the ocean

I had a work event in Philadelphia last Friday, which we used as an excuse to spend a weekend there. We'd never been before and our verdict was that Philadelphia is cute and nice.

We didn't get off to the best start. There was an overhead compartment dispute and I was jammed into a middle seat next to a very large and talkative man on the flight out. He apparently missed my no-so-subtle social cue of staring at my New Yorker so intently that it nearly caught fire. Then there was traffic on the way from the airport, giving me way too much time to contemplate how unsightly the surroundings of so many major airports really are. How hard would it be to get a formal garden or at least a rolling meadow?

But the downtown had lots of nice old buildings, public art, and tree-lined streets, and it seemed comparatively less manic than downtown New York or even Chicago. Plus the museums were really good. The Barnes Foundation collection is frankly overwhelmingly gorgeous, even if it is a bit heavier on the Renoir than would really suit my tastes. And the Philadelphia Museum of Art has its own collection of hot hits, along with a Rocky statue out front that seems to be all anyone actually cares about.

Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell were also legit. I'm not sure I needed like six rooms of interpretative exhibits for a bell, but I'll take them, particularly in the early December chill. Freedom is actually pretty great, I think maybe.

Oh, and the food. I ate a giant cheesesteak with cheese fries. And then literally did not feel like eating again for 24 hours. Let's be honest that parceling out our diets into multiple so-called "meals" is pretty bourgeoisie.