Spooky night at The Lovecraft

It should not surprise you, dear minions, that I enjoy travel and will take the opportunity to do so whenever it is presented.  So when Beasty and I had some free time a little while back, enough for a quick getaway but not for an extended adventure, we decided to drive to Portland (like you do).  This was not our first trip to Portland, but the last one was somewhat rushed and not terribly well researched.  On this most recent venture, we had a little more time to plan.

We stayed at The Jupiter Hotel, which is an older building that has been renovated into a charming enough boutique hotel in a gentrified neighborhood.  I recommend the place to the younger set for a weekend trip with friends.  It was cute, and fun, and the Doug Fir Lounge was quite the popular spot two of the three nights we were there.  Do not expect it to be quiet enough to go to bed early - the hotel provides earplugs as standard in your room.  And a neon yellow condom, in a clear wrapper stamped with the hotel's logo (I kept mine as a souvenir).  The door to the room was a chalkboard (on both sides), and we kept our "to-do" list on it, crossing places off as we visited them.

Incidentally, overall impression of Portland - dirty.  If the city can scrape together enough for regular street cleaners, it can only improve things.

This is not the point of the entry, however!  Amongst our list of things to do (which included Powell's, Ground Kontrol, Spartacus, and others), at the very tippy top of my list was The Lovecraft.  The Lovecraft is a bar and tea room with a decorating theme inspired by (wait for it) H.P. Lovecraft's works.  It is the most deliciously gothy little spot I have ever stepped into.  For the love of Nyarlathotep, it is a bar and tea room!

The ceiling at The Lovecraft.  Photo by Chloe Alix,  © 2011.

I was fair giddy.  It's not the most polished spot I've ever been in, and their outside signage leaves a lot to be desired.  Additionally, while the abundance of red lighting certainly assists in setting the mood it makes reading the tea list a touch difficult.  That said, I enjoyed a lovely Earl Grey while listening to Murphy, Morrissey, and Gahan, taking in the fantastically macabre decor.  Deep in my darkly glittering soul I felt a happy, contented joy such as I have not experienced in a very long time.

Regrettably, we were there on a bit of a dead night.  Our Portland adventure was a midweek trip, and they didn't have anything special scheduled for that evening.  We ended up heading out early to catch the Goth night at The Fez, which turned out to be a significant disappointment.  That much dubstep does not belong at Goth night.

In conclusion, my minions, should you find yourself in the ever raining City of Roses, do go take yourself to The Lovecraft.  Even if you're not one to regularly don the black, dress up for a night and go dangle your toe in the deep end.  The experience will be worth the effort.

Rain-drenched me, with my tea, at The Lovecraft.
(Courtesy of Beasty's smart phone)