Day tour in SW Portland area

OK guys, help me out here. My exchange student%26#39;s parents are coming and others are taking them to the ';falls';, the beach, and downtown. We are taking them to the Food and Wine Festival at the Evergreen Aviation museum on Sunday...and then on Tuesday I have to entertain them. I am really stuck, they will have done WA SQ and gone to the outlets in Woodburn. They love to shop obviously. Not interested in museums. Daughter said that the zoo would be good but....I dunno this time of year and they are headed to San Diego after this so....

I thought maybe LO ..drive around the lake and have lunch, but I am really stuck for things to show them. Ideas?

Day tour in SW Portland area

Are you bringing them into town ? How south is SW for you?

What about just touring the city? Start with the streetcar in town and just get on and off wherever something catches their fancy. Have lunch at Silk or over on NW23rd..tons of shops , galleries in the Pearl as well as on 23rd..

When will they be visiting?

We liked our drive around LO and lunch but it was not the most exciting afternoon, lol..maybe in town would have more of interest..

Sorry, wish I could help more :)

Day tour in SW Portland area

Ahhhh, but will they have been to Bridgeport? Make a day of it and see a movie while you%26#39;re there. Or, if the weather%26#39;s decent, you could take them to the other falls, Silver Falls, east of Salem. I agree completely with Scarlett on the idea to tour LO; can%26#39;t imagine what about that would be of interest to them. And I like the suggestion to spend the day in Portland. If they really like to shop, Pioneer Place and NW 23rd would take up the better part of a day.

Good luck!

I agree, LO is nice, but I think there are some better options, like Bridgeport.

Would they be interested in seeing Timberline Lodge?

If you are really desperate, try the Costco in Hillsboro...largest Costco there is.

LOL, Mtngrl. I was going to say something about Chicogirl coming to the realization that, while the Portland area might be a great place to live, there%26#39;s not that much here for a tourist. But, your post says it all. When we reach the point of recommending Costco as a tourist stop.... ;-) It is pretty cool, though.

LOL! I%26#39;m sure I could come up with some other, similar, suggestions:)

They will already have ';done'; downtown....they are NOT interested in Silver Falls or gardens of any type and the exchange student claims there is nothing of interest in Salem....I have suggested Bridgeport a gazillion times since the mom loves to shop and maybe I will just take them there anyway.

Lol I actually suggested Costco and Lowes/Home depot...my cousin from England found Costco quite interesting and told me that they have nothing of that scale in Europe, however, the student tells me that they have Costco AND Lowe%26#39;s in Turkey and will not be interested. Sigh.

Oh Chico, I don%26#39;t envy you...sounds like a good idea to just take them to Bridgeport and call it good. Go sit at Split, have a drink, and let them shop:)

Do they like books? Powells downtown a destination book store for some travelers. You can throw in a street car and a tram ride.

But ithey like to shop, can%26#39;t go too far wrong with Bridgeport, then maybe a trip to Trader Joes so they can buy you something for dinner. or snacks.

yep...I had thought if it was a nice day lunch at Mazana grill and shopping would be fun. There are some cute stores in LO. All my ideas - taking them to see the countryside, the gardens, Costco (!!) are falling flat.

I know Manzana Grill is safe, but there are a couple other places in LO you might take a chance on, Chicogirl. It gets mixed reviews, but I have some trusted friends who say Zeppo is pretty good. It%26#39;s in the same center as Manzana Grill. And Tucci is just around the corner on A Ave. I think Tucci and Fenouil (great place in the Pearl) have the same ownership. I%26#39;ve been for lunch; very good. Maybe not with your guests, but I%26#39;d bet you%26#39;d like Logan%26#39;s Backyard Barbecue too. This is basically a one-man show, operating out of a small home-converted-to-restaurant on B Ave. And there%26#39;s my standby favorite, Riccardo%26#39;s in Lake Grove. Pick this over Zeppo if you%26#39;re thinking Italian.

If you can%26#39;t find anything to keep your guests entertained, you can at least feed them, right? ;-)