PORTLAND – When the Oregon Legislature adjourns for the year, the lobbying and policy planning continues in the most low-key of places.

Off session, political nerds can see some of the state’s most prominent Portland-area lawmakers holding court at coffee shops.

International travel-enthusiast Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, for instance, often schedules meetings with a series of lobbyists, constituents and reporters at Costello’s Travel Caffe, 2222 N.E. Broadway. Some lobbyists also frequent at the travel-themed café, where in addition to coffee, you can experience people watching in countries around the world.

Tables are bedecked with the flags of different nations, and customers can watch activity on the streets of cities from around the world on flat screen televisions on the wall.

Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, and former Rep. Ann Lininger, D-Lake Oswego, hold meetings at Starbucks, 8 Centerpiece Drive in Lake Oswego, for its close proximity to Interstate 5. Lininger resigned from the Legislature effective mid-August to take a position as circuit court judge.