The best of Portland, Maine
First of all, let me just talk about how confused everyone around me has been because of my visits to Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine within a few weeks of each other. My mom thought that Jillian and I popped over to the other side of the country for a girls weekend, people at work thought I was going back to the west coast for work meetings, and generally, everyone thought I going back to Oregon. 
But I wasn’t! I popped up to Maine for a girls weekend. Fun fact: once we arrived, we wondered how many people lived in Maine. Both of us guessed around 300,000–and were very surprised to find out there are only 66,000! Moral of the story: Portland is way tinier than we expected BUT it was overflowing with the stuff that we love, like sunny coffee shops and picturesque lighthouses and really good food with really good craft beer. We both agreed that we’d go back in a heartbeat (but probably when it was warmer)–and here are the reasons why:
Bard Coffee
We both worked remotely on Friday (in hindsight: terrible decision because it was the only sunny day of the weekend!), and started the day with lattes and great natural light and free wifi at Bard Coffee. Although I’m sad that we didn’t make it to Tandem Coffee during our trip (highly recommended from several sources), we really loved hanging out at Bard. The coffee was fantastic, and it felt like a super local spot: we swear we were sitting right next to the mayor (he knew EVERY person coming through the door!).
Portland Head Light
The most touristy attraction in Portland is absolutely the Portland Head Light. It’s just so photogenic! And you don’t even have to hike to it! Bonus: you drive through the fanciest, prettiest neighborhood full of gorgeous houses to get there. It was a little overcast and drizzly, but I think that even adds to the seaside vibe. Also, it was Mother’s Day and my mom FaceTimed me when we were out there so of course I had to answer: that screenshot still cracks me up. 
Eventide Oyster Co.
Full disclosure: my boss went to college in Maine, and his parents live there now, so he sent me an insane list of recommendations when he found out this was going to be my first visit there. Eventide was top of the list–and then another friend went to Portland the weekend before me, and texted that she had the best fish sandwich of her life here! I don’t love shellfish all that much, but I do love a good fish sandwich–and I will say that this one was DELICIOUS, especially accompanied by a Maine Beer Company IPA. The place has a really great vibe: huge windows, turquoise walls, full oyster bar. Highly recommend!
Maine Squeeze Juice Cafe
We ate a lot of delicious-but-not-very-healthy food all weekend, so we were both craving a juice before our flight back to New York City. We discovered Maine Squeeze Juice Cafe, and I’m so glad that we did: we were able to get a solid and delicious dose of fruits and veggies before heading to the airport.
Downtown Portland architecture
We didn’t get quite as much time to just wander around the city as we would have liked (see: working remotely, terrible weather) but even the glimpse we had of the downtown was simultaneously quaint and stately. I especially loved the City Hall, complete with a weather vane on top!
Duckfat
Even though we didn’t have enough time to really grab a meal at Duckfat, we still wanted to try out this Portland staple–famed for its charcuterie, sandwiches and craft beer. We took a tip from Adventurous Kate and ordered our sandwiches to-g0 and took them with us to the airport (although to her point: at 4:30pm on a Sunday, we would have been able to sit down with no wait). Because the panini are grilled, I do think they’re probably better to eat within 30 minutes or so of taking them out (and we ate them a few hours later)–but the house smoked turkey sandwiches were still delicious!
Carlson Turner Booksellers
I can’t resist a good bookstore, especially when it boasts something worthy of #ihavethisthingwithfloors: Carlson Turner Booksellers is a must-stop for bibliophiles in Portland! Not only does it have that glorious old book smell (it doubles as an antique bookseller and traditional bookbinder), but there’s also a brick mosaic out front spelling out BOOKS. Like I said: a must-stop!
The Press Hotel
Honestly: The Press Hotel was the true highlight of our time in Portland. We got in so late on Thursday night, but we both woke up SO refreshed on Friday morning after sleeping in what we referred to as “the butter mattresses” for the rest of the weekend. The beds were simultaneously firm but smooth and soft and just super comfortable: I am seriously considering emailing the hotel to ask what sort of mattresses they are.
But maybe my favorite part: the Press Hotel is housed in a former newspaper office and plant, and there are lots of neat journalistic details. In the lobby, there are vintage typewriters–where you can actually type out a letter, and send it to someone (postage is complimentary). And every typical “hotel” signage has a literary quote attached to it, like the Joni Mitchell one pictured above. My personal favorite was a Coco Chanel classic on the luxurious robes in the closet: “The best things in life are free. The second best things are very, very expensive.”
And even after we checked out and then came back to Portland, we decided to go back and hang out in the Press Hotel lobby during a very rainy afternoon: we curled up with our books in front of the fireplace, and had an absolutely lovely time.
Special thanks to The Press Hotel for hosting us! As always, all opinions are my own. And if you missed it, here’s a video of our weekend in Maine and some gorgeous photos by Jillian.
