Portland, Oregon, is a city of contrasts:
spacious city streets sheltered by lovely vegetation are bisected by rugged new development areas.
Gracious older buildings and well-dressed people mingle with a numerous and visible homeless population.
Beautiful mature trees shade elders on benches at a riverfront park filled with whizzing exercisers of all kinds, as a large family of poor kids splash semi-naked in a public fountain. Fancy fine dining restaurants compete with hand-lettered signs on food trucks.
Shiny highrises soar over short, squat brick buildings with doors swathed in graffiti.
A glossy Tesla is parked beside an abandoned lime-green rental scooter used for public transport.
Very good coffee perks near a faux Mexican cafeteria sporting a dollar menu.
We’d lucked out when we arrived in Portland, just missing a record-breaking heatwa…
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