We started by going to the Franklin Institute Science Museum. I was intrigued by a special exhibit that opened there last week on Identity. We also took the time to take part in a time-honoured tradition: walking through The Giant Heart. :-) Our timing there allowed us to see one of the shows at the Fels Planetarium. Very cool!
By this time, it was just around lunch time and we decided to make one last visit to the Reading Terminal Market.
The food on the train is so horrible, so we're bringing more with us this time. I stood in line at the most popular butcher counter in the market for close to 20 minutes. That place was bustlin'! I could totally picture myself as a resident stopping by to get my week's supply of food. I started chatting with another fellow who was waiting. I learned that he was 57 years old... that he's been coming to this market since the 60's... that he's been coming to this butcher for 4 years... that he and his wife don't eat red meat... that he'd done some crazy stuff in his youth ("the whole 60's drug scene, y'know?") but that health was very important to him now... Amazing what you can learn while waiting for the butcher to call your number!Back to our "apartment" for a quick lunch before heading towards our next destination: Antique Row.
Many of the shops were closed - and perhaps that's a good thing! - but the architecture was just delightful! Beautiful laneways lined with attractive "brownstones" and paved with cobblestone. Much to my delight, we also stumbled upon a work of art I had seen during my first visit to Philly in 2005: the amazing mosaic art of Isaiah Zagar. I couldn't remember the artist's name, nor the location of his main masterpiece... yet I remembered it. Funny how I just "happened" upon it anyway. :-)
We enquired about local coffee shops. One shop owner directed us to The Chapterhouse, an independantly owned coffeehouse and art gallery. How perfect! I sipped on a ginger tea as we warmed up before heading back out to catch a movie. On our bus tour, we had noticed a movie theatre that seemed to be showing an interesting slate of films. We decided to go see the early showing of Into the Wild. The Ritz 5 Theatre was delightful: small... quiet... a breath of fresh air. Rather than blaring loud pop music and showing stupid celebrity quiz questions on the screen prior to the start of the movie, we were treated to classical music, opera arias and a "slide show" of works of art on the screen. The film? If you haven't seen this yet, I would highly recommend it! It's definitely a "big screen" film with stunning cinematography. Inspired by a true story, the film is thought-provoking and very engaging. Although it's over two hours long, not once did I look at my watch or feel that it was dragging on. A story worth hearing...
We walked back and are now preparing for our early morning departure. Our train leaves at 5:50am. Luckily, there will be plenty of time for sleeping later in the day. :-) And so, this is jag, signing off from Philly... See you back in Ottawa!Pace e bene,
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