My brother, sis-in-law and I celebrated July 4 by taking in the Isamu Noguchi sculpture exhibit at the Portland Japanese Garden. The weather was perfect, and enhanced by the shady beauty of the garden.
The exhibit was housed in the Japanese Pavilion building, a traditionally-built Japanese building in the beautiful Japanese Garden grounds. Alas, no photography of the sculpture was allowed.
You could however, take pictures of the sculptures situated outdoors. The Japanese Pavilion grounds have a spectacular view of downtown Portland in the distance.
There was a traditionally-constructed Japanese Tea House in the Garden.
There are many quiet places to sit and contemplate the lovely surroundings.
This is the entrance to the Zen Garden.
The Zen Garden, a traditional Japanese gravel garden.
Water Lillies at the Iris Garden.
It was a bit late in the season for Iris, but they were still there.
The entire garden, including the extensive water features, is meticulously maintained.
My brother bought a garden ornament for the new house.
The Washington Park International Rose Test Garden is right next to the Japanese Garden, and has hundreds of showy, fragrant roses.
The Rose Garden was very busy on the 4th of July, and the weather was perfect.
The garden also had an area that showcased their prize-winning specimens.
After touring the gardens, we set off to the Alphabet (Northwest) District for some lunch. We disposed of our Peets coffee cups in the Solar Compactor, above.
We decided to have lunch at Cheryls' on 12th. Cheryl's serves really good all-day breakfasts and brunch. It does attract it's share of hipster clientele, above. (I later saw the shorts on sale at Urban Outfitters!).
I had scrambled eggs and homemade corned beef hash, made with deli-fresh corned beef.
The Alphabet district is centered on NW 23rd Ave. Also called Trendy-third, this street is lined with lots of shops, mixed with cafes and restaurants. Above, a beautiful apartment building.
We stopped by the Urban Outfitters store, and I picked up a few things like a pair of shoes for $9.99!
We had some wonder coffee and chocolate at Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe.
We're off to dinner somewhere in Salem - I'll let you know where!
Jamilla
Hmmm.. very zen...
ReplyDeleteNoguchi was a fascinating man. I hear that he was really serious and intense and quite dreadful to work with. Like you and I he was ha-fu :) I know very little about his landscape works but I we do own a Noguchi table and we adore it so. I also love work with paper and light inspired by a trip to Gifu. Remarkable man. Thank you for sharing.
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