This weekend, for the first time since I moved into my cozy Chestnut Hill apartment, I felt like a true city girl.
My mailing address has been Philadelphia, PA, for the past half-year - heck, I even registered to vote and cast my first vote ever here - but I never really felt a sense of Philly pride or belonging. I only spent a handful of weekends here, choosing instead to return to Allentown, literally my city of brotherly love. When I was here, I spent those Saturdays and Sundays taking walks and wiling away afternoons at the Borders. I'd never been more relaxed, but the feeling of pure stresslessness had little to do with where I was physically. The same scene could have played out in any neighborhood, town, 'burb, or city.
But this past Saturday, I made my first-ever trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In some eight-plus years of living in eastern Pennsylvania, I had never set foot on those famed steps and had only seen the museum's facade from the roads around it. True story.
Feeling ever-so-metropolitan, I took the train into Center City, having planned out a bus/walking route from Suburban Station. However, I realized on the way there that I'd remembered everything - wallet, apartment keys, camera, etc. - except my map, which included the numbers and stops of the buses I wanted. So I decided to hoof it to the museum, and it was a decidely shorter walk than I expected from looking at the map. Clearly I just have no sense of distance.
Hanim was obliging enough to join me, and I got us in for free with my handy-dandy work ID card (oh, bless you, corporate perks!). After an hour or two of art appreciating and, admittedly, laughing at the modern art neither of us understood the artistic value of, we headed across town to the Reading Terminal Market (and passed through Love Park!), which, again, I'd only heard about but never visited. It was quite an operation, with its assortment of ethnic food and fresh meat and vegetable stands. If it hadn't been a 90-degree day and if we hadn't been planning to trek back across town later, I definitely would have gotten some meats and veggies to take home. As it was, I ended up just getting an iced coffee to quench my thirst. (Now that I think about it, this is probably why I couldn't get to sleep on Saturday night...)
More walking followed, this time back towards 30 Street Station, where we both would catch public transportation to our homes. After a quick detour at the World Cafe Live to buy some concert tickets (Jon McLaughlin and the XPoNential Music Festival!!), Hanim and I parted ways at 30th Street. The half-hour train ride back to Chestnut Hill provided some much-needed rest for my feet (negative life choice: wearing flip-flops and proceeding to log about 10 miles on your pedometer) and a quiet opportunity to reflect. I'd never really had an opinion on Philadelphia before, but I guess all it takes is one great and gorgeous day to make me really happy to live here. Granted, the city's reputation as Killadelphia makes me a little uneasy, but I do think I will seriously consider coming back to Philadelphia after college. Maybe next time around, I'll do a better job at taking advantage of the cultural opportunities.Feeling ever-so-metropolitan, I took the train into Center City, having planned out a bus/walking route from Suburban Station. However, I realized on the way there that I'd remembered everything - wallet, apartment keys, camera, etc. - except my map, which included the numbers and stops of the buses I wanted. So I decided to hoof it to the museum, and it was a decidely shorter walk than I expected from looking at the map. Clearly I just have no sense of distance.
Hanim was obliging enough to join me, and I got us in for free with my handy-dandy work ID card (oh, bless you, corporate perks!). After an hour or two of art appreciating and, admittedly, laughing at the modern art neither of us understood the artistic value of, we headed across town to the Reading Terminal Market (and passed through Love Park!), which, again, I'd only heard about but never visited. It was quite an operation, with its assortment of ethnic food and fresh meat and vegetable stands. If it hadn't been a 90-degree day and if we hadn't been planning to trek back across town later, I definitely would have gotten some meats and veggies to take home. As it was, I ended up just getting an iced coffee to quench my thirst. (Now that I think about it, this is probably why I couldn't get to sleep on Saturday night...)
Aside from the Museum of Art this weekend, I also went to see a play with my roommate at our neighborhood theater: Plaza Suite by Neil Simon. It was very entertaining, and the acting was quite impressive. For the most part, the play was comedic, and I kept on wondering if anyone would break character and just crack up. But they were just too darn professional. I'm still partial to musicals (inspired by the composer's Tony acceptance speech, I ordered the soundtrack to In The Heights last week, and I can't wait to listen to it when I get home!), but I'm now interested in checking out some more Neil Simon plays too.
Though it would be really cool to spend the long Independence Day weekend in Philadelphia, I'm definitely looking forward to going home after work this Wednesday. I'm going through Flip withdrawal!
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