Connections

Meet Franc

Franc and Lauren live at the guest house here in Portland as she and Franc are relocating to Portland. They have been living in Alaska while Lauren has been completing her Masters in Creative Writing. She is originally from New Jersey. Her father's family lives in Asheville, NC and she spent many many years there as a child. She also attended UNCG - University of North Carolina - Greensboro.

Franc is originally from China. He and Lauren met at the Asheville Mall on Tunnel Road around Halloween of 2007 while she was visiting with her Dad and stepmother. Lauren found him irresistible. So there we were: Lauren, Franc and I, in the kitchen, at the guest house talking about Asheville, Mars Hill, Marshall and various other local Asheville places. She remembers when there was no 240 bypass. How about that for a connection?

Bikes in Portland

Bikes are a serious mode of transportation here in Portland. This photo is of a family on bikes taken at the Belmont Street Fair last weekend.

Man with bags on a bike

Bikes at the Belmont Street Fair

There was a wonderful street fair on Belmont Avenue last weekend. And of course there were bikes

More bikes at the hospital tram

Bikes at the hospital tram

Sunday Lunch in Chinatown

One of my most favorite Sunday brunch activities is to go to Chinatown. And there is a Chinatown here in Portland. There are beautiful Chinese style lamp posts and of course an arch.

Sunday Lunch in Chinatown

And yet in the middle of the city there are spiders

Who says there's no nature here in the city....

The elevators are wonderful

I haven't seen elevators like this since I lived in NY.

The elevators

It's all in the details

The buildings I am looking at were all built around the early 1900s, similar to my house in NY. So the details in the buildings are so reminiscent of the details in my Brooklyn Heights house. This is one of the light switches in the lobby of one of the buildings where I looked for a condo.

Condo hunting in Portland

I have been looking for a condo. Initially I thought I wanted to live in the 'burbs" and then thought again. I can live quite nicely in downtown Portland and WALK around, give up my car, and take public transportation. And when I need one I can use a zip car...remember that photo? A few photos back in the blog.

The bathroom in the condo I was looking at

Condo hunting in Portland

Condo hunting in Portland

Fire escape on a downtown building - view 2

Fire escape on a downtown building - view 1

I don't think I have ever seen such beautiful fire escapes anywhere.

Close up of a downtown building

The buildings here in Portland are so wonderful in their detail and patterns. They remind me of NY.

Detail of a Portland Building

The Zip Car

For me, the Zip Car is the best car since sliced bread....well...I know you can't drive a piece of bread...too much gluten...but these cars are amazing...Check them out on the web Zip Cars

Rose Buds in the Hell Strips

So, on my way home tonight, I saw this beautiful rose bud in the Hell Strip right there for everyone to smell. Sweet

Flamingo Guardians

These wonderful flamingos are the guardians for the tram that goes up to the hospital. The people who run the tram are very proud of them.

Shiney Leaves

What I notice here in Portland is that the leaves on all the trees are very clean and shiny. None of the leaves are stressed. It's pretty remarkable.

One Way

You know when you see lots of these signs you are in a big city...

Bacon Cooking at VoDoo

This is the hole in the wall...so you can see the folks making those delicious doughnuts...

VooDoo Doughnuts

For those gluten hounds in my life...there's this wonderful doughnut shop here in Portland. It's called VooDoo Doughnuts. A hole in the wall....it has some pretty amazing combinations. One of the most famous is the bacon and maple glaze...Yeah...I tasted that one...it was good...

And then there's Gumby...I think

You see the most amazing sights in Portland...Sure looks like Gumby to me....This is a video link so click on the arrow.

More Share It Square

Share It Square

Share It Square is a community space in SE Portland. It's a wonderfully peaceful square where you can find a book, something to wear and have a cup of hot tea. Check this link SHARE IT SQUARE for a wonderful review of the space...Says it MUCH better than I can.

Share It Square

The Guardians of the Gardens

New and Old collide

More Lotus

Lotus

Portland's Chinese Classical Gardens

Portland's Chinese Classical Gardens

I have been to the Chinese Classical Gardens here in Portland twice. It is a peaceful place that almost moves you to another place: China. But as you can see by some of my photos there are moments of contradictions where new meets old...and this time I got photos of the lotus blossoms.

Allan and I up high

My friend Allan came to visit while I was in Portland and we took the tram that goes up to the hospital. It has a wonderful view of the city.

A High View of Portland