Busy busy weekend

Last Saturday morning was the Philly Cleanup (a city wide spring cleaning neighborhood by neighborhood sponsored by Mayor Nutter). So I spent a good hour with my neighbors sweeping up the trash and bagging it for pick up. The city provided brooms, gloves, and bags to block coordinators, and had arranged for pick up of full bags later that afternoon from participating blocks neighborhoods all over the city. It was good to be out with my neighbors and helping out. I think that was the first time some of them had seen me without the dog attached to me!

Saturday afternoon I was invited to attend a Talk Cinema showing with DS (his boss subscribes and gave DS his tickets for this week's show since he couldn't attend). What happens is the audience (subscribers) get to watch an advance screening of a film, usually one that had been screened at a film festival, and is probably up for wider release soon. After the movie, a critic leads a discussion and Q & A session. They also have comment cards for you to rate the film and leave comments. The thing about this series is that you have no idea what you're walking into, no idea what film you're about to see. Basically it's an adventure at the movies!

The Talk Cinema movie on Saturday afternoon was The Life Before Her Eyes. One word describes this movie perfectly: INTENSE. But good. It's one of those movies that you really have to think about (and think during) yet it provokes an emotional response at the same time. And you don't really understand what the movie is truly about until the very end. And once you get to the end, you have mentally revisit the entire movie before it all makes sense. Kind of like in the Sixth Sense how you didn't know he was dead until the end and that drastically changed the movie as a whole. And to add a layer of complication the entire movie is made up of anachronistic moments (future past future past). A warning, without giving anything away, the film centers around a school shooting, so if you can't deal with those types of images (potential triggers) you'll want to avoid the movie.

DS and I had the same reaction of needing a minute afterwards to think it through before we could decide if we even liked it or not. And the discussion with the critic afterwards was interesting. The audience had the opportunity to ask questions, and it did help fill in some of the blanks. She had talked with the director and had some interesting insights/answers about the film. But definitely one of those movies that you can continue to talk about for awhile after it's over. On some level, you need to talk about it to fully process and make sense of it.

After the movie, DS and I took a very long walk, discussing/processing the movie pretty much the entire way. The weather was gorgeous, and the walk from 2nd Street all the way to around 34th Street didn't feel all that long. It was wonderful to be out in the sunshine and fresh spring air and clear our heads. We met AH (who had to work that afternoon which is why I got to go to the Talk Cinema film) and then the three of us walked back down to around 18th Street. We decided to go for delicious beers and dinner at Monk's Cafe. Definitely one of my favorite Philly food spots. We split a couple of pots of mussels, and decided to be adventurous and try one of the varieties with cheese and apples and balanced it with a more traditional Flemish pot. We were all a bit disappointed that the cheese and apples didn't really flavor the mussels themselves, but they made a delicious broth to soak up with our bread! Finally, we topped the day off with gelato at Capogiro. So creamy and delicious. The flavors of their gelato are so clean and taste so true. It's a good thing their shops aren't just around the corner...

On Sunday I went to the Philadelphia Zoo with JM and her daughter E. It was damp and chilly, and raining a bit when we got there, so we spent as much time inside as many of the houses as possible. At the first house they had a face painting station. E was remarkably patient for a 3 year old and sat so still so she could have a pink pig painted on her face (it's all about the pink!). She spent the rest of the day being very very careful to not wipe off any of her pink face. Even during lunch she was careful and got worried when we we had to clean the ketchup off her chin. Lucky for us, the majority of the pink stayed on, despite the apple she ate and the ketchup.

E's reaction to the reptile and amphibian house was priceless! We walked in, she ran ahead, rounded a corner, and when she saw the snake (a big green python I believe) she turned around and ran back for the door shaking her head and chanting "no no no no no!" That was the end of the reptile and amphibian house for the day. Lucky for us, she got over it her fears quickly as there was much more to see at the zoo.

We spent the majority of our time in the primate house. E loved watching the monkeys. Probably because they were so active and gave her lots to watch. And the Squirrel monkeys barely stopped moving long enough for me to get a picture. E spent a good 5 minutes having a staring contest with a Golden lion tamarin. The zoo also had a baby sifaka! It was so cute! Mom and dad were up in the branches with baby, and every now and then you'd see this tiny little black hand grab white fur and this little face would appear under the arm of a parent. While I was watching, the baby decided to sit on dad's head for a bit. Just adorable. We were lucky and the rain did let up so we were able to see the big cats before we left. All the cats were spending their afternoon napping. Lazy lazy Sunday. Well, except the jaguar, who was pacing (I think it was almost lunch time as he was pacing in front of the door leading inside to his food!). The trip to the zoo was a nice break for my brain (and a much needed one!) after the intensity of the movie the day before. And I added a bunch of photos to my Philadelphia Zoo set on Flickr.

That's several weekends in a row with lots of activities and lots of walking. I think I need a weekend to recover from my weekends and get some chores done!

Friends and art

Last weekend I had visitors. One of my colleagues, MA, and her daughter, MAjr, were here. MAjr had a dance audition on Saturday morning at a local university downtown. The audition seemed to go well, but you never can tell with these things. Supposedly they'll notify the students in 2 weeks whether they got in or not, so cross your fingers (and toes) she gets in!!

Anyway, while MAjr danced, MA and I walked around Center City for a bit. The day was bright, sunny and clear, but it was a bit chilly with the wind. Still, nice for walking, especially in the sun. We walked to City Hall, took the obligatory tourist photo of MA in front of the LOVE sculpture in JFK Plaza/LOVE Park with the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the distance, and then wandered down to Rittenhouse Square. While we were petting dogs up for adoption (volunteers with eligible dogs wearing the orange "adopt me!" vests appear at random around the city), MAjr called to let us know she was done and to meet her back at the main hall. Her timing was a good thing. I don't think Aussie would have appreciated it if I had come home with a new sibling for her (best to not upset the household balance the two of us have) and those dogs were so cute...ah well.

After a trip back home so MAjr could shower and change, we decided to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the afternoon to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit (it's been on my list!). We were joined by MAjr's friend S. S's dad J generously drove us to the museum and even offered to see if he could use his company discount to get us in. Unfortunately, discounts don't apply to traveling exhibits, but we had a random confluence of luck that ended with us acquiring 4 tickets for only $20 (normally $20 each!)! As we were getting in line, a woman stopped us and said that they had two extra tickets they'd sell for half price. MA and I said great! There's two tickets for only $20. But we still needed tickets for the girls. We got in line, and as we approached the counter, MA saw a $10 bill lying on the ground. She picked it up and handed it to the women behind the counter, telling them to put it in the donations box or something (have I mentioned MA is a sweetheart and very honest? well, she is!). As we were figuring out the two remaining tickets (the entrance time, etc.), a member walked up and turned in two tickets (members get free tickets) that they didn't use. The woman the member gave them to then handed them to us and said enjoy! Wow! Talk about luck! [Side note: I think maybe we should have bought a lottery ticket with all that luck...]

Anyway, we had about 30 minutes before our scheduled entrance time, so MA and I headed for the 12th Century European art, and the girls split and went for the modern and contemporary collection. We agreed to meet up after we'd been through the Kahlo exhibit and then we'd go get dinner. 12th Century European art is largely religious and religious influenced, and includes many church commissioned pieces. Some of the stained glass is so beautiful, and the woodworking extraordinary. After a brief wander and some gaping at the reconstructed stone arches, MA and I headed off to get in line for Frida.

I was beyond excited when I heard the Frida Kahlo exhibit created in honor of the 100th anniversary of her birth would be coming to Philadelphia. I'm a huge fan of Frida, and have been since high school when I had an art teacher tell me I kind of looked like her. When I asked who she was, he told me to go look her up (what a good educator, no?). So I did. And I fell in love. The movie Frida with Salma Hayek was very true to her life, having been based on the biography by Hayden Herrera (which yes, I do own and have read). Frida Kahlo was a fascinating woman, a feminist before feminism. And her paintings are such intense self studies. Her eye was unflinching, exposing everything in her art. MA said at the end of the exhibit that she was exhausted and drained from the intensity of it all. I'd have to agree.

The exhibit itself was incredible. It included a free audio tour, which normally I avoid, but decided to try since it included commentary from Herrera, various artists, and the exhibit curator. The audio did a wonderful job of putting her paintings in context with what was going on in her life at the time they were created. In addition to the paintings, the exhibit included many photographs from Frida's personal albums, many never seen by the public before. Many had scrawled notes/commentaries written on them by Frida, offering even more insight into her life. As MA said, the exhibit was intense, offering the most complete picture of her life possible through the combination of audio, photographs and her paintings. Well put together, well organized, and absolutely amazing.

Overall, I'd say the exhibit is more than worth the $20 entrance fee. Even if you aren't a huge Frida fan like I am it's definitely worth the $20. I could have spent another couple of hours wandering and just staring at everything. I even learned a few things by having them put in context through the audio tour. And I really want to go back and see it again before it leaves May 18th.

We met up with the girls again and after a few photos on the Museum steps decided to head down to South Street for some dinner and wandering. S's dad J had finished his errands, and once again generously offered to act as chauffeur and drive us there and then decided to join us. We opted for cheesesteaks at Gianna's Grille, agreeing that since it was the first trip to Philly for MAjr, cheesesteaks were a necessity. Gianna's is a bit of a dive, but their food is consistently decent, and they have the option of getting fries with Old Bay seasoning (which I love). After a tasty dinner of cheesesteaks and fries, we wandered up and down South Street for the better part of 2 hours, window shopping and chatting. MA even did a little bit of gift/souvenir shopping.

It was a wonderful day. I had such a good time with everyone. I can only hope that MAjr gets in to the university so MA is forced to visit more often!

Weekend activities

This weekend was full of food and a play. Not a bad weekend. Unfortunately, now it's Sunday, aka "chore day."

Friday night I met a friend down in the Rittenhouse Square area for some food and beers. We started at Bard's Irish Bar for dinner. Good solid Irish food. And they have Guiness on tap (naturally), but they also have Smithwick's, which is one of my favorites. We eventually migrated down to Barristers Bar and Grille to catch the end of the Detroit Red Wings game (they lost...GROWL). Not a bad selection of beers on tap. They purchased the NHL Center Ice package, so now I know where to go to watch the hockey playoffs!

Saturday night I went to dinner and a play. A coworker was the assistant stage manager and ran the sound cues for a university production of Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening (not the musical version currently on Broadway). I met AH and her husband DS for dinner at White Dog Cafe for dinner before the show. The White Dog is rapidly becoming one of my favorite restaurants. All their food is made with local, sustainably grown products, and is delicious. Since they focus on local products and produce, their menu does change slightly from season to season. I love the chicken sandwiches. Their burgers are incredible. Of course they always have at least one vegetarian, and usually a vegan option as well. I have yet to eat anything there that wasn't yummy and satisfying. Lately they've had this delicious lemon vinaigrette for salads that's fresh and tart and even has chunks of lemon peel in it! Drool...

Anyway, after a delicious dinner, we headed over to campus for the play. Spring Awakening is not exactly an uplifting play. It's quite intense. This production was done in a black box setting, so everyone was close to the actors and the scene. It made it hard to distance yourself, and I found myself sucked in to the intensity. The play is about young adults, adolescents, experiencing a coming of age and sexual awakening in Imperial Germany. The overall play is tragic, with one character committing suicide and another dying, and yet another consumed by self-hatred. Like I said, it's quite intense. But it was very well done. The students did an outstanding job playing their characters. The set and lighting was minimal but worked well with the intense emotions played out by the actors. For all the intensity, the production itself was well done and enjoyable. And of course my coworker did a fabulous job with the sound cues!

Original choral music, followed by pizza and beer

Friday night I went to a choral concert. My friends AH and her husband DS sing in a local choral group, the Choral Arts Society. I had yet to make one of their concerts, so I was determined to make it to this one.

This particular concert showcased the works of local composers by partnering with the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Composers Forum. They performed the works of 6 artists, the first five of which were shorter. The pieces ran the gamut from poetry and prayers arranged with original music to new arrangements of existing works and hymns.

One of my favorites was the arrangement of a Jewish prayer for a funeral, the Kaddish, by David Ludwig. It was beautifully done, so serene yet full of emotion. The Mourners' Kaddish itself, while spoken during funerals and during the period of mourning, does not actually mention death at all, but rather focuses on life and spirit and exalting God. I think David Ludwig did an amazing job of presenting this so it came through clearly in the music.

I particularly liked the fact that all the composers were there. They each spoke briefly before their piece was performed, giving us a little bit of information about what inspired them and what they aimed to create. It's not something you normally get to hear, and it adds so much more to the performances to hear a bit of the background behind the pieces. The performance was also recorded, so the composers would have a copy of their work being performed for promotion and personal record.

The last piece was one that had been commissioned by the Choral Arts Society artistic director, Matthew Glandorf. He asked Anthony Mosakowski to do a rendition of the Passion according to St. John. Fortunately, this was not the 2 hour version of the Passion. The four soloists were incredible. And Anthony added to the usual limited role of the larger chorus. Typically their role consists of playing the part of the crowd or the people. But in the scripture itself, it references other scriptures and prophesies. So Anthony had the chorus singing and chanting those referenced parts in the background while the soloists sang the St. John scripture. It was interesting to hear the Passion with another layer added to it.

Overall, it was a beautiful concert. As someone that's not normally a big choral music fan, I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed myself. The chorus is awesome, and I'm actually looking forward to future performances and hearing more choral music.

Afterwards, we went to grab a bite to eat and a drink at Dock Street Brewing Co. Their specialties? Beer (duh!) and pizza. Really really good pizza and small locally brewed batches for their draft beers. They have this great information board that lists all the available beers and a brief description of each one, which simplifies the selection process. I had their Baltic Porter, a porter brewed with maple syrup, which was very nice, dark, smooth, and had just a hint of sweetness. It complemented the pizza beautifully.

There were 7 of us, so we decided to split 2 large pizzas, which allowed for 2 slices each plus an extra for whomever was really hungry. These are not small slices, so two was plenty for me. We chose one with meat and one vegetarian pizza, which was not easy as there are many tasty options. We all agreed that there hard part of the decision was not agreeing on the choices, but having to limit ourselves to only two! The meat pizza we chose was the Flammenkuche and the vegetarian was the A La Greek. The Greek was pretty standard (tomatoes, feta, etc.) but topped with a mixed-greens salad, which was a nice addition. The Flammenkuche had bacon, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, and rosemary. OMG that was yummy. The crust on both was perfect, thin while still soft and just a bit chewy.

The only negative about Dock Street? It's very noisy. The building is an old firehouse, so there's not much to it. High ceilings, lack of "soft" material, so everything echoes. Plus they have music playing. Not a place for intimate conversation. But I'll certainly be back to try other beers and work my way through their incredible pizza menu.

What toddlers teach us

About a year ago, I went to the Please Touch Museum here in Philly with a friend and her toddler (read about that visit here). I went again today. Seems to be a good February activity, as it's cold and windy out, and the Museum is basically an indoor playground for kids up to age 7.

The friend I drove down to Delaware to visit last weekend came up here this weekend. JM's daughter E is three, and has a ton of energy. When it's too cold to go to an outdoor park, other options must be found. Given that driving up here is a reasonable drive, and a straight shot, they decided it was a good weekend to explore what indoor options Philly has to offer. E was thrilled with the Museum and had a blast. Rarely are children allowed to run around and explore whatever catches their eye, and that's what the Museum offers. She was enamored by the Where the Wild Things Are themed area, although the big wild thing coming out of the wall was a bit scary (he really is a bit frightening looking). The In the Night Kitchen area slide was another big hit. I think we played in most of the areas more than once during our three hour visit.

Today they had a jazz band, and our visit overlapped two of the performances. And despite the fact they sang the same songs both times, E was just as enchanted the second time as she was the first. She loved the butterfly finger puppets that went with the butterfly migration song. And happily spun in circles to a monkey singing a kids version of "Straighten up and fly right." She was completely mesmerized by the music, and was very excited to go home with a free maraca (JM and her husband may not be so thrilled later).

As I watched her play, running from one themed play area to another, I realized that toddlers are probably smarter than many of us. Despite the meltdowns and tantrums, they really know how to live. We tend to keep looking for the "next best thing" in life, while E just enjoys everything, whether it's the first time she sees it or the seventh. She's entirely in the moment. And the tantrums and meltdowns pass quickly, the reasons forgotten before they're even over - there's something else just as exciting over there anyway. And if it's not what you want to do, snacks or a juice box are an acceptable substitute.

And besides, when was the last time you danced and spun in a circle until it made you dizzy? Try it. It's therapeutic.

An evening of Bach

Last week my friend AH asked me if I would be interested in an evening of Bach with her and DS on Sunday. It's been quite some time since I've had the opportunity to enjoy some beautiful classical music so I jumped at the chance to join them.

The Curtis Institute of Music here in Philadelphia does a series of student recitals every year. Over one hundred. Sunday night was once such recital, in a beautiful location: St. Mark's Church. St. Mark's was built in 1849, and it's a grand stone building, very Gothic Revival. Needless to say an incredible setting for an evening of baroque music.

The concert was the complete Brandenburg Concertos by J. S. Bach. This is quite the endeavor, especially for a student recital. Most student recitals are small groups, or solos with accompaniment. These Concertos require multiple different arrangements of instruments and people, all of varying number. Sometimes a student would be playing the lead part, yet in the Concerto immediately previous or following they might be the support. Not an easy situation for a student, yet an incredible opportunity. The evening was divided into two halves: No. 1 through No. 3 at 4pm, and then No. 4 through No. 6 at 7:30pm. Between was a dinner break.

One of the things that makes this arrangement of the Brandenburg Concertos unique was the harpsichord (side note: what's with harpsichords almost always being painted in gaudy colors? the inside of the lid on this one was bright orange with a gold border!). And in some it was the support, yet in others it took a more prominent role. Each Number had a combination of strings and/or wind instruments and the harpsichord. Not something you get to hear everyday.

No. 1 had some great echoes between the violins, the oboes and the horns. The violins would play the melody solo, the whole group would play, the oboes would have the melody solo, the whole group would play, and then the horns had the solo. It was really interesting to hear how each different type of instrument changed how the melody sounded.

In No. 2 the trumpet was awesome! The trumpet player was a young woman and she rocked it. It was a small trumpet, almost like they had folded it in on itself, but wow what a sound. She had a great clear tone and never got lost behind all the other players.

No. 3 was all strings. The cellos were great. And the professor played the harpsichord for this one because there's a moment where Bach gives the player liberty to do what he likes. Pure improvisation. I'm sure he decided how he was going to play it that very day.

Next was the dinner break. St. Mark's is in a part of town with restaurants everywhere. And nearby was Monk's, home of yummy Belgian beer and mussels. AH went for mussels with a bit of spice (she has a cold so spicy food is always nice to help clear the sinuses). I decided to try their burgers this time, getting the "Trappist" with lettuce, tomato and goat cheese, hold the raw onions please. It was quite yummy. DS also had a burger and we split a basket of their yummy pommes frites. But the Bourbon mayo that comes with the fries was all his (Bourbon is just not my thing). And of course we all had a beer (how can you not?).

We got back to the church in plenty of time to get a good seat for the second half.

The violin player that had the primary part in No. 4 was amazing. His fingers positively danced on the strings. It was such incredible finger work and he played it effortlessly. The two flutes played off of each other beautifully, alternately letting each other be the stronger sound. And with such beautiful clear tone to their playing. In general all the players were so impressive during all three movements of No. 4.

No. 5 contained the harpsichord solo. The professor played again for this Concerto, as one movement contained quite a long solo with plenty of room for interpretation.

For No. 6 there was another unique element: no violins, only the lower strings (viola, cello and bass). It was beautiful. It was amazing to see how the violas played almost "around" each other, one playing then the other, chasing each other through the melody. I love canons in music. Many of my favorite musical pieces are canons, so it was great to hear one with a pair of violas.

All six of the Concertos have this wonderful layering element to them. I love how Bach layers the music and you can hear him building them: one instrument starts, then another picks up the melody, then a third, then eventually everyone joins in. And try as I might, I can't pick a favorite one. I enjoyed them all immensely.

It was an amazing evening of music. And I was positively humbled by the talent of these young musicians. I'm going to have to check out other student recitals. You just can't beat an evening of free classical music played by a group of students that obviously have a passion for what they are playing.

OZOMATLI!!

Ozomatli came through Philly last night. This time as part of a tour called Summer Haze with two other bands: Slightly Stoopid and G Love & Special Sauce. The show was outside at the Festival Pier down on Penn's Landing. [note: parking fees down there are a racket!!] My friend AH (who I introduced to Ozo at the show in April) and her husband DS joined me. While waiting in line to be let into the venue, I was treated to the sounds of the band warming up. I got to hear "City of Angels" twice, once at a distance and once right in front of the stage!

As always, Ozo ROCKED it. Seriously, OMG and WOW! My post-show Ozo-high is still going strong (aided by my iPod and some serious at-work chair dancing, of course). They had the full band there this time, all nine current members (Jabu was absent at the April show). They all are just so much fun to watch. AH commented about how they smile the entire time they are on stage and it's obvious that they are having so much fun up there. And the coordinated playing and dancing done by the band members is always impressive (how do Raul and Wil-Dog do that??). They only had use of about half the stage as the instruments for the other two bands were set up behind them. Unfortunately this meant that some band members were less visible than normal (Jiro, Mario, and Justin when he was on percussion). But this did not stop Ozomatli from making use of every inch of stage they had available to them. At one point Raul left the stage and leaped over security and the barrier to jam in the middle of the crowd!

The set itself was quite short, at just under an hour of Ozo time. So not enough. They could play for 4 hours and it wouldn't be enough. I couldn't get a copy of the set list this time (bummer!) because of the barrier in front of the stage and security between the barrier and the stage. That and the crew started breaking down the Ozo set as soon as they left the stage for the traditional "party in the crowd" to prepare for the next band so by the time Ozo was done with the end of show jam in the crowd the set was already half gone.

They mainly played songs off of the latest album Don't Mess with the Dragon, but none of the ballads, only the faster paced higher-energy songs. They did play "After Party," which I do believe is my favorite song on the new album, and "Can't Stop," which is AH's favorite, so we were both very happy. Ozo did play some of their older stuff, including "Saturday Night" (always a favorite). In the middle of "Cumbia de los muertos" they played a medley of random non-Ozo '80s and '90s rock songs. And of course they ended the show with "Como Ves" before picking up their instruments and heading into the crowd. Justin played an incredible drum solo at the very very end that garnered quite the response from the surrounding crowd.

The crowd was a bit disappointing. It felt kind of like a big frat party and there didn't appear to be very many Ozo fans in the audience. And most people weren't even dancing! What's up with that?? There's something wrong with those people, I swear. Ozomatli is probably one of the most "danceable" bands out there!!

Various band members jammed with Slightly Stoopid at the end of their set, which followed Ozomatli. First Raul joined them on stage for a hard-core rock song. I've never seen him play like that! For the last song in Slightly Stoopid's set, they were joined by Shef, Asdru, Uli and Justin. Last up for the evening was G Love & Special Sauce (a local Philly funk band).

My favorite things during the evening include the girl that had never seen Ozo before and is now, in the words of AH's friend, their slave. She was beyond excited and thought the traditional end of show drumming circle/snake through the crowd was the best thing ever. And during the post-show "party in the crowd" I saw Shef grab some guys blunt while walking through the crowd and was alternating smoking and playing his trombone before passing the blunt off to someone else. Classic. The man is crazy, but we love him anyway.

Quite possibly the most disturbing part of the evening was sitting around between bands and having it proved once again that AH and I have the librarians' curse of "information here" tattooed on our foreheads. We kept getting asked for directions. Sigh.

Photos of various concerts are here on Flickr.

Oh, and we went for dinner afterwards at Standard Tap. Yes, dinner at 10:30pm at night. This is not unusual in other parts of the world, I promise. I had the absolutely delicious "Standard Burger." It was perfectly cooked, and includes lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, a grilled onion slice, and cheese. So very very good. And it arrived with excellent fries, liberally sprinkled with salt AND pepper. AH had the soft-shell crab sandwich, and given the amount of finger licking that occurred I'm certain she really enjoyed it! DS had the yummy squid, which is fried in a batter that also includes the "standard" salt AND pepper. We topped it off with nice cold beers. I'll be going back there, guaranteed.

Incredible music and dancing to one of my favorite bands followed by good food...what an excellent evening! Too bad I had to work the next day. My alarm went off painfully early this morning. God willing Ozomatli's next show in Philly will NOT be on a weeknight.

Music in the park

During the summer the Philadelphia Orchestra performs free concerts in parks around the city. It's the "Free Neighborhood Concerts" series. Tonight was the one in Clark Park, where the farmers market I usually go to is on Saturday mornings. A few of my colleagues live in very close to the park, and they said they'd save a bit of space for me when they staked their claim on a patch of grass. They all have toddlers and infants or are (very) pregnant (KS was hoping Bolero would bring on labor... but no luck), and I brought my own four legged furry child, Aussie.

I love the symphony. I always have. In college I was fortunate enough to be friends with some of the people that played in the city orchestra, so I always had free tickets to the performances. In graduate school they had deep discounted tickets for students. I went every chance I got. When I got my first job and moved to a big city, friend JT and I decided to split the cost of a season subscription for two seats to six concerts. We always made an evening of it, going out to a restaurant and then to the concert, often discussing the performance afterwards over drinks or dessert somewhere. She and I had a blast. So when my friend KS told me about the concert in the park, I knew I was going to go no matter what. It had been far far too long since my last orchestra concert.

I got there with plenty of time, which was good since I had to park a good ways away from the park. I overheard someone say that around 2,000 people attended the concert. Wow.

They had a theme to the pieces they chose for the evening, focusing on Spanish music. I couldn't have been more thrilled. They played Chabrier's Espana, portions of Bizet's Suite No. 2 from Carmen, Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34, Danzon No. 2 by Marquez, a tango from Barber's Souvenirs, and finished up with Ravel's Bolero. What a fantastic selection. It was a bit hard to hear the quieter parts of the pieces and movements, mainly because they didn't have the speaker volume up high enough. Overall it was beautiful. Very well played. The conductor, Rossen Milanov, was energetic, often dancing while he conducted. I love watching conductors when they're really into the music. The Philly Orchestra is really good. I now have a goal of finding a way to see a few performances during their regular season.

Free neighborhood concerts are not only fabulous for the music, but for the general ambiance and experience. Where a concert in a performance hall tends to bring only to adults, concerts in the park bring out whole families. Small children, like the toddlers and infants I was surrounded by, get to experience music in an environment where they aren't shushed the entire time. They can move around, dance, and no one minds if they get a bit rowdy at moments. People bring picnics and spread themselves out, lying back and letting the sound of the music envelop them. It's peaceful, yet there's an energy. The ambient noise of the people and kids and other dogs doesn't bother me in the slightest. For me, it only enhances the experience, being able to watch and hear others enjoy the music as much as I am.

The only negative moment of the evening was when a local news helicopter hovered overhead of the park for just a bit too long. I missed hearing an entire movement of the Carmen suite because that damn helicopter drowned out the music entirely, even the loud parts. Very annoying.

Aussie behaved quite well. She enjoyed the attention she got from the kids and other people nearby. I'm sure the small bag of dog treats I brought helped a bit as well. She was a bit restless with all the activity around her for most of the concert, watching everything, that is until the last song, Bolero. My dog took a nap during that song. Who sleeps through Bolero?? Only my dog. As if I needed more confirmation that she's weird.

In search of good cheese and bread

I went and explored the 9th Street Italian Market this morning. Wow. So much good food available. It was mildly overwhelming, actually. I started by just buying a cup of coffee from Anthony's Italian Coffee House (and Chocolate House) and walking the length of the Market, which runs along 9th Street between Fitzwater and Wharton Streets. There were people everywhere, not to mention the folding grocery carts, strollers, bicycles and dogs. It made for a bit of an obstacle course, but the hustle and bustle was exciting at the same time. People from all over and speaking a variety of languages doing their shopping. I was not in a hurry (I scored a free 3 hour parking space in a municipal lot), so I could really just relax and wander. While walking and absorbing and enjoying the environment, I formulated my plan of attack for purchases.

My friend KS had given me some recommendations, and I trust her (she did clue me into the delicious peaches at the local farmers market), so I was looking for those stores on my walk. Almost all the stores are long-time local Philadelphia family owned stores, most still owned and run by the same family that opened them generations ago. Some of the vendors have been around for over 100 years! In addition to all the stores, produce stalls line the other side of the sidewalk. It created some narrow paths that got clogged with people and carts and strollers, but there was so much to look at so I didn't mind. Everywhere is the smell of coffee, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh seafood, fresh meats, and cheese. OMG the cheese.

In addition to the various food recommendations, KS told me about Fante's, a kitchen supply store. Anyone that knows me knows I cannot resist a kitchen supply store. They emit some sort of gravitational pull, much like a bookstore, that I can't fight. I am compelled to go in and look around. I love getting lost in a kitchen store. So many neat toys and tools and gadgets. Some are laughable, but some are really cool.

After wandering around making a wish list in my head at Fante's, I headed up the street to Sarcone's Bakery for bread. I picked up some tomatoes from a "Jersey Fresh" vendor along the way (love love love local produce). The fresh bread selection at Sarcone's was beautiful. I picked up some short French loafs, munching on one of them as I walked back down the street. Crusty on the outside, and soft on the inside...almost melted in my mouth. I stopped in at Orlando's Meats for some homemade pork chorizo (so good!), and continued my walk down 9th Street.

Along the way, I picked up various fruits and veggies from the produce stalls. I made sure I grabbed some basil, and some fresh squash and lettuce for salads. Next stop: the cheese.

KS told me to check out Di Bruno Brothers for cheese. I walked in and was hit by the most incredibly delicious smell of all the cheeses. So many choices. If there's a cheese you want, Di Bruno's has it. Wow. It's a small store, like all the others in the Italian Market, and there was quite the line. While I was waiting, I started to feel a little drunk from the cheese smell. Wow. Heaven. In addition to the cheese varieties, they do have some meats and general items like olives, olive oil, and various canned goods. They have samples everywhere, and if you ask for a particular type of cheese, say a sharp cheddar, they'll give you samples of a few options and you pick the one you want. The cheese-mongers know what they're talking about. I had a mission: fresh mozzarella. Their fresh mozz is homemade regularly, so you know you're getting a really good cheese. I can't wait to have it on a nice slice of my French bread with some fresh tomato and basil. The best sandwich in the world.

My last stop on the way back to the car was Talluto's for fresh pasta. Again, a small shop, but they have olives and a small selection of various salads in a case as well. In addition to the variety of frozen pastas, they have a selection of fresh homemade pastas that are cut when you order. I chose the spinach pasta, and asked for a linguine cut. They even bundled it in two pieces so I could freeze one (they don't sell less than a pound at a time), and the cooking directions are printed right on the package. I'm drooling just thinking about what I'm going to do with that pasta...so many possibilities.

Even if you aren't planning on buying your groceries, I highly recommend a wander through the Italian Market just to look around. It is an incredible experience, and I can't wait to go back.

Weekend visitor!

I'm having company this weekend. My friend CH is visiting. Have I mentioned before how much I love company? It's such a wonderful excuse to get out and do things that you wouldn't normally do. You get to play tourist in your own city.

We don't have any plans for the weekend as of yet. Much of what we do (or don't do) will depend on the weather. If it's uncomfortably hot and sunny out (i.e. typical Philly summer day), I doubt we will go wander around the Independence National Historical Park area, which has very little shade and lots of open space. Also not a good plan if it's raining.

But there are plenty of museums and other such things. There's always the giant heart at the Franklin Institute. And there's a film festival this weekend. Or one of many farmers markets scattered around the city to wander through. And parks to explore. This is why I love living in a city, there's almost always something going on and there's plenty of things to do.

And company is the perfect excuse for another visit to the Naked Chocolate Cafe! See, CH is a foodie like I am. He loves to try new food as much as I do, whether that be at a restaurant or cooking it yourself. My talk of chocolate orgasms in your mouth has convinced him that we need to go to Naked Chocolate so he can experience it for himself. So I can guarantee the weekend will include chocolate. And probably at least one new restaurant I want to try (Monk's Cafe is on my list).

Beyond food, well, we're just going to relax and see where the mood takes us. I think that's the best plan of all.

Lions and tigers and gorillas, oh my!

This morning I was awoken bright and early by some insanely loud hip hop music blaring from the porch across the street. Welcome to Memorial Day. I laid in bed for a bit longer, but the music eventually drove me to quieter locations away from the window.

Shortly after this, my colleague and friend K called and told me they were heading over to the zoo and did I want to join them? K and R have a zoo membership (these things happen when you have a toddler), which enables them to bring in guest for free. I said sure, I'm up, and I've been wanting to see the zoo here. See, I live really close, and pass it on my way to work everyday. On my way home, if I get the timing wrong, I end up playing chicken on my bike with all the strollers (not fun) and dodging the kids running everywhere (even less fun than the strollers). So it would be nice to see the inside of the Philadelphia Zoo instead of just the outside.

By the time I left the house a little less than an hour later to meet K, R, and daughter Maja, my neighbors across the street had set up several picnic tables with umbrellas and the grills were warming up. Obviously a party in the making.

I met my friend and her family just inside the main gate to the zoo, and away we went. Maja was a bundle of energy, running everywhere with a big grin and giggling and talking constantly, commenting on everything we passed. At one point, another zoo goer quipped "is she free or do you get paid for the entertainment she's providing?" It's amazing how much energy a 2 year old can have.

We started with the tortoises and wandered our way along the main path. We went through the reptile house, R singing the boa constrictor song to a laughing Maja, who is obviously NOT afraid of snakes and other reptilian things. Good for her. I, however, will not be getting a pet snake anytime soon. They're just fine there behind the glass.

After reptiles, we hit the primate house. The spider monkeys had a couple of baby monkeys in April, who were climbing around the enclosure with great abandon. They are so cute. Several of the primates were either still eating breakfast or engaged in a post-meal nap. But the orangutans were out, and one was obviously trying to start something with the other, poking her and following her around (the boy being the instigator, of course), but the girl was having none of it. It was quite amusing to watch. Maja chose to go see the big cats next, who posed quite accommodatingly for photos. The big male lion treated us to some live grunting and growling and roaring, which was very cool. And the gibbons responded with their own ruckus.

In the puma enclosure is a family of siblings, two sisters and their brother. They were playing as we walked up, one sister stalking and tackling the other one and generally trying to make a nuisance of herself. Eventually big brother got involved, stalking the two, crouching and then pouncing on the two girls. All three chased each other around the enclosure for a bit. And then we got to chase Maja to the next cat enclosure.

After the cats, we stopped for a snack before seeing the rest of the animals. The river otters were very energetic, playing with their food, tossing the fish around and to each other before eating it. Bald eagles, and rhinos, and zebras, and giraffes, they were all out to play. It wasn't too hot, and the cloud cover kept the sun away. We did get a few sprinkles, but nothing beyond a spit or two, and if that's the price we paid to have all the animals out and not hiding away, fine by me.

Zebras are one of my favorite animals. I can't explain it. I've always liked the zebras. As a child on the merry-go-round on The Mall in Washington, DC, back before there became only horses and were all different animals, I always rode the zebra. If another child was on the zebra, I'd wait and ride it the next round. Something about zebras. My dad and his wife went to Africa this past year and saw zebras in the wild. Dad got some amazing pictures, and sent me a print as my birthday card. Very cool. Just to be nice, the zebra today stopped moving long enough for me to get a picture, and then galloped around the enclosure a few times to show off. I grinned like a little girl.

By this point, we were nearing the end, and after 3 hours of walking, even Maja with her boundless 2 year old energy was starting to slow down. Not enough to ride in her stroller, but enough so that R didn't have to run after her, he could walk. All he and K hope for is that it wore her out enough to take her afternoon nap.

A big thank you to R and K for the invite, I really enjoyed myself. And you can see the collection of photos I took here on Flickr.

I walked home and arrived to the smell of grills and smokers going full force. People were arriving for the party across the street, and the smell of bbq is in the air. Fortunately, they had switched the music from blaring hip hop to some nice mellow classic R&B. I tried to sit outside, but I need to invest in some bug repellent or citronella candles. I was only outside for 20 minutes and ended up with 3 mosquito bites. Summer has certainly arrived.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.

Monday: City Views

Monday, May 21, 2007: City Views, Art, and Reading Terminal Market

Monday was SM's last day. Her flight was leaving in the early evening, but that still gave us enough time to visit a few last sites in Center City. First on our list was City Hall. Fortunately for us, one of the bus routes near me stops a City Hall, so we wouldn't have to deal with paying to park downtown on a weekday (much less even find a spot to park).

City Hall is the tallest all masonry building in the world. No steel infrastructure, just stone. You can take a free tour up to the tower observation deck for some incredible 360 degree views of the city. The trips to the observation deck are limited to 4 people at a time, and you have to get a timed ticket from the visitors' office on the first floor. It can be difficult in the mornings to get a ticket due to school groups, but SM and I got lucky and got a 10:45am ticket. It takes about 10 minutes to get up to the 7th floor where the elevator to the tower is located, so we knew we needed to be on our way there by 10:30am. This gave us some time (about 30 minutes) to walk outside and get some photos of the building. And go in search of some morning caffeine. SM is a Diet Dr. Pepper fan and I'm an admitted coffee addict. So we walked up Market Street to feed our respective caffeine needs.

We still got to the 7th floor landing with time to spare and look at the information about City Hall and the tower itself. Apparently the statue on top, William Penn, is hollow and there's a child sized hatch in his hat to the outside. Not that visitors are allowed up there, but it's still a fascinating fact. The other two people going to the observation deck with us were a nice couple visiting the woman's childhood home. They now live in my PCOR, where SM lives currently. What a small world. They also apparently had been at the Poe Historic Site after us on Sunday and had seen SM's signature in the guest book, and wondered who she was. I do love the randomness of life sometimes. Of all the people in the world we could have met up with for the tour, we met up with them. They were wonderful company, and up in the tower it was neat to hear the woman point things out to her husband in the landscape and tell him all about what it was like when she was growing up and how much it had all changed.

We got some great photos of the city, and the only direction our view was even slightly obstructed was to the west, where there are several skyscrapers taller than City Hall.

After City Hall, we went in search of lunch at the Reading Terminal Market, figuring we'd beat the noon rush and have some time to wander around. We had delicious crepes from Profi's Creperie, I had a fantastic cup of very strong coffee (just how I like it) from Old City Coffee, Inc., and we enjoyed just looking at all the shops. Oh, and I had a cupcake from Flying Monkey. I just can't resist their pound cake cupcakes with butter cream icing! We also had the opportunity to play a rousing game of "spot the librarian" as the Medical Library Association was having their Annual Meeting at the nearby Convention Center.

Note to conference goers everywhere: REMOVE YOUR BADGE WHEN YOU LEAVE THE CONVENTION CENTER AND VENTURE INTO PUBLIC. Wearing your conference name tag/badge in public makes you and easy mark; it's safer to put it away unless you're in a meeting space. Both SM and I noted that when ALA holds their Midwinter Meeting here in Philly in January 2008, the Reading Terminal Market will be a very popular place.

As the Reading Terminal Market got busier, we headed out towards the bus stop, via a couple of plazas to see some of the art we saw from the City Hall observation deck up close. First was the "Your Move" art installation in Thomas Paine Plaza. A whole set of giant game pieces spread about the plaza that surrounds the Municipal building. Brilliant! There were bingo tiles, dominoes, Monopoly pieces, checkers, chess men and Sorry!/Parchisi game pieces. Talk about a trip back to childhood. You can see pictures here.

We left the game pieces and walked across the street to JFK Plaza, also known as LOVE Park. It's home to one of the LOVE sculptures in the city, fitting for the "City of Brotherly Love." I say one because I know there is another one on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. Apparently the park was one of the best skateboarding parks in the world until the city cracked down and enforced a skateboarding ban in 2002. At any rate, you can view the LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana with the beautiful background of a fountain. We took some pictures of SM in front of the sculpture to appease her mother, who complains that her daughter is never in any pictures. Hm. I guess that's because like myself, SM is usually the one behind the camera taking the photos.

Once pictures were taken, we walked to the bus stop just in time to see the bus we needed pull away. Oh well. Fortunately, we had plenty of time. This became even more fortunate when the next bus that came along broke down after only 4 blocks. The back door was jammed, so we all had to get off, get transfer tickets, and wait for the next one. What should have been a 30 minute trip home was rapidly becoming over an hour. The next bus finally arrived, and we all squeezed on. Thankfully, the rest of the bus ride was uneventful. We made it home in plenty of time for SM to gather herself and to get to the train station with time to spare.

Overall, we had a fabulous time. We saw a lot of history, and the weather was beautiful so we were able to see all the outdoor sites. SM will be back in Philly for the ALA Midwinter Meeting (Jan. 2008), along with several other friends and colleagues, and I'm looking forward to her return visit. There will be more food adventures and since it will be January, we'll visit some of the indoor sites like the abundance of museums all over the city. I better start some research and planning so I'll have a list of possibilities ready for the visit!

Sunday: Edgar Allen Poe and Chinatown

Sunday, May 20, 2007: Edgar Allen Poe and Chinatown

SM had noticed in her National Parks Passport book that in addition to the Independence National Historical Park, there are two other National Parks sites in Philadelphia. I did not know this. One of them is the Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site. Neither SM nor I associate Poe with Philadelphia, so we were eager to check out the site.

Up on Seventh Street and Spring Garden is the only remaining residence of Poe and his family in Philadelphia. It was the last place he lived in Philadelphia, and he wrote and published several stories while he was here, including "The Black Cat." We began our tour with an 8 minute video about Poe's life, followed by a introduction by a Ranger of the first floor, and then a self guided tour of the second floor, third floor, and cellar. The house has no furniture in it, as Poe apparently sold everything but his bed to fund his move to New York. The Park Service is currently restoring the house to the state it was when Poe lived here, so right now it's bare and needs some repair in spots. The only room with furniture is a reading room that was set up based on Poe's essay "The Philosophy of Furniture." Overall, it was fascinating. Oh, and lets not forget the raven statue out front.

From the Poe site, we headed south into Center City, in search of Chinatown. We had decided to drive since getting to the historic site by bus would have been difficult. So naturally, once we found Chinatown, we had to find parking. Chinatown was bustling with Sunday morning shopping activity, so it took awhile, but we were successful. Apparently SM has a parking angel. Bless the angel.

We walked under the Chinese Friendship Gate, in search of a dim sum brunch. We found it at the Imperial Inn on 10th Street. Yummy. This was only my second dim sum experience, and the first had been with a large group where they just put stuff on the table for us to share. SM is an experienced dim sum brunch goer, so I followed her lead as we selected items from the carts being wheeled around. By far my favorites were the steamed pork buns and the steamed custard buns. Delicious.

Our bellies full once more, we left the restaurant to walk around Chinatown a bit more. We ended up in the shopping district of Center City at Macy's, located in the Wanamaker Building. Philadelphia being such a historical city, it's not surprising that the Wanamaker Building has something noteworthy about it as well. The largest still operating pipe organ in the world: the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ. After some oohing and aahing over the organ, we figured we'd take a look around. I was in need of new jeans, seeing as the ones I was wearing were dangerously close to developing a few holes in not-so-acceptable places. Unfortunately, I had no luck in Macy's, but SM found two shirts on sale, bonus for her!

From the Wanamaker Building, we headed into the Gallery shopping center. Here I was in luck and found some jeans at Gap, and bonus! they were on sale. The Gallery has a weird floor plan where you have to walk through stores to get to other stores, and the hallways all kind of branch in different directions. After getting very confused and turned around inside the Gallery, we finally found our way out. We managed to find our way back to the car again (fortunately we had parked near the Chinese Friendship Gate, a landmark on most walking maps and tour guides), and headed home.

After two days of walking, SM and I agreed that a night on the couch was in order. Besides, it was the season finale and 400th episode of The Simpsons. We couldn't miss that!

Saturday: A History Lesson

Bear with me. As you all know, I had a visitor over the weekend, and we did a lot of things. It's going to take me a few posts to catch up.

Saturday, May 19, 2007: A History Lesson

Today SM and I wandered around Old City Philadelphia and all it's historical landmarks. Given my experience trying to park downtown when my friend L visited, SM and I took the bus. Fortunately, one of the bus routes near my home goes right by the Independence National Historical Park. We started at the Independence Visitor Center. To see Independence Hall, you have to have a timed entrance ticket (free), which are available at the Visitor Center. In addition, SM has one of those National Parks passport books and wanted to get her stamp for the Park.

Something very very important to note. We arrived at the Visitor Center by 10AM. The first available time for Independence Hall that day was 3:45PM. So if you want an early time, you have to get there EARLY. Or reserve your tickets online ahead of time. In addition, they recommend that you show up to go through security (metal detectors and x-ray machines for your gear) at least 30 minutes before the time on your ticket so you are inside the Independence Hall area and ready to queue up on time.

Now that we knew what time we needed to be at Independence Hall to get through security (3:15pm), we could plan the rest of the day. My bank is doing a special deal in May, partnering with certain museums across the country for free admission for you and a guest with your ATM card. On that list is the National Constitution Center. Normally, admission to the exhibit and multimedia show is $12. The show is a good overview of the history of our nation from just prior to the Declaration of Independence through the signing of the Constitution and even gives brief information about the Bill of Rights and each Amendment. The exhibit itself has more interactive activities regarding the Constitution, and gives historical context to each Amendment.

Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed in the exhibit, only in the hall with all the statutes of the signers of the Constitution. Also in the room with the statues is a book for you to sign the Constitution yourself. It's pretty amazing to look at all those signatures.

From the National Constitution Center, we made our way to the Christ Church Burial Ground, where Benjamin Franklin, among other famous people in our history, is buried. It, like most cemeteries, is peaceful and has a beauty to it. The headstones are largely unreadable, but markers highlight some of our country's founding fathers and mothers. You can see pictures of Franklin's grave as well as the burial ground in general here. Immediately outside of the entrance, SM and I found some money. A ten dollar bill to be exact. There is a small fee to enter the Burial Ground ($2 a person), so we thought it would be fitting to use the money for that and to help fund the Burial Ground maintenance and preservation.

Not quite filled with information about Benjamin Franklin, the next stop on the history tour was Franklin Court. This is where Franklin lived, but his house no longer remains. Instead, there's an eerie ghost structure of the house, a metal frame based on the foundation. It's kind of creepy, yet fascinating at the same time. Just outside the entrance to the Court is a still functioning U.S. Post Office. It was founded in 1775, and there's no U.S. flag flying out front because at the time it opened, there was no U.S. flag. You can still mail a letter from it, and it gets a unique postmark: B. Free Franklin. Cool.

Next stop was some lunch at Cosi, a chain, but it has excellent sandwiches. After taking a much needed rest from walking and refueling, we made our way back over to the Liberty Bell Center. When I visited last time with L, it was late in the day and there were very few visitors. This time we weren't so lucky. The weather was gorgeous, so every tour group known to man was visiting the Independence Mall area. Each tour group has it's own marker, carried by a tour leader so people have something to follow. Usually it's an umbrella or something simple like that, but not always. Our favorite tour group marker of the day: Elmo on a stick! A group had taken an Elmo doll and using a bungee cord, strapped him to a stick. It looked like they had hung him. Slightly twisted and macabre, but effective: it was certainly noticeable! We laughed about "Elmo on a stick" the rest of the walk to the entrance to the Liberty Bell Center.

The Center was busy, but we did manage to get a few pictures. Since I took so many during my last visit of the Bell itself, I did limit myself to just one this time: a neat artistic interpretation of the Liberty Bell.

From the Center, we wandered over to Washington Square, home of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. By this point, it had clouded over, and was starting to sprinkle, so we decided to head to Independence Hall, where we could visit a few other buildings inside the security gates before our timed tour of the Hall began.

We visited Old City Hall, the location of the Supreme Court Chamber, and would have visited Congress Hall but didn't have time. Congress Hall has timed tours every 20 minutes, and our timing was off so we missed it. Instead, we contented ourselves with walking around and reading all the signs and taking some pictures of the building exterior. After a brief spell of rain, it cleared up, and we had a nice rest on a bench before getting in line for our tour.

Each tour begins with an introduction of what we are going to see in the Hall west wing before moving into the Hall itself. Our ranger was very knowledgeable, and quite entertaining, making the tour that much better. We moved from the west wing to the Court room, which was used for much more than just court. The last stop on our tour of Independence Hall is the famous Assembly Room, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution was drafted. The chair at the front of the room is the actual chair that George Washington sat in, apparently called the rising sun chair by Franklin.

By now, our brains had reached their capacity for history. SM and I both know most of it, but the details you learn when touring the actual sites are fantastic. There is, however, only so much you can absorb. Our brains full, we caught the bus and headed home to let the dog out. It had been a full day.

After a brief rest at home, we got in the car and headed back into the city for dinner. SM had told me that she wanted to have a Philly cheesesteak, figuring if she's ever going to have one, it should be here. So I took her to Gianna's Grille. The vegetarian cheesesteak L and I had during her visit was fantastic, and I was eager to try their carnivore version. It didn't disappoint. We went for cheesesteaks and fries, as well as vegan cannolis for a little treat. Check out the spread here. Our bellies more than full, we decided a short walk was in order before meeting my colleague and friend A and her husband D. So we wandered a few blocks up and down South Street, a colorful and eclectic blend of shops and people.

We wound our way down South Street and then north to the Naked Chocolate Cafe. SM is a hot chocolate connoisseur, and A and D had been wanting to try it, so this was an ideal excuse. Each of us got a different variety of hot chocolate: Classic, Bittersweet, Aztec, and Spicy. OMG chocolate heaven. A and D also split a Black Forest cupcake. It was huge, definitely a two person cupcake, and they still didn't finish it. No one was disappointed, and we will all be back.

Worn out, SM and I headed back home (once we remembered where we had parked the car), and crashed. We had plans for Sunday, but agreed that it wouldn't be nearly as packed as Saturday was with history.

A busy Saturday morning

I wore the dog out. As I'm writing this, Aussie is currently sacked out, and snoring like a freight train. I'll be lucky if I can coax her off her dog bed to sit out on the porch with me this afternoon.

This morning we went down to Clark Park in the Spruce Hill area of West Philadelphia (followed all that? good!). They have a farmers' market every Saturday morning, and I wanted to check it out. When I lived in Bloomington, IN (for grad school at Indiana U.), I voluntarily got up extra early to head down to the farmers' market in town because I love love love fresh local produce. Nothing tastes quite as good as a fresh tomato salad or farm fresh greens. And you can get a week's worth of fresh veggies and fruits for cheap. What can be better than that?

So when my friend and colleague K told me that they're heading to the market on Saturday morning, and asked if I wanted to tag along, I jumped at the chance. In addition, the Spruce Hill May Fair is today, also in Clark Park. Booths full of food and goods and information. And the entire area is very dog friendly, so Aussie was welcome.


So the dog and I got up and out of the house and met K and her daughter Maja at the park. Not sleeping in was so worth it. I got some fresh local organic spinach, a dozen eggs from a local farm, some delicious looking and smelling local tomatoes, and a jar of Amish homemade bread and butter pickles (yummy on ham and cheese sandwiches!). Oh, and let's not forget the whoopie pie from the Amish booth as well, and for only one dollar apiece. Sweet fresh whipped cream sandwiched between two cake-like cookies. Yum. They had several cookie varieties, including oatmeal, but I just had to get the classic chocolate. As my mom taught me, life is uncertain eat dessert first, so I had my dessert at 10:30 this morning. And it was good.

After the farmers' market, we met up with K's husband to wander around the May Fair. K had pre-ordered some plants, and I saw that they had recycling bins to give out. I have a recycling bucket, but it's just that, a bucket, and it doesn't hold much. Short of driving to the recycling center to get a big rectangular bin, this is the first place that I've been able to pick one up. I'm very happy about it, as now I don't have to be creative to fit all my recyclables in my bucket every other week (I recycle anything and everything I can).

We walked through the booths, and made our way over to where R and Maja were listening to the band. The band was great. They play at a coffee shop and one of the band members is K and R's neighbor. We picked up some wraps and sat down to eat. I had a yummy veggie wrap, and Aussie tried to charm R into giving her some of his chicken wrap. Alas for Aussie, R and K also have a dog, so R is very practiced at resisting the sad puppy eyes. After eating, R and K had to head out for an afternoon activity with Maja, so Aussie and I wandered through the May Fair a bit more. Some really nice crafts for sale. It's too bad there wasn't anything I needed, although I did get the card of an artisan soap maker who had some really nice smelling stuff for future reference.

And of course, since Aussie was with me, we had to stop and greet each and every dog and child we encountered. It's amazing how many people will talk to you when you have a dog with you, people that probably normally wouldn't stop to chat, but the dog makes you approachable. I love this. And, fortunately, my dog is extremely friendly and loves all the attention, from child and adult alike. People always want to know what her mix is...and frankly, I have no idea. Since she was a rescue, I don't know for sure, and none of our vets have ever made an absolute decision either. The only obvious thing is the Basset Hound, so that's what I tell people: Basset mixed with something or several somethings. All this chatter and dog attention makes for slow going when wandering around events, but it also makes them much more enjoyable.

By this point, Aussie and I had been walking around for several hours, and she was beginning to drag a bit. At 11 years old, and with her short legs, Aussie can only go for so long anymore, we had been there since 10am and it was a little past noon. She had reached her limit, so we headed back to the car. And now she's sacked out and will probably sleep the rest of the afternoon away. Hm. Maybe I'll join her for a lazy Saturday afternoon nap.

OZOMATLI!!!

Last night was the Ozomatli concert at World Cafe Live here in Philly.* Wow. I mean, really, WOW. My legs hurt from all the dancing. And let's just say that my bike ride into work today was not the most pleasant. But I have the Ozo buzz going on, and like usual, it should last a few days. Woot!

Ozomatli is this wonderful fusion of Latin, hip hop, funk, punk, Middle Eastern sound and other random world music. It's beautiful. And very dance-able. You can't help but have a lot of fun. And the band is always high energy. You can tell they're really enjoying themselves up there. I brought a new Ozo fan to the show, AH, and she commented on how the entire band was smiling the entire show. It's obvious they're having a good time, which means the audience has a good time. She was particularly impressed with the coordinated dancing done by the band...both halves of the stage jumping and dancing in sync, often while playing instruments. Um, wow. Not an easy thing to do, but I've seen it happen every show.

The other truly beautiful thing about Ozo is the diversity of the audience they attract. Their music is such an eclectic blend of styles that they attract and eclectic blend of people. Looking around from my spot in the front and slightly to the right of center, I saw a wide range of ages (including set of parents that brought their son), races, backgrounds, styles, and dancing abilities. A true cross-section of society, much like the band themselves (a very diverse group of guys).

Ozo has a new album out, Don't Mess with the Dragon, and most of the set was from it. They even started with one of the songs off it: "City of Angels." They came on stage and set the show to be their typical high energy let's all have a good time and dance the night away right from the first drumbeat. WOW, they so rock.

[How many times can I say wow in one post? Let's find out, shall we??]

Mid-set they did a weird little mix of songs from the '80s like Blondie's "The Tide is High" and a few others that were like a trippy little journey down memory lane. And of course the audience sang along. What's freaky is that we all knew the words.

What's equally as freaky is that I still remember how to do the electric slide. The little trip down memory lane was just to prime the crowd. For "After Party," Ozo challenged the audience to dance the electric slide for the entire song. And, 'cause Philly rocks, we did it. "After Party" is one of my favorite songs off the new album. You just can't go wrong with a song about coming together and enjoying yourselves. It's a bit more mellow than most of their stuff, but with the same let's-all-have-a-good-time-vibe and rockin' beat that makes Ozo so much fun. Again, WOW. I love this song and it's even better live. [But then, isn't everything better live with Ozo??]

"Magnolia Soul" and "Violeta" are two of their social justice focused songs on the new album. For those of you that don't know, Ozomatli is from Los Angeles, and they have a serious social justice aspect to what they do and their music. These news ones are absolutely incredible songs. "Magnolia Soul" is a funk-inspired song that highlights the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and the resilience of New Orleans in the aftermath. The ballad of "Violeta" echoes the tragedy of life lost in war, on both sides, making it an incredibly moving song. "Violeta" was one of the few ballads they played during the set. So much of Ozo's repertoire is high energy, that when they do have a ballad it's particularly noticeable. In this case, it is also particularly moving. They also played "Temperatura," which address immigration. Again, attacking political issues via an inspired and upbeat tune with some serious rabble-rousing lyrics.

The mixed some of their classics (or even vintage) tunes in with the songs from the new album. True old school songs like "Eva" and "Misma Cancion" were interspersed between new stuff. They played two of my all time favorites: "Believe" and "Ya Viene el Sol," which aren't really old school but definitely classic Ozo. And as always with these songs, WOW.

At the end of every show, the whole band grabs various percussion instruments and horns and heads off the stage into the crowd for a jam session. No joke. EVERY SHOW. Often, this is where it ends, because there's no place else to go. This time, however, it only started as a circle in the middle of the dance floor. Wil-dog (bass player extraordinare...can you salsa dance, jump and strum all at the same time without missing a beat or a chord? Yeah, I didn't think so) led the band in a line snaking its way through the crowd and out into the lobby where they took up residence on the steps and jammed for a bit more.

Once they were finally done (exhausted, maybe?), they all stuck around to chat with the audience and sign whatever people gave them. Really, WOW. They even included a tear out sheet in the booklet for Don't Mess with the Dragon that promised they'd all sign it if you brought it to a show. So I did. And I got it signed by everyone (except Asdru, vocals/trumpet, who disappeared). Along with the set-list I managed to snag off the stage at the end of the show. Go me!

So life is good. I may be tired and sore, but, damn, what a party! My Ozo buzz is still going strong (fueled a bit by my iPod), but, seriously, WOW. What more is there to say besides THANK YOU to Ozomatli for a bloody awesome and absolutely rockin' and intensely high energy show!??!!

*Note: pictures will be posted over on my Flickr account later tonight, so go check them out! Be warned, the on stage shots of the guys were taken with my camera phone (flash photography prohibited by the venue), so the quality isn't excellent, but hell, they're pics of the band!

Ask and ye shall receive...

My friend L has left Philly and returned home (this is sad, but we're surviving...for now. I'll go for a visit soon). Over the weekend, we were discussing how it was great that Brave Combo had been here (see post) and that now Ozomatli needed to come do a show so that all would be right with my world.

Well, ask and ye shall receive!

OZOMATLI IS COMING TO PHILLY!!!

They're playing at the World Cafe Live Downstairs venue on Tuesday, April 24th. I will be there. Front and center, dancing my little heart out.

I'm so beyond excited I can hardly sit still.

Monday...King Tut and food

L and I got up at a decent hour today, knowing that we actually had someplace to be. I had purchased tickets to the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute earlier this month. The tickets give you a half-hour window to enter the exhibit, and in order to get a decent time, I bought them 2 weeks ago.

We did some investigation, and discovered that one of the SEPTA buses actually took us directly to the Museum District. In the interest of not wanting to repeat our previous parking nightmares, and since it was Monday and we'd have to worry about feeding a meter or pay out the nose to park in a garage, we decided the bus was a good plan. Of course, we arrived at the bus stop only to learn that the bus we wanted had passed by about 5 minutes prior, which meant a 15 minute wait for the next one. Oh well. A fifteen minute wait is still infinitely better than an hour circling for parking while getting increasingly frustrated.

L and I arrived at the Franklin Institute a good hour before our King Tut exhibit entrance window, so we decided to explore the museum a bit. The Franklin Institute is a science museum, with various permanent exhibits like the Giant Heart and one all about Ben Franklin and his lesser known inventions. Much of it is hands on, and since it was a weekday, there were school groups everywhere. L and I explored and played with some of the hands-on exhibits, dodging small children. We eventually made our way close to the King Tut exhibit entrance and wandered through the gift shop until, finally, our entrance window time arrived.

L and I were both very excited to see the King Tut exhibit. The exhibit itself did not disappoint. The artifacts were incredible, and despite our dismay that the actual sarcophagus was no longer part of the traveling exhibit (damaged during the tour early on), we thoroughly enjoyed it. We did have a few complaints, however, including too many people. It was very crowded for a Monday afternoon and crowds can be very aggravating. I know the exhibit entrance windows had a goal to space the number of people in the exhibit out, but there were a lot of people allowed in during each window. I can't tell you how many times we were bumped by a stroller or a wheelchair or hit by a giant purse/bag. Or how many times people stepped in front of us to get a closer look at an artifact in one of the glass cases, effectively blocking everyone's view, because, apparently, they are more important than the other 6 people trying to see the artifact. It was crowded. The only other issue was the weird lighting. In an effort to spotlight the artifacts in the cases, often there was no other light in that specific gallery, making it very dark and causing people to bump into each other and into the walls. The spotlights also created weird glaring, often making it difficult to read the signs on the display cases.

But overall it was beautiful, and well worth the time and crowd aggravation. Our friend LP is very pissed at us, being the big Egypt fan she is, so we bought her a souvenir...a finger puppet.

After a brief trip home to walk and feed Aussie, we left again, this time by car, to find food. For dinner we decided to try a vegetarian Chinese place recommended by a co-worker: Su Xing House. It was incredible. Great atmosphere: calming, peaceful. Just the kind of environment needed after a typical Philly parking space quest. Excellent service. Amazing food. HUGE portions. HUGE. We only got one appetizer to share and one entree apiece. And I have leftovers that are going to feed me for the rest of the week. Pictures of the before (appetizer, entree, and entree) and the post-stuffing-our-faces-carnage are available for your viewing pleasure.

So after our delicious dinner, we decided we had enough space in our tummies and went in search of dessert. We had passed this place several times during our various quests for parking during the weekend, and the name spoke to us. The Naked Chocolate Cafe. We needed to investigate.

SweetJesusHolyMaryMotherOfGod.

Chocolate. Heavenly chocolate. Chocolate orgasms in our mouths. Serious chocolate. L had a Mocha Fudge Cake with a glass of milk to wash it down. I had a Spicy Hot Chocolate (size: indulgence) and a cupcake. They even provided real whipped cream on the Mocha Fudge Cake and hot chocolate. And they gave me a spoon to eat my hot chocolate with. Yes, I ATE my hot chocolate with a spoon. It's too thick to drink...hot chocolate European style, or, chocolate with a splash of milk to make it liquid. I needed the spoon. And it was good. It was very very good. L didn't finish her Mocha Fudge Cake, it was just too much for her. That's sayin' something.

We're now both in a chocolate coma and must go to bed to sleep it off.

Sunday...downtown Philly

So once again, L and I slept in a bit late. This time we can blame it on our late night of Latin dancing the night before. Regardless, we had a late start to our day. Once we both got coffee in us, and showered, we felt human enough to head down into Philly's downtown, known as Center City.

Foolishly, we decided to drive. Our thought process went like this: it's Sunday, free parking is a possibility, and public transit near me doesn't go directly into Center City so we would have had to mess with transfers, etc., so driving is a better bet. Foolish us. Foolish foolish us. We spent an hour, a full HOUR, driving in circles looking for parking. We didn't even care if we had to walk, we were planning on walking the city anyway, all we wanted was a parking spot that didn't say "Tow Zone" or handicapped. Yeah. Never again. Next time I think I'll just deal with public transit.

By the time we finally found parking and made our way to the Reading Terminal Market for some "lunch" it was almost 3pm and we were both starving. L found a stall specializing in vegetarian food, and decided to get some sweet potato fries. I went in search of something else and found some sushi. It was quite tasty, but that may have been the hunger talking. By the time I had found the sushi stall, ordered my rolls, received them, and eaten almost all of it, L still did not have her sweet potato fries. I was starting to wonder if they had to peel and slice the whole sweet potatoes to make the fries.

When she found me sitting at the counter, she was empty handed. What happened? Apparently the woman had forgotten them and they had burnt so she was going to have make another batch. WTF?? Forgotten them? Is this a joke? Unfortunately, no. L, being starving and cranky, told the woman to just give her the money back and walked away. By the time L found me, she had hit "feed me or I will kill you" stage of hunger so we quickly walked through the remainder of the market to find something vegetarian (no small feat). L ended up with a vegetarian gyro that wasn't all that good, but it did pull her out of homicidal mode so the world was safe again.

On our way out of the market (almost 4pm, and the stalls were closing up), we came upon the Flying Monkey. The Flying Monkey has cupcakes. Yummy cupcakes. We enjoyed a vanilla pound cake cupcake with chocolate filling and butter cream frosting. OMG. A mini-orgasm in our mouth. Cupcake heaven. A picture of the cupcake carnage can be seen here. I can't say that it was better or worse than the cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in NYC because they are two completely different kinds of cupcakes, both with their own place in cupcake heaven.

Our bellies now full and content, we hit the pavement, with the goal of heading East and then South, meandering our way down towards the intersection 6th Street and South Street. We walked down Market Street to the Independence National Historical Park, home of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, which runs along 6th Street. We started at the Liberty Bell. We had to go through security to see the Liberty Bell, which was just like airport security, except while I still had to take off my belt, at least I got to keep my shoes on. We timed our visit perfectly, and were able to get some great photos without a lot of people around. After we exited the Liberty Bell building, we headed South along 6th Street to Independence Hall. Unfortunately, we could no longer enter the actual building (no more tickets for today), so we contented ourselves with walking around the outside in the very nice park that surrounds it.

Philly being a very historical city, there are even more historical sites to behold on either side of the Park. We saw the Curtis Center, a piece of publishing history, and Library Hall, home to Ben Franklin's American Philosophical Society's library. We continued South on 6th to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located in Washington Square. Our heads full of history, our stomachs called again, and we left history behind in search of food.

A colleague had told me about this place on 6th Street that had great vegetarian cheese steaks. Ummm, ok, we'll give it a shot. So we went in search of Gianna's Grille. Sure enough, while the menu includes all the standard cheese steak and traditional meat favorites, it also has a very extensive selection of vegetarian options, all of which can be "veganized" if desired. We opted to split a GG Special (the vegetarian cheese steak) and an order of Krabby Fries (basic fries but with Old Bay Seasoning, a childhood favorite of mine). While waiting to order, our eyes were drawn to a case at the end of the counter that boasted "All treats are vegan" and contained a delicious array of cakes and cannolis. So we added two cupcakes to our order. We had to test them against our earlier experience of cupcake heaven and see how they stacked up.

Our food arrived, and we were really glad we split the vegetarian cheese steak. And it was fantastic. FANTASTIC. We couldn't even finish it all, so we wrapped up the remaining cheese steaks and fries, to be eaten as a snack or lunch tomorrow. And we took the cupcakes to go. Being only a block from South Street, we decided a nice walk was in order to walk off some of the very large and very very tasty meal we just had.

South Street is an eclectic blend of shops and restaurants and cafes with an equally eclectic bunch of people wandering around. It was great fun to walk while window shopping and people watching. After about a half hour of walking up and down South Street, we made our way back to the car. Aussie was waiting at home and needed to be fed and walked.

Once the dog was taken care of, we decided to be brave and venture out again, this time to Sisters for an adult beverage and conversation. Foolishly, again, we decided to drive in. After circling for parking for a good fifteen minutes, praying to the parking gods, we realized we were praying to the wrong gender. As soon as we changed to praying to the parking goddess, a parking spot became available. Thank you thank you thank you parking goddess. We will never pray to the wrong gender again. The late night of dancing followed by a day of walking caught up with us and we made it an early night, only hanging out at Sisters for a little over an hour.

We made it home without incident, and returned home to find that the parking goddess was still smiling upon us and the parking space we had vacated when we left was miraculously still available. After walking the dog one last time, we decided we needed a bedtime snack of leftover Krabby Fries and our vegan cupcakes. Aussie laid in wait in her usual spot, waiting for crumbs to drop.

We demolished the remainder of the fries, and moved onto the vegan cupcakes. Wow. Quite tasty. Not quite as heavenly as the Flying Monkey cupcake earlier (not much beats butter cream frosting), but if we hadn't known they were vegan cupcakes, we never would have believe it. All in all, an excellent way to end the day.

Tomorrow's plan includes a visit to another vegetarian recommendations and the King Tut touring exhibit.