Oot and Aboot with Mayor Nutter in Philly

From the very first inkling that we might come to Philadelphia, people have been giving us advice to get out and see the city.

We hear and obey.

The first day we got here, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed at a semi-outdoor venue called the Mann Center.  Of course we went.  The Busaths did the driving, thank you Dale, and prepared a picnic dinner, thank you Mitzi and Rosa. It was a pleasant summer's evening, and the familiar sounds of home welcomed us to a new home.  

For one of the encores, Mayor Nutter directed the choir.  He told us later that it was a stunning experience, and he was unprepared for the awe he felt standing in front of all of them.

The next weekend was the 4th of July and you've already seen that blog.  Of course, Mayor Nutter helped with the speechifying, and joined in the parade, and tapped the Liberty Bell, and posed with us in the visitor's center.  We were at all of those places, too, and we had to hustle to get there.

Then last weekend, we caught a bus downtown and explored the Italian market.  Essentially 8 blocks of sidewalk shopping, much of it fresh produce.  And fresh poultry.  And meat of uncertain age or origin.  The blueberries come from New Jersey.  Yes, the Garden State.

 The downtown is very interesting visually.  Here is one of Isaiah Zagar's wall mosaics.  These are all around South Philly,  like little surprise sunbursts.

There are lots of murals around town, too.  I have a nagging ambition to photograph them all.  Notice the almost nude sunbather under the red umbrella.

There are also some interesting building facades.  This one is on South Street, a bohemian, hippy, hipster mashup neighborhood.

We had our first Philly(r) Cheesesteak(tm) at Pat's(c).  It was a little commercialized.  It turns out that the secret is the bread.  Oh, and the cheese whiz.

It is kittycorner to Geno's, another famous shop.  There is some rivalry here, can't think why.

But we also found that other cheesesteak shops are just as popular.  

Then we went down to see Penn's landing, a commercial/community place developed from the old Philadelphia naval yards.  There was an Hispanic festival going on.  

 

And guess who was there?  Mayor Nutter!  Dude gets around!

In the midst of all of this playing, we found time to go to work.   Here is Terisa, first day at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or CHOP.

Here is my office in Arlington.  Yes, as in DC. 

The commute isn't too bad, since I only have to do it every other week for a couple of days.  Haven't developed a rhythm yet, but I walk to the elevated train (which immediately goes underground), and ride to the train station.  I get on a regional Amtrak train and ride 2 hours to Union Station in DC.  A subway ride, a transfer, and short walk and there I am, at work.

Terisa has gotten her rotation assignments and despite extreme juggling on the part of the adminstrators, 

is  pleased with the opportunities.

In other firsts, we went bar hopping at the Puppy Kitchen.  Technically it wasn't bar hopping, since we only went to one place, and it was actually called the Pub and Kitchen.  This is Terisa's cohort of interns celebrating one last night of freedom.  The noise level was high enough to fuse metal...

Also, had our first thunderstorm.  Impressive enough but it seemed to make the temperature go UP, and I felt like I needed a SCUBA tank to breathe.

Hot, yes.  Humid, yes.  Pretty?  Definitely.

Gabe and Terisa