The Pilgrimage: Part Deux - The Film Sets

Bella's House

Through my super sleuthing, I discovered that one of my neighbors isn't afraid to admit that she, too, enjoys her a little dose of Twilight-mania from time to time. Okay, so really I just mentioned in passing at the bus stop that we had driven up to Forks and her face lit up, so I knew she was my go-to girl on the subject. Since discovering that none of the filming for the movies had taken place in Forks or points in-between during our first pilgrimage, I began researching the actual filming locales in the Portland area and discovered that I was living within an hour away from almost all of them.

With map and my smart phone GPS in hand, I picked up my neighbor on the drizzly Sunday before Halloween, and we decided the best place to start was at Bella's house located in St. Helens, Oregon. As we started to get closer, the excitement built as we made the final turn onto the actual street....and then the road narrowed down to one lane....and we noticed the 'No Outlet' sign....and then there it was. Cue the choir singing. This sign greeted us in the front yard.

Through the illusion of Hollywood, it would appear as though this house is on a busy street or possibly a highway in the movie. Actually, it's in a somewhat secluded residential location and I had to do some maneuvering to get us turned around when we were ready to move on to the next site. I'll spare you the images from the movie that went through my mind as we stood in front of the house. I know how delicate some of your stomachs are for that kind of thing. (Robert Pattinson! Kristen Stewart! That's where Bella slipped on the icy sidewalk! That's where she looked out the window at Edward! OMG!)

Back view of
garbage house/lawyer's office

Next, we tried to find the Thunderbird and Whale Bookstore. I would have believed it to be the lovely bed and breakfast we first came upon at the top of a hill overlooking the waterfront, except the addresses didn't match up, so we turned around and attacked approached from the opposite direction and ended up in another parking lot at the bottom of the hill and next to what looked like an abandoned house. Nope, it was a private lawyer's office with garbage strewn all over the back porch. Okaaaay. So where's the bookstore? We eventually ended up getting an extensive tour from the owner of the bed and breakfast and she informed us the garbage house lawyer's office is indeed the building used in the movie. She walked us right around the other side so we could see the front of it and, sure enough, that was image I remembered...more or less.

Thunderbird and Whale Bookstore

Oh yeah, and then she mentioned that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart rehearsed their lines in the swing on the FRONT PORCH OF HER B&B. She thought they were doing some artsy indie film, so she didn't think anything of it at the time. And then I had an inner moment of Jr. High squealing going on in my head.

The b&b owner was nice enough to then walk us down to the area where they filmed the alley and parking lot scenes adjacent to the bookstore. The large mural advertisements on the side of the parking lot buildings were added for the movie. (That's where Edward drove up in his car and saved Bella! OMG!)

Creepy Parking Lot

Creepy Alley

After our tour, we drove a short distance to the dress store and restaurant set in "Port Angeles" -- Le Petit Jolie and the Bloated Toad. If you haven't seen the movie, I'll let you decide which establishment is which.

As illustrated by the bookstore building earlier, Hollywood sets quickly come and go. The dress shop is now home to a hair dresser (with a lovely eau de Marlboro scent in the back where the bathroom is located) and the restaurant building is for rent, and therefore, perfect for two nosy Twilight peeping toms to check out. (Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart stood here and walked up these steps! OMG!)

Le Petit Jolie

The Bloated Toad

If you're still enduring this post reading at this point, then we've come to the piece de resistance -- The Cullen House. Located in a very metro part of the city (no off-roading seatbelts required), we wound our way up a narrow street in the hills of Portland and came around the bend to this sight:

Cue Squealing

From here, we visited the site of Bella's ballet studio and then drove all the way across Portland to Damascus, Oregon, and the cafe that Charlie and Bella frequented in the movie. The bush on the right is the one Mike molested in the background during a scene where Charlie and Bella are eating at the cafe.

Ballet Studio

Forks Cafe

We pulled up to the cafe just as it was closing up for the day, so our dinner plans were thwarted at this point. Then trusty ol' Mr. GPS located the Stone Cliff Inn for us. We didn't know until we got there that the stony hillside behind the Inn's parking lot is where they filmed the 'Lion and Lamb' scenes and Edward reveals his vampirey diamond-like skin in the sun to Bella. Because we didn't get there until late in the day and decided to eat first, all I have are pictures of the signs posted next to the parking lot.

The best part of the whole trip?  One of the managers (owner?) of the Inn indicated that the final film, Breaking Dawn Part II, is looking to come back here and film again in their woods. Production is currently trying to negotiate the price of filming with the state of Oregon. (OMG!) Cue inner squealing.

~Paula