“He went to the church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and for, and patted the children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of homes, and up to the windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed of any walk, that anything, could give him so much happiness. (p. 119)”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
My favorite part of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is when a post-haunting Scrooge goes for a walk in his town and realizes “…that everything could yield him pleasure …that anything, could give him so much happiness”. From Christmas Eve dinner with friends, to post-Christmas hiking in the Columbia Gorge, my recent two-week holiday in Portland was full of similar joy and happiness, and reminded me of Portland's many charms.
Although Singapore certainly has its own magic, it is sometimes hard for this expat to think about having moved away from one of America's best cities. But rather than pitching myself off a bridge like Jimmy Stewart in Its a Wonderful Life, I will follow the advice of Julie Andrews in that other holiday classic,The Sound of Music, and cheer myself with a recitation of a few of my favorite (Portland) things:
I could go on, but will instead leave you with some images from my recent visitation. Enjoy - I sure did.
Although Singapore certainly has its own magic, it is sometimes hard for this expat to think about having moved away from one of America's best cities. But rather than pitching myself off a bridge like Jimmy Stewart in Its a Wonderful Life, I will follow the advice of Julie Andrews in that other holiday classic,The Sound of Music, and cheer myself with a recitation of a few of my favorite (Portland) things:
- The Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, Willamette Valley vineyards, the Pacific coast and the Oregon high desert are all within a two-hour drive or less.
- An DIY economy that relies on industries such as bicycle frame building, craft brewing and distilling and the manufacturing of coffee and tea (Smith Tea, especially: http://www.smithtea.com/).
- A variety of museums, concert venues, literary readings, lecture series, film and art festivals, multicultural celebrations, art galleries, and performance arts - especially dance performances at da Vinci Arts Middle School (long live dance teachers Claire and Kristen!).
- Pedestrian friendly 200' x 200' blocks.
- A “platinum” rating by the League of American Bicyclists – its highest award - and a #1 bike-friendly city rating by Bicycling magazine.
- The MLS Portland Timbers soccer club.
- McMenamin's Kennedy School (http://www.mcmenamins.com/KennedySchool).
I could go on, but will instead leave you with some images from my recent visitation. Enjoy - I sure did.