Powell’s City of Books was the number one destination on our Portland to-do list. The bookstore is another iconic sight to see in the city and one that could take you hours, even days to get through! Locals and tourists are not exaggerating when they claim it’s a small city within itself.
The bookstore is made up of three stories and a variety of rooms ranging from The Rose Room, the Green Room, the Purple Room, etc. depending on the genre of books. Powell’s sells new books and old, which is great for people on a budget. You can get a souvenir for your loved ones without breaking the back!
My friends and I spent three hours exploring Powell’s, which wasn’t enough, so we also came back our last day to finish some last-minute exploring. Our favorite part was the Rare Book Room on their top floor. The oldest book they have is written in Armaic and Armenian and is more than 500 years old! Another interesting book we found was from 1674. It was a book based on the laws of the crown in England during the years when witchcraft was a severe crime that you could lose your life over.
Lunch was had at an Italian eatery where they make their own pasta: Grassa. I had a zesty Lemon Chitarra, which consisted of handmade linguini, lemo, pesto and zucchini.
The Portland Saturday Market was next on our list! The market is full of lots of artwork, handmade soaps, puzzles, crafts and the infamous Portland food trucks with a variety of foods from empanadas to elephant ears (which are a type of pastry). Live music was played and children were playing in the miniature fountain, so it was a fun family-friendly sight. A walk along the adjacent Tom McCall Waterfront Park near the Wilmette Rier was amazing. There was a beautiful view of the city’s steel bridges and some fall colors peeping through in the park.
A lesser known spot on our list was the Multnomah County Library because it was nearby. It’s an old building with high ceilings and cool staircases, but we were in and out in 10 minutes. We kept comparing everything to Powell’s and the County Library just didn’t live up to the mark!
Rocket Fizz is another store I recommend for cool and sweet candy and soda souvernirs! It’s near the county library too and so is Maya’s Mexican tacqueria, for some filling but mediocre Mexican eats.
At the AirBnb we had a free fireworks show right out of the window out of nowhere! There wasn’t an event, but the fireworks were awesome and similar to 4th of July or New Year’s fireworks. According to other Uber drivers, they must have been due to a new store opening. Whatever the reason we were enjoying Portland’s randomness and originality 🙂
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My_Endeavors 
Very interesting and beautifully written. Like the visuals of the books as well. Great tips. Keep the great work and look forward to reading many more. Happy travelling ✈️
Thank you! And I look forward to readers like you 🙂