A Night Out In Portland

My brother and sister-in-law, Todd and Cathy, are nice enough to let us stay with them on our (now annual) visits to Portland. We first visited 4 years ago, soon after they had moved from Colorado and had their first child, Owen. Owen is now 3 (and a quarter) and they have since had Grant. Grant was born on our first wedding anniversary in 2008 so we were pretty excited to go out there and be present for his first birthday. Since we live so far away, we often just mail our gifts. Being there was priceless.


But, I digress. This entry is about our night out. Cathy had arranged a babysitter to come watch the little ones while the four of us hit some hot spots. First stop was Vino, a wine shop where they have tastings according to regions/types of wines depending on the week. We were lucky enough to come on Italian wine night and get a seat outside. So, this was also the deal of a lifetime - $10 for 5 tastings. They didn't sell food, so Cathy and I ran 2 blocks away and picked up some yummy cheese and baguette to compliment the wine. We sat with some lovely local ladies and enjoyed some good conversation. One was a food critic and she recommended the restaurant we ended up at for dinner.
Ryan and I happy as clams. We are on vacation!!

Cathy and Todd. Look at all those wine glasses!

We then headed to Iorio in Portland for a delicious Italian dinner. We also had a fantastic waitress who recommended some cool places to check out in Seattle for Ryan and I.

The four of us at Iorio.

Once we left the restaurant to head back to relieve the babysitter, we stopped outside to talk about what a great night we had....*boom* *boom*....Serendipitously, the fireworks started. Out great night happened to coincide with the beginning of the Rose Festival in downtown Portland. What a cool way to ride home!The fireworks....I just had to share this photo as well. Once home, Todd announced we were having breakfast burritos in the morning. Cathy and I were pretty excited!