What a place to work - a Pinoramic 120 photograph of the train outside my shop window.

The Guardian newspaper recently proclaimed Portland #1 on its list of the five best places in the world to live. The others were -

St Pauli, Hamburg

Northern coast, Maui, Hawaii

Cihangir, Istanbul

Santa Cruz, Tenerife

It's an unusual list. Many of the usual suspects don't make the cut. But the reasons given for the choice - "There are planning restrictions on crappy developments. Portland has the highest number of microbreweries in the world." among others are familiar to Portlanders. I just like the sense of Portland being a place that's full of surprises but still gritty in an urban sort of way. To look out my shop window and behold the Banfield expressway, the MAX light rail and this railroad all within 50 feet of my window - that's my urban fix.

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