From the outside, Ma Cocotte resembles a solid, if rather chic, workmen's canteen a "Monopoly house, " in Mr. Starck's words with its redbrick ground level beneath a gray zinc first floor.

WSJ: At Philippe Starck's Table | Ma Cocotte

When Portland skies begin to look moody and gray, duck into this multi-level bookstore to peruse the shelves of new and used books.

CNN: Portland bewitches travelers, rain or shine

Back home, they had to deal with an utterly flat landscape laced by rivers and canals much of it below sea level, reclaimed by dikes forever loomed over by dark gray clouds, damp mists, and rain or snow.

WSJ: de Young Museum: More Than Just the Girl