend!