Come With Me

Good morning, everyone. This is, until further notice, the last post on this blog. I simply bit off more than I could comfortably chew with four blogs. So I urge you to join me on my oldest blog, High Raw...Adventure, which will now also contain content that had been posted in the other three.
This should allow me to be able to post daily, instead of weekly as before. This is a new adventure so I've given it a new look, as well. Please join me there. Ginny

El Norteno

(Picture of the Day-totem in Sitka) This trip was incredible. I think I've got pictures to post until our next trip, and beyond. It's good to be home, though. And we've been plenty to see here, as well. The Balloon Fiesta came and went. I got no pictures because they never wandered over this way. The winds were not cooperative this year.

But we've discovered a new restaurant here in Albuquerque. It's called EL NORTENO. Not actually new, it has been in another part of town for many years. But now they've opened a new one in a better part of town. Yummy! I didn't get a picture, but I can give you perfect directions. It's just north of the corner of Constitution and Wyoming, right where Le Cafe Miche was. So if you live in Albuquerque or are going to visit Albuquerque--don't miss this place. A clean, bright and cheery place, with great service and wonderful food at good prices. Am I dreaming? Nope! That's El Norteno.

El Norteno's food is Mexican, not New Mexican, and simply scrumptious. They serve chips with TWO salsas One is a regular red salsa and the one is a delicious avocado salsa. To die for! I ordered the menudo and it was perfect. Spicy, but not too hot. Served with a pile of herbs and chopped onion. Chock full of--well, you know! Now, stop wrinkling your nose! Menudo is the breakfast of champions here in NM! I love it and eat it as often as I can get it freshly prepared. My husband ordered a beef burrito and he pronounced it great. A huge burrito, not made with hamburger like most are, but with roasted beef. Big chunks of roasted beef! The servings were plentiful, and provided enough food to take home for another meal.

We're lucky in Albuquerque--mountains on one side, the river, the volcanoes. And many good restaurants. And another really good Mexican restaurant is just icing on the cake. See you at El Norteno.

Lovely Portland, Oregon

This picture shows one of the many waterfalls along the Columbia River, a few miles from Portland, Oregon. This a beautiful region and waterfalls are only a tiny part of the loveliness. Everything is so green here, and flowers abound.

The City of Portland has myriad pleasures to avail yourself of. Here are only a few. We especially loved the museums-- the History Museum being our favorite, but the art museum was good, as well. And restaurants--wow! I could go on and on. You can find such good food here--either Salty's, or Jake's, or Huber's for some of the best seafood ever.

And green space everywhere--especially Forest Park. This is a 5,000 acre urban park. Lucky Portlanders--?Portlandites? Oh, you know, the people who call Portland home. It's a gorgeous park and you could live here forever and maybe still not see all of it.

But my favorite, favorite, favorite place was given to us by new friends--Powell's City of Books. I'm a serious book lover and feel so lucky to have found this place. They have new books and used books for sale and they even buy your used books. And it is truly a city, a huge place, many floors and all color-coded for convenience. We went twice and I just browsed and bought and wished we had one closer to home. But the good news is--Powell's does a huge internet business. So I plan to avail myself of that because this place is just too good to forget. The prices, the selection and the ambiance all make Powell's a place not to miss when you're visiting Portland.

We found a lovely tea shop there--Townsend's Teas. I bought a delicious tea purported to be a favorite of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. It called Lady Londonderry and is a light and refreshing variation of English Breakfast, with a hint of lemon and orange. Yum! We also found a French deli that's worth visiting, right down the street from Townsend's. Petite Provence has great food, and fantastic pastries. So shop for tea and then do lunch two blocks away. You won't be sorry.

A trip to Portland should delight anyone, except for the most jaded and unappreciative of souls. There is much to savor in Portland and surrounds. From waterfalls to tea, you'll be glad you visited.