I spent most of last week in Portland and it was a wonderful chance to re-connect with Oregon's largest city as well as with friends of mine who live there and with whom I stayed.

So what's so special about Portland? Actually, quite a lot. Portland has the largest and most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan. And the International Test Rose Garden and the annual Rose Festival has given Portland its sobriquet, the City of Roses.

While I missed the Rose Festival, I did get to the Rose Garden at just the right moment, when the roses were in bloom — all too briefly. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and the variety of the flowers there — over 550 different types of roses. Some roses were named for famous people (Diana, Princess of Wales; Madame Caroline Testout), while had evocative names (Moondance, Fragrant Memory), and others appeared to be named for the effect their creators hoped they would exert (Liebeszauber (Magic of Love), Strike It Rich), while others had highly theatrical names (Broadway, Opening Night). Even with the overcast sky above, the Rose Garden was a veritable garden of earthly delights.