Portlandia!

Well I'm here in the sleepy Hawthorne district of Portland, where horizontal seems to be the aim for most of the folk around here. It is super chill. Cars let you cross at just about every stop, coffee and ale compete for your attention and everyone is terribly dressed. I like it. I'm here for six days though, so it was good to hear that Ash and the crew I went hiking with were heading out to the Columbia Gorge not far from here. So tonight I will be at one with nature once more.

My first day in Portland involved meeting some cool people writer the hostel: Joshua, a philosopher from Colorado and then Travis and Alicia, siblings who had just moved here from New York. We went out for food and some great beer; it was all so relaxing that I could feel myself falling to sleep at the last bar. I didn't seem to be the only one either. Portland has the feeling Amsterdam has got, of not being in a rush and very grounded. Of course, this is coupled with a lot of very liberal views (my barefoot philosophy would go down a treat). I think that it will be a great place to stop off and hang around when me and Alex are on the road.

Today I went out with Travis for a wander around the district. Having just moved from New York, he was similarly taken aback by how relaxed everything was. I grabbed some great coffee and a ginger cookie, strolled in my sandals past bookshops and tattoo parlours, ate some Caribbean food while the hail came down and nobody cared. It's all very relaxed. When I want to write a novel, or raise a family on a diet solely based on cous cous then I will move here. But until Sunday I'm going to do some hiking and keep active. At least I know I'll have somewhere nice to relax into. Plus hopefully the guy in my dorm who is snoring like it's going out of fashion will be gone when I get back. Good night!