Portland Day 3: Paintings, Peregrinations and Pigeons in Portland

We started the day with a breakfast pizza baked by my own hands in our rental apartment. Okay, the oven caught on fire, but let's not go there!

A glass piece and the reflection playing inside of it being made

I did a little shopping at Goodwill: umbrellas (as it was supposed to rain heavily) and a rolling pin and measuring spoons since there were none here at the vacation rental property. I tried to find a pizza pan and a pizza cutter, but even at Goodwill, no luck. Maybe those items are in high demand.

From there it was the LAST of my Christmas shopping at Pier 1 clearance tables. Hint to those who haven't figured it out:I start my Christmas shopping in January when it's all on sale and try to finishe most of it by August. There's always a few last minute details, but this method saves time, money and lotsa stress. 

By the time I got back to the apartment, it was raining, so Paul had a great idea for an indoor treat: the Portland Museum of Art. We spent a nice afternoon wandering amongst the various exhibits which ranged from the Orient to Northwest and Native American, 20th century Europe, modern art and photography by the likes of Ansel Adams, Edward and Brett Weston, and a whole lot else in between.

Paul loves this exhibit called Western Motel.

Another of his favorites. The figures are all black and white except for the two in the bottom buildings.

I was impressed with this silver engraving that had actual carved hair.

Flavin light sculpture

Miro interpretation of a female figure

Paul loves this painting. He says, "everyone including the dog has their eyes closed."

Le Petit Chat by Toulouse Latrec. He did this at age 18.

Paul loves this one also entitled the Little Baker

A Chinese incense burner

These very old Chinese carvings are a delight. Paul liked the long sleeves.

Shiva, Lord of the Dance. Some Irishman is going to be very disappointed.

Ganesh, the Lord of Obstacles

I don't know what's better. The statues or the shadows.

We walked past this on the way to the art museum. It's a Mexican restaurant and the first place Paul ever ate in Portland.

The art museum was a lot of fun. The rain slowed down and we were able to walk back to Irvington.  On the way, we of course stumbled into a microbrewery!

Tugboat brewery on Ankeny

Ankeny IPA, Chernobyl Porter, Hoppy Jalopy

Say cheese

The waitress knew nothing about beer and there was no sampler, but it tasted good anyway.
From here, we meandered back "home" until time for dinner at one of our favorite Portland establishments, Le Pigeon.

These folks often cook foods I would never tackle, like beef tongue and rabbit, but they manage to make it all so delicious. We went with the tasting menu. Small portions, big taste!

Cocktails at Doug Fir, nearby while we waited for our table

Appetizer of steak tartare with squid

Rabbit pie with mustard ice cream

Poached local black cod.

Seared duck breast on duck confit and fennel with shaved mushrooms

Foie gras profiterole. I couldn't eat more than two bites. Talk about rich!

The kitchen at Le Pigeon. In plain view which is typical of Portland restaurants.

 As Paul said, 90% of the world would kill to trade places with us and that includes alot of people in the US. We are so fortunate. Now you see WHY we walk 10 miles a day. We can keep the calories down at home, but heaven knows how many these chefs include per meal!

We walked home for obvious reasons and got to see a bread factory in motion. This is not only a tribute to bread and baking, but this was a mechanical engineering wonder. We had so much fun outside just watching it happen. We couldn't believe how many loaves of bread and how many English muffins in particular were rolling off these conveyors.

An overview of the factory with the English muffins whizzing by

Multigrain bread emerging from the ovens.

Franz bread since 1906

Overall, another day we cannot really complain about. It rained off and on, but that just added to the essence of being in Portland.

Paul's Ponderings:  A lazy but interesting day....started slow, but we went to the art museum to see some old favorites and new items, plus got a bit of walking in along the way.   It did not rain as much as we thought it would, which was great.   Another visit to Le Pigeon, a small but stunning restaurant, to finish the evening.   If and when we spend more time here, we can't eat like this every night, but it sure is great for now.   Tomorrow it is off the the coast, including Garibaldi, Tillamook, and some capes.