Okay … let’s be totally honest. I go to Portland once a year to go to Powell’s Books. There is simply no other bookstore like it in the country. The Strand in New York City is the closest you can come, I guess (and I love that store, too), but pound for pound, book for book, Powell’s is in a league of it’s own. It takes up an entire city block and is (in some parts of the building) 4 stories (HA! A book pun!) tall. It has an amazing combination of new and used books. I purchased 2 new books 4 vintage paperbacks, a vintage (circa 1972) London “Red Guide” travel book (a hardcover in like-new condition, for the princely sum of $3.95), plus numerous Powell’s souvenirs (tote bags, magnets, postcards). The store has it’s own freakin’ map, for Christ’s sake!
So that’s why I go to Portland, but I do enjoy the city surrounding the bookstore (yes, there is one outside of the Vatican City-like “City of Books” that is Powell’s). Here’s the first of 2 photo galleries from my long September weekend, including bridges, buildings, and just general stuff that caught my eye as I was roaming around, primarily through both downtown and the Pearl District. Look for Part 2 very soon … click on the images to see them larger on your screen!
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innocent bystander 
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