This past week I had the chance to spend a few days each in Seattle, Wash. (great weather as you can see above) and Portland, Ore. I have been to Seattle a few times, so nothing too new. My highlights were viewing a Robert Crumb art collection at a small gallery as well as a Roman art exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and eating good food at some well-chosen restaurants (thanks to a local friend). The public library was also amazing: 10 floors of books. (Sidenote: The building was featured in documentary Helvetica because the library uses the font as its primary typeface. Great film!)

I then took an enjoyable train ride to Portland—my first time visiting the city. Memorable highlights were Powell’s bookstore (four floors and a whole city block of books), tax-free shopping and this local vendor called The Whole Bowl. There’s a street where a bunch of roach coaches sit, and I randomly bought a bowl at Whole Bowl, and it was delicious: a bunch of ingredients all in one bowl (rice, olives, red and black beans, tali sauce, etc.). Yum.

I also saw a bunch of gigs in both cities, since there was nothing else to do really at night.