October 8, 2015. Downtown Portland, City of Roses and city of contrasts

LOCATION:  House-sitting in Portland, Oregon

WEATHER:  Strangely muggy. Highs around 75

After morning chores and playing with Lola, we headed downtown.  Our destination was the International Rose Garden.  We decided to eat lunch nearby at The Little Bird, a French bistro that had been recommended.  What a contrast.....we were in kind of a seedy area with homeless people sleeping on the streets, dumpster diving, and one woman even going to the bathroom on the grass.  

We were across rhe street from a strip club.  I read that Portland has more strip clubs per capita than any other city in the US.  

As a contrast, this high-end restaurant was nestled among all this.

It was charming.  I had a bowl of carrot soup with black garlic.  George had the daily special. It was braised pork belly and smoked mackerel on a bed of polenta with goat cheese.  It seemed very traditional French.  

From there, we toured the rose garden.  There are 10,000+ roses and hundreds of varieties.  

Some had huge blossoms.

When we returned home, we did some gardening.  Moles are tunneling in the yard and garden.

DINNER:  Grilled chicken.  For a side, I made parsley pesto, to use up the lovely parsley in the garden. I stirred it into some rice.