Rob, myself and two other couples spent 3 fun-filled days in and around Portland. We explored, hiked, biked, drank and of course, ATE!
We arrived in the afternoon on a Thursday and headed straight to the International Rose Test Garden (ok just the girls went, the boys happily stayed back at the hotel after a long morning of travel). The rose garden was gorgeous. There are over 7,000 rose plants of approximately 550 varieties. Some of the roses were even two-toned, something I had never seen before. It was fun exploring and taking lots of pictures.
Admission to the Rose Garden was free, unlike admission to the Japanese Garden, (up the road), that was $10 per person. In my opinion, the Japanese Garden, albeit pretty and tranquil, was a little boring. I definitely preferred the roses!
That night we started off with some cocktails at Departure which was on the roof of our hotel, The Nines Hotel. There were great views of the city. After drinks, we headed to the Pearl District for the first of many great meals at Andina. It was so good, my second favorite dinner. (My favorite dinner was at The Barberry in Oregon’s Wine Country). We walked back to our hotel with a stop at 
Powell’s Books, a book store that spans an entire city block. It had more books than I had ever seen in any one store. It is said to have over 1,000,000 books! We spoke to the staff about the effect of e-readers and kindles, yet they were confident the book store would survive.
I think they are right. It was simply incredible and overwhelming.
We left the next morning, (after our free breakfast!) and headed to the spectacular Multnomah Falls. There we did a 6 mile hike and saw 8 waterfalls along the way. I actually posted about it when we were in Portland and you can read about our amazing hike and day here.
That night we tried to get into the oh so popular, no reservations accepted, Thai restaurant, Pok Pok for dinner, but the wait was about 90 minutes, huh? Instead, we dined at the sister restaurant, the Whisky Soda Lounge, which had the same legendary chicken wings. I personally thought they were too salty, but the food overall was good. Note, when I just did the google search for Pok Pok to get the above link, I saw that there is also a Pok Pok in New York and LA. Now, I feel better about the fact that we missed it in Portland. 
After dinner, we waited on line for 45 minutes at Salt & Straw (Division Street location) for ice cream. There were tons of fun flavors, like blue cheese and pear (my friend Wendi had this) and caramel corn on the cob. I am a mint chocolate chip girl (there was none), so for me, the flavors were a little too wacky. However, my friends loved their ice cream and again, there was a 45 MINUTE WAIT, so I guess I am in the minority.
Rise and shine early Saturday morning! At 6am, the six of us headed out to elude the lines at the original location of VooDoo Doughnuts. I posted about that while in Portland too. Read about that adventure here.
Since it was Saturday, it was the day of the Portland Saturday Market. This market is an outdoor arts and crafts market at the waterfront. It was huge with tons of vendors and food stands. I had tacos and Rob had a gyro. There was a vendor who made the most amazing pieces of art from gourds. There was also a stall that had the most creative headwear made from metal. 🙂
After a leisurely morning at the market, we headed to Cycle Portland for our Bike And Brewery Tour. We biked over one of the many bridges to the East Side and visited 2 breweries, Baerlic Brewing Co. and Base Camp Brewing Company. 
I preferred the second brewery, as it was more lively and happening. I took tiny sips of beer at each place. Many of them were too strong (for me). The guys seemed to be in their element.
Dinner that night was my least favorite, despite the favorable reviews. We ate at Caffe Mingo. The menu was limited, and the kitchen unaccommodating (in the beginning). However, I think everyone enjoyed their meals so I would give it another try if and WHEN I go back to Portland.
Unfortunately, we did not have enough Starwood points, and paid for this hotel. (Yikes!, but we do that sometimes). The upside is that I earned three (3) Starpoints on our stay because I am an SPG Gold member and upon checkout, I used my American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card to pay our hotel bill so I received two (2) additional Starpoints per dollar. I will earn a bunch of Starwood points on the stay!
We set out the next morning to for the Willamette Valley, aka the Oregon Wine Country.