I was sipping a pumpkin cocktail in an obscure warehouse party, watching a girl dressed as an Almond Joy perform a striptease. Just a typical night in Portland, Oregon.
In this new travel video, I discover that the Pacific Northwest city is as kooky as the TV show Portlandia portrays it to be.
Local stores do more than "put a bird on it." I visited a steampunk boutique, and tried on vintage fashion in neighborhoods like Hawthorne. The food trucks lived up to their reputation, and I'm still salivating over dishes like pannacotta with caramelized popcorn sauce at Lincoln Restaurant.
Portland's culture is all about creativity. My room at the Jupiter Hotel had a chalkboard door for guests to draw on, and the staff wore DIY costumes for Halloween. Nobody blinked twice when I dressed as a Goth fairy and danced with masked men at the Lovecraft bar.
Click to see how Portland keeps it weird and wonderful >
Watch a video about the city's nightlife, food and shops below.
See more of La Carmina's PDX adventureson her blog.
Disclaimer: La Carmina and her travel TV crew were hosted by Visit Portland.
I met new friends (or foes) at The Lovecraft, a horror-themed club inspired by HP Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos. Every first Friday of the month is a no-cover Goth party, called Brickbat Mansion.
At The Lovecraft I saw the Saloon Ensemble perform Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas." The band did the songs and character voices, while Jack Skellington and Sally tottered on stilts.
"The Mayor" encouraged the audience to sing along to favorite tracks like "This is Halloween."
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