Photo by http://www.purpleroofs.com
I am excited.
Next week at this time, Justin & I will be en route to Portland, Oregon. Last night we went to Genuine Joe’s armed with our Eyewitness Travel Guides to do a little research and prep for the upcoming trip. We’ve talked and daydreamed a lot about the time we’re going to be spending between Portland and Sacramento, but have not planned much for either city.
After scanning the pages of our guidebooks we decided to establish base camp right in the middle of the action so that we could walk from our hotel and spend our time exploring the city on foot as much as possible. And when our legs grow too weary to carry us, we’ll put Portland’s free downtown streetcar system to the test.
Flanders House, photo by http://www.purpleroofs.com
When we got back home to the computer to make a hotel reservation we were a little discouraged to find that the hotels in the area we wanted to be in (downtown or Pearl District) were going to be well over $100 a night. I was just about to book a hotel across the river close to the convention center when Justin suggested we check into hostels. The first few we looked at weren’t too promising. But then we happened upon the Portland International Guesthouse website and found the Flanders House. For about $70 a night, we’ll be staying in this adorable 5 bedroom home in the Nob Hill neighborhood. It is technically a hostel, but very similar to a B&B in Europe – we will share one of 3 bathrooms with the other guests and the amenities will be sparse, compared to a traditional American bed & breakfast.
Knowing that we have great accommodations lined up in a beautiful part of the city is only making me that much more anxious to board that plane next Sunday. So far our trip planning has been seamless – I hope that the trip follows suit!
As always, feel free to share your experiences & recommendations with me before we take off next week. I’d love to hear your advice!
