Portland - Rose City

The International Test Rose Garden in Portland Oregon is about as sweet as you can get. This garden is a testing ground for new rose varieties. Their web site says that there are more than 10,000 individual rose bushes of over 610 rose varieties. The garden is laid out with walking paths and a sitting area with a modern sculpture in the center. This is not a quick stop. This is a place to take a leisurely stroll and literally stop to smell the roses. This is a poet's inspiration. In this place in time, all life is about roses! 

A rose is a rose,
And was always a rose, 
But the theory now goes, 
An apple's a rose,
The pear is, and so's
The plum I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose, 
You, of course, are a rose - 
But were always a rose.
~Robert Frost

After visiting this garden, you can understand why Portland is called "City of Roses". The city started being landscaped with roses for its only world fair in 1905. During WW2 hybridists sent their roses over to Porland to protect them from the bombings. The friend I was visiting had some bushes in her yard that were flourishing.  Oh, Rose City, you will be in the sweetest of my dreams. 

Powell Books - Portland, Oregon

 A bookstore the size of a city block - what?  Yes, Powell books is three stories of magnificent books for your reading pleasure. A bookstore with an elevator, now that's magical. The shelves are littered with recommendations and reviews, lovingly penned by the employees. I was hard-pressed to avoid a lot of purchases since I was traveling, but I couldn't resist buying a beautiful tarot dragon deck that was among a collection of used decks in a glass case. There is a charming cafe to grab a cuppa java or tea, and plenty of places throughout the store to sit down and browse through whatever catches your eye. If you're in Portland, don't miss this store.