Portland.1: Tea and Books

So Thursday was our first full day in Portland after arriving late
Wednesday afternoon.

Sharon had an agenda. On a previous visit here, she had been taken to the Lan Su Chinese Garden and ever since had wanted to share it with me. I was willing and just barely enthusiastic. I was wrong, this is a must see. Built by traditional craftsmen from China in 2000, this is an extraordinary place. Fortunately we had visited a couple of monastaries when we were in China in 2010, otherwise I would not have appreciated this experience, meant to replicate the home and gardens of a 16th century wealthy Chinese family. After strolling through we enjoyed a Chinese tea service.

The tea house asked that folks silence their phones, which we were happy to do, and Sharon kept hers silenced as we headed to our next stop, a holy of holies for bibliophiles, Powell’s Books.









The tea service, very complex and ritualized. Good tea, though

The tea infused egg was a taste and visual treat

We came upon The Customs House from behind and I was delighted by the eclectic mix of architectural styles. Sharon questioned why I was shooting it from behind and I replied that I liked it from behind, but I had a sense that the front was not as harmonious

And it wasn't. The archway was just one thing too many


Love this elephant in the park, notice the homeless abode beneath. Portland seems to tolerate a large transient population



My warning was that I would carry one book ten blocks or ten books one block, do the math. Sharon ignored me.

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