Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Photo courtesy of Portland Walking Tours

Long before food cart fever spread all over town, Portland already had a reputation of being daring when it comes to dining. Now, with curbside innovation rolling into almost every spare parking lot, the head spins at the edible options available. With well over 400 mobile eateries within city limits, you’ll a need a guide to undertake a culinary adventure this vast — luckily, Portland has two such tours.

Brett Burmeister has been chronicling the city’s street eats since 2008, and offers daily lunchtime tours by appointment through Food Carts Portland. Covering the history of the carts, the economic and political conditions that helped them thrive, and, of course, some tasty samples, the tour is full of stories and local flavor.

Meanwhile, Portland Walking Tours’ Flavor Street boasts the inside scoop on everything from savory pies to pork sandwiches, with resident experts sharing their secrets Wednesday through Saturday at 1 p.m. Walk-ups are welcome for the two-hour tour that strolls about a mile, but group size is limited, so advance tickets are recommended. Both tours begin downtown, an ideal starting point for visitors looking to get a taste of some of the most exciting, innovative eats on Portland’s streets.

Portland International Rose Test Garden (photo by M.T. White)

It’s natural to have a few questions as you wander through 4.5 acres of parkland bursting with 550+ rose varieties and more than 6,800 blooms. What is that variety? How is the garden maintained? How long are the roses in bloom? Now, thanks to Portland Walking Tours, visitors to Portland’s International Rose Test Garden can take a guided garden tour any day of the week through mid-October (Portland Parks also offers tours at select times and days between June 1 and Sept. 21).

Offered daily from dawn until dusk, the 45-minute Roses Gone Wild tour ($8 for anyone ages 8-88; all others free) sheds light on the garden’s history, select varietals, the city of Portland and more.

The International Rose Test Garden was conceived by Jesse A. Currey in 1915 and approved by Portland Parks in 1917 as a safe haven for hybrid roses grown in Europe during World War I. Roses started arriving in Portland in 1918 and the garden and amphitheater were dedicated in 1924. The garden now welcomes more than half a million visitors annually.

Portland Walking Tours also offers these other tours: Best of Portland, Underground Portland, Beyond Bizarre, Epicurean Excursion and Chocolate Decadence.

A creature from Travis Pond’s “Totem”

On the streets of Lake Oswego, animals carry messages, birds are made of engine parts, and things are not as they seem. I’m talking about the surprisingly poignant and beautiful pieces of art that are placed among the streets and gardens there.

The Lake Oswego Arts Council’s “Gallery Without Walls” is an incredible display of artwork, varying in style from towering flowers to seemingly playful pieces with political messages. It is an awe-inspiring collection if you take some time to walk around and look at it. There is an online brochure and self-guided walking tour with a photo and name of each sculpture which you can download here. Guides are also available by appointment to lead you, your family or group around the artwork.

My favorite piece was “Totem” by Portland sculptor Travis Pond. Appearing as a stack of creatures, a closer look reveals that they were fashioned out of old parts from motorcycles, engines and guns. The plaque at the bottom reads, “This totem represents not what we should worship but what we do.”

A great time to check out the Gallery Without Walls is during Lake Oswego’s annual Festival of the Arts, which runs from June 25-27. Enjoy!

The Quest for Fire team at the 2008 Portland Urban Iditarod.

I admit it. I’ve been slacking. Maybe that’s too harsh – I’ve been too busy promoting Portland and Oregon to really enjoy it myself. If I were the kind of person to make a resolution, it would be to get out and see more of the city I love. I’ve gathered so many great ideas from our Twisitor Center on Twitter and there are some things that I’ve simply never tried.

So, in no particular order, here’s my Top 10 for 2010:

10. Visit Mill Ends Park. I work in downtown Portland and I’ve never been! But this is the year that I check out the world’s smallest park (and only leprechaun colony west of Ireland), located at S.W. Naito and Taylor.

9. See the Portland Urban Iditarod. As a former Alaskan, I feel it’s my duty to watch the Portland twist on this classic race.  (more…)