Girls Getaway to Portland - Shopping & Brew

The next day we shopped at Bridgeport Village during the day, then headed downtown for cocktails at Departure (it has a great rooftop bar) followed by dinner at Deschutes Brewery & Public House for some home brewed Portland beer. In addition to the beer, I had to try the Root Beer Braised Pork Belly....AMAZING!!!

Although it was a quick trip to the City of Roses, we had a terrific time, laughed and made more great gal pal/cousin memories that will last forever.

To plan your own Girls Getaway to Portland, visit www.TravelPortland.com.

Girls Getaway to Portland - Roses & Chelsea Handler

The next day started with a picnic brunch in the International Rose Test Garden, which overlooks the city. After we ate, we took a Roses Gone Wild tour, which is a guided walking tour of the garden. Although Kelly had toured the garden before, she raved about the tour and how much more she learned with the guide. The roses here are amazing and come in every color imaginable, except blue. To find out why there are no blue roses, you will have to take the tour.

Before the Chelsea Handler show, we stopped for appetizers at the Oswego Lake House, which provides great views of Lake Oswego. Then we were headed to see Chelsea Handler, my favorite comedian, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Although Kelly wasn’t a huge fan of Chelsea, she was by the time we left. We bought her new book, Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me, got her to sign them and were thrilled with a fun night out (despite the Big Escape from the venue...way to go Kelly). The Schnitzer will never be the same.....we laughed the whole way home.

Girls Getaway to Portland - Day 1

With my cousin Kelly in Portland and a trip planned to LA, I thought it would be fun to hang out with her in her adoptive hometown of Portland, OR. She picked me up from the airport (her Oregon license plates read “FL NATV),” which depicts her roots to our home state. We drove to Downtown Portland to pick up our tickets to the Chelsea Handler performance that was to take place the next night. We were so excited!

The Getaway Girl "Stops & Chats" With Stop & Style NYC

I am so lucky that I get to travel to incredible places and meet terrific people. One of the fabulous ladies I met on a trip to Mexico City is Amanda Hudson, co-founder of Stop & Style NYC, a NYC-based online publication. I was honored when Amanda asked to interview me for an upcoming issue's Stop & Chat Section.

To read the article, visit http://www.stopandstylenyc.com/stop--chat.html