7-1-22 Heading home

Nathaniel and I had wonderful dinners last night at a restaurant just around the corner called Cry Baby Pasta.  Dave didn't enjoy his as much because it was too spicy for him.  Nathaniel had baked asparagus with mushrooms with a vinaigrette dressing, spaghetti with basil pesto, and butterscotch budino (graham cracker crumble, whipped cream and salted caramel).  I had cacio e pepe cheese and pepper sauce) spaghetti and Dave had linguine with crab and peppers.  The staff was very nice and felt badly that Dave couldn't finish his dinner so they took it off the bill.  We stopped back to say good-bye to the neighbors down our block and their dog, Moe.  Nathaniel is in the shower and we will finish our card game before bed.

Nathaniel won the final game of the vacation!  We will take the train late morning and be home this afternoon.  It was a wonderful vacation.  We loved seeing the sights through the eyes of someone seeing them for the first time!  Nathaniel loved the hustle and bustle of the cities - so very different from quiet East Lyme.  It is always good to come home though after being away.  We are looking forward to our own bed, non-restaurant meals, checking out the gardens and getting back to our normal routines.

6-30-22 Dilworth Park and Barnes Foundation

 Our first stop this morning was the LOVE Arch for a photo op.  Someone offered to take our pic all together and then I took one for them.

Then we stopped at the roller rink at Dilworth Park.  Nathaniel had a great time skating.  He had a hard time at the beginning, but after getting a "walker" and a few tips from way back in my childhood, he certainly improved.  

There was a splash pad nearby and we enjoyed watching the kids run through it.  The toddler in the blue romper was having a blast!

On our way to a cafe for lunch, Nathaniel stopped to take pictures of the pigeons.  A man standing nearby gave him a handful of corn to feed them.  They certainly flocked to him when he threw the corn!

We had a lovely lunch at Waterfront Gourmet (although the waterfront was the splash pad).  From there we took an Uber to the Barnes Foundation art museum and then it continued to take Dave back for his nap.  

The collection from Dr. Barnes was given to Philadelphia in its entirety.  He insisted that there be no plaques next to the pictures.  I found this annoying as you were supposed to download an app and scan the picture with your cell phone to identify the picture and its artist.  On the other hand, he had an amazing collection of art from many periods and styles.  I ended up having to take photos of the paintings with my cell phone as I couldn't figure out how to turn off the red-eye feature on my camera.  Nathaniel really enjoyed the museum as he enjoyed finding Matisse and Rousseau paintings.

We are back home now and have pre-packed out suitcases for the morning as we will be taking the train home.  In a little while we will walk down the street to order some sandwiches to take on our trip and then will go to dinner.

6-30 Dinner pics

 With Nathaniel's massive help, I think I can show the pics of dinner from my phone.

Rigatoni

Scallops

Gnocchi

Panna Cotta

6-29-22 (continued) Dinner at Southwark Restaurant

 We just came back from the most amazing dinner.  Right on the corner of our street is the Southwark Restaurant.  For an appetizer, Dave and I shared an order of homemade focaccia while Nathaniel had the mixed lettuces with local heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, croutons with a lemon/cherry balsamic vinegerette.   I had the smoked potato gnocchi with guanciale and peas, Dave had the sea scallops with blistered cherry tomatoes, zucchini and basil, and Nathaniel had the mezze spinach rigatoni, spring onions, lemon, oregano and chili flakes.  Everyone enjoyed their meal.  For dessert, Nathaniel had the chocolate panna cotta with sunflower seed toffee and cherries and a candle on top for him to make a wish on for his birthday.  Dave had another order of the focaccia bread - it was that good!  They also brought him a complimentary dish of homemade sorbet - strawberry, rhubarb and beet.  This sounds really weird, but the flavors worked really well with each other.  I only ate half my dinner as it was very filling.  I had a sliver of the eclair when we got home.  I did take some pics with my phone and will try tomorrow to see if I can get them from my phone onto the blog.

On the way home we stopped to chat with the neighbors.  They sit out every night with their dog and visit with people walking by.  They are very nice and love chatting with Nathaniel to see what he did that day.  Nathaniel is taking his shower and we will play a game or two of cards before going to bed.

6-29-22 Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

 So last night we walked to the corner to Famous 4th Street Deli.  Dave had breakfast for dinner with the most enormous omelet we have ever seen!  He could only eat half and saved the rest for breakfast today.  Nathaniel had a nova salmon sandwich platter and again ate half for breakfast.  I had my Philly cheesesteak left over from the night before so I ordered an eclair for dessert.  I was enormous!   The teaspoon next to it for scale is larger than my teaspoons at home, but I couldn't think of anything else to use.  I will take me the rest of the week to finish it.

After dinner we again played pinochle.  Nathaniel is really getting good at the game.  Nathaniel won three games to my one!

This morning after breakfast and laundry, we took an Uber to Reading Terminal Market.  Nathaniel was fascinated by all of the booths: fish, meat, bread, desserts, candy, produce and other items.

We then walked down the block and across the street to a huge Macy's store.  Inside the store is a beautiful organ.  Someone comes in to play it at noon and 6 PM, but we couldn't wait around for the concert and we had to have an earlier lunch in order to get to our afternoon activity. 

We walked back to the terminal for lunch.  Dave had a gyro, I had a Guacamole, bacon and tomato sandwich, and Nathaniel had something called a breakfast bowl.  It was a chia pudding with oats, quinoa, toasted almonds, chocolate bits and oat milk.  He declared it delicious.  I had asked for no jalapeno peppers on my sandwich, but they were there!  I couldn't even finish one-half of the sandwich - my mouth was on fire!!  We finished lunch earlier than we expected so took an Uber back to the house so Dave could have his nap.  Nathaniel and I hung out for an hour and then went to Philadelphia's Magic Gardens.  This is a immersive mixed media art environment created by Isaiah Zagar using tiles, bicycle wheels, found objects, mirrors and mosaics murals.  It was a multi-level exhibit and art was on the floor and walls.  Nathaniel love it!  I was less enamored of the style, but could certainly appreciate the work that went into creating it.  

We then took an Uber across town to visit a tee shirt shop that Nathaniel had spotted the other day that wasn't yet opened as we walked by.  Unfortunately they didn't have anything in his size.  As we were walking toward home, however, he spotted a store called Omoi.  This is a zakka shop - apparently it is Japanese influenced stationery/bookstore/accessories store.  He had a grand time browsing and bought a few treasures.  We are now back at the house and will go out to our replacement birthday/anniversary dinner.  We are all looking forward to it!

6-28-22 Benjamin Franklin"s grave, Betsy Ross House, Elfreth's Alley, Museum of Illusions

 We played pinochle last night and Dave won the first game.  We ran out of time to finish the second game so will continue tonight.

After breakfast we walked down to the historic district.  We found Benjamin Franklin's grave and as we were looking at it, I heard a voice behind me say, "I just had them put my name on the stone to fool the tourists.  As you can see I like to go out for a walk on a beautiful day like today."  Turning around, we saw a Ben Franklin re-enactor.  He stayed and chatted with us for a bit and then walked away around the corner.  Nathaniel did not want his picture taken with him. 

 From there we walked to the Betsy Ross house.  She was married three times (her first two husbands died young - one from war wound and one from yellow fever).  She became an upholsterer in her own right and that is how she was able to earn money for her family.  George Washington ordered some furniture upholstered when he was in town.  We took a tour through the house and marveled at the tiny rooms and the narrow staircases.  Nathaniel lifted the bucket used to fetch water and declared it heavy.  It weighed 25 pounds full and she had to fetch water 8 times a day.

Our next stop was Elfreth's Alley.  This is a narrow street with 32 houses along it.  The earliest houses were built in the 1730's and the newest in the 1830's.  Twenty-nine of the houses are privately owned now.  

We walked back toward the center and Dave walked home for lunch and a nap.  Nathaniel and I went to the Museum of Illusions.  What a fun time we had in there!  The museum was filled with optical illusions, puzzles, holograms, and other fun things to do.  The last photo in this set is a video of Nathaniel standing in front on a revolving optical illusion.

On the way back home, Nathaniel chose our lunch spot.  We ate at Frieda's cafe.  Lunch was delicious:  we each had the summer salad - arugula, watermelon, honeydew. radish, pesto and barrata with a citrus oil and vinegar dressing.  Nathaniel also added prosciutto.  We also each had a freshly baked piece of focaccia bread.  Nathaniel purchased an almond scone from their bakery for dessert after dinner tonight.  The walls of the cafe held pieces done by local artists and the hundreds of paper butterflies hung from the ceiling.

Now we are relaxing and will finish our game before we walk down the street for dinner.