Drag brunch

On Sunday, I meet Charles and Karilla for drag brunch and the Night Lights Lounge. We got there early and dug into the food and coffee before the show which was very impressive. It is apparently the only drag show in Portland with transgender performers. I was extremely impressed by the stunts they did in some massive heels. 

On roller skates.

Great voice.

"Britney"

I wasn't sure what to expect from my first full drag show. It was impressive. I also saw more boobs and more nipple tape than I expected. (Charles said that it was the first time he had seen them doing all that as well so I went on a good day.) If you are in Portland, I highly recommend it.

After this I went to the OMSI, their science museum but I won't recommend it. I am a bit of a science museum snob and it is probably great for little kids but for teens onwards, it's not so interesting. The most "interesting" part was display showing foetuses in their different stages. It has completely put me off having kids.

I walked around town for a bit but then had another chilled evening. (The second week I had multiple mornings with 6-9am meetings so took the chance to catch up on some sleep where I could.)

Chinese Gardens and the market

On Saturday (feeling ever so slightly worse for wear thanks to the night before), I had a little lie in and went out to Saturday craft markets. The weather was amazing and there were so many stalls to look around. It is a really cool market.

The market extends out to the river. So I walked along it to get to the Chinese gardens.

There are also some Japanese gardens but the transport there was not obvious so I decided to go to the Chinese gardens instead which were walkable. 

It is only a city block but they designed it to make it feel much bigger. (I took a tour as well as wondering around on my own).

The floors had geometric patterns which reflect the yin and yang. And there is a large pond with bridges over it in many places. 

One of the many very cool doorways.

The tea house

Many fish.

One of the pagodas. 

The moon door.

I sat outside the tea house with a mug of oolong tea for quite some time, reading and watching the dragon flies. I drifted back to the hotel and grabbed some sushi for a late lunch (the sushi was so good). I was going to sit in Pioneer Square, a big public square not far from my hotel, but there seemed to be a protest going on. As I had seen on the news a riot which started as a protest and got a little out of hand only the week before, I decided against this, headed back to the hotel and chilled out (with a nap) and dinner out. 

Friday Night in Portland

On my first Friday night in Portland, Charles took me out to Crush (a very cool gay bar near him) and then for roof top drinks and a great view over Portland.

After this and some dinner, I got my first taste of Portland weird. First we tried to get into a club with Karilla, but they didn't except ID from any one not American. (They are getting a scathing Trip Advisor review!) So we headed elsewhere but I can't remember the name of the place. Anyway, I saw my first drag show.

Some was fun, some weird, and one was more than a little creepy (she was running around with a mask on and a knife). But it was good fun.

Willamette Valley wine tasting

A few weeks ago I headed to Portland for work again and managed to get a little more time there. I also managed to get some people to saw me Portland weird but that's in some later posts.

I arrived on the Saturday and had a lie in on Sunday morning before going on a Willamette Valley wine tour. 

There were 3 stamps, all wineries which only sell at the cellar door. The first one turned out to be my favourite, a little place called Tresori. We sat on the terrace for the tasing and had a seriously good view. We tried 6 wines here, mostly really tasty Pinot noirs. 

Great view for a Sunday afternoon

The building was pretty cool too with some amazing paintings. I couldn't afford to buy any so settled for some of the postcard prints. And a bottle 8 yr old Pinot Noir. :)

Old wine press.

We stopped at look out on the way to the next place. The views over the valley are so pretty.

At the second place, Blizard winery, we got some food to nibble on while we tried the wines, which were nice but needed a but more time. It's a very young vineyard and winery (only 2 years old) so could be very amazing in 5 yrs. 

The last place, Ardini, was founded by 2 DNA scientists. We tried about 6 wines here I think (it got a bit fuzzy at this point). I sat chatting to an older couple and their son and just enjoyed the wines and sun.

Nice place to spend a Sunday afternoon

I was lazy and got takeaway that night. I did have to work all week, had big meetings and was still a little knackered from the flight so I didn't feel too guilty.