Downtown

I always find the downtown section of big cities to be quite interesting and Portland is big enough to be included as one of the interesting cities of this country. There are lots of tall buildings and that’s what fascinates me. I can look at them and I know exactly how they were built.

Looking at the one across from our hotel, my imagination takes over and I can see beyond the polished glass and the stone and I see the skeleton, the steel framework, clad in the customary gray fireproofing. I even see myself working, measuring and snapping chalk lines for future walls on the concrete of freshly poured floors. I see electricians and plumbers; iron workers and glazers, all leaving their mark on the building.

But, come down from the building and wander the streets; now that’s fun! And that's what we did. We were on our way to make a dinner reservation at Pazzo Ristorante, a favorite of ours. With all of the people in town for the marathon, the best we could get was an opening at 4:30…or one at 8:15. We chose the earlier one. Afterwards, we stopped and had a coffee at Peet’s and the only chairs we could find, looked out onto the sidewalk and the passing scene. There are definitely some strange types to see; with hair in every color of the rainbow and with tattoos and piercings to stagger your imagination.