I really like Philadelphia

Tags

history, Philadelphia, pictures, postaday2014, Walnut Street

We just left Philadelphia today, I am writing this from our room in Herndon, Virginia, but I have to say that I look forward to going back to Philadelphia and spending more time there. If everything goes the way that it has been, it seems that my husband or I should say his firm will be helping Comcast build their third tower in Philly, so we would need to spend a little more time there during the duration of the project.

What I like the most about Philadelphia is the strong sense of history that I feel walking along its streets. Granted I have been seeing just a small piece of the grand city, but just looking down the narrow side streets, I can imagine Philadelphia from centuries ago. You can’t walk a block without seeing the name Benjamin Franklin or George Washington somewhere in large letters.

We have been visiting exclusively around the Walnut Street area and besides being a part of the French Quarter; it is a mish-mash of old right next to brand new and somehow it fits together very nicely aesthetically. The Holiday Inn Express in one of the pictures up above was where we stayed last night; very convenient being right in the heart of Philadelphia for what my husband needed to do for work.

Philadelphia is a great university city; you can never have too many universities in your city; their presence does so much to increase the vitality, the diversity and the dynamism of any city. I am happy to say that Philadelphia is home to quite a few and the young blood is alive and kicking everywhere on the streets of Philadelphia.

If anyone has any spare time for a mini-vacation this summer; I recommend a few days in Philadelphia, you will have a lovely time.

Daily prompt : A fly on the wall

Tags

history, postaday2013, thoughts, writing

If you could be a “fly on the wall” anywhere and at any time in history, where and when would you choose?

There are so many junctions in the historical record that I would love to be privy to or at least an eye witness. I think that one of the most important events that I would really want to be witness to is the burning of the great library of Alexandria, perhaps I could have done something to stop it because that was one of the greatest crimes against our historical record ever. Any time books and manuscripts are destroyed marks a great crime against humanity. When I think of all the knowledge lost, it makes me so very sad.

Another point in time that I would have loved to be a fly on the wall was the 18th century in Paris, France, especially the time of the grand salons where all the great philosophers, playwrights and artistes gathered discussing the grand thoughts and ideas of the era. Actually, I amend that, I would really want to be there where the founding fathers were, when they were discussing and planning the constitution, I want to know exactly their thoughts and their aims, so much has been bandied about in terms of their intentions some 200 hundred odd years later, that I want to be an eyewitness for myself. Would it make a difference in the grand scheme of things, no except for myself. I would know, plain and simple.

The history of the Boy Scout’s: A Historical Society program

Tags

Boy Scouts, Historical Society, history, lecture, postaday2013, program

Last night’s program was a hit. We were in luck, the speaker was informative, enthusiastic and engaging. Ironically he is from Blandford, he moved here in 1978 and I have never seen the man before last night. I was very happy to meet him, his name is Bob and he had been with the Boy Scouts association for 60 years. His position is one of volunteer, both his time and his services in the legal capacity. I wasn’t the only one who had never met Bob, the only one who knew Bob was his childhood friend who lives on his road, Chips, who also serves as a director in the Historical Society so that is how we came about the program. Chips is wonderful when it comes to getting his old friends and colleagues donate their time and expertise for our entertainment.

I learned so much about the Boy Scouts. I had no idea that the Boy Scouts were started in Great Britain by a famous military hero Baron Robert Baden-Powell who after his military exploits wrote a book on military scouting that was adopted by young Englishmen in their boarding schools and taken into the field.

Bob spoke so eloquently of Baron Robert Baden-Powell, he really brought him to life. He spoke of his adventures in killing the pig with a short pointy stick, receiving India’s highest honor after killing the pig with his short stick and writing a book about it. In all seriousness, Baden-Powell with his colleagues were wild boar hunting without any weapons other than short swords, that was a sign of a real hunter, wild boars are very feral and fearless, so the physical risk to themselves and their horse was great. Baden-Powell won the highest award as the premier wild pig killer because after his horse was gored by the wild boar, he bravely put the boar down. His exploits in India led him to many promotions and then off to South Africa. All of this was in the late 1800’s and very early 1900. Somewhere in old British Rhodesia, Baden-Powell successfully held his city in a 200 plus day siege against enemy forces three times the size of his force. He went home to Great Britain after this, a national hero. His fans were the young men who read his book on military scouting and they aspired to be scouts.

My caneles were a huge hit and I am so happy that I made them because no one else brought anything else. It was my goodies and that was it. They threw themselves on my little caneles and kept saying “who made these?” “What is this?” These are so good” I was so happy. I love baking. A very pleasant evening.

Avignon, the city of Popes

Tags

Avignon, France, history, monuments, postaday2012, sightseeing, travel

We arrived in Avignon yesterday at 12:00 and thankfully our hotel was only a short distance from the train station. Speaking of train stations, we had an interesting time leaving Arles for Avignon. The train ride itself was unexceptional and short, only twenty minutes but trying to leave the station was another story. While we were waiting for the train, the baby girl and I noticed a group of gypsy women hanging out on the platform smoking cigarettes, talking and laughing. Apparently we weren’t the only ones who noticed because the railroad personnel soon came to us and others, politely asking for tickets and making it clear, politely, that without a ticket, you were not welcome on the platform. I think that this was a game between the authorities and the gypsy women over who had the power and who was in the right and the gypsy women were not about to give in, the railroad gentlemen politely told them that the Avignon police were coming to peacefully escort them away from the platform and they walked away laughing.

Once on board however we weren’t moving because the gypsy women in small pairings were running back and forth in the cars and out, this time over the loud speaker, the conducted stated that we were experiencing a delay because the police were definitely on their way. I told the baby girl that this was going to be in tomorrows edition, our train held hostage by a band of 8-10 gypsy women. They weren’t dangerous, just completely dismissive of the law. At least they seemed to be having fun thumbing their noses to the French railway, I was glad that the car had air conditioning because yesterday was the start of even hotter temperatures. We are going to melt way in the next few days. The train eventually started moving, no one was arrested and the game between the gypsies and the authorities was for another time, without us as the audience.

The baby girl and spent all day walking throughout the city of Avignon. It is grand, I felt very comfortable here, more so than in Nice and Arles. Nice was way too over run by tourists, cars and overbuilt, it I think lost its charm of twenty years ago. Arles, I really loved for its huge archaeological riches and tiny winding streets but I felt that the city itself was fatigued from all of the weight of history.

Avignon, I have the sense of sunlight, wide open squares, happiness and a feeling of well-being that permeates the air. We arrived very hungry and the hotel’s owner’s wife Sylvie recommended Ginette’s and Marcel’s Bistro de Tartines. A tartine is an open-faced sandwich which is wildly popular here. The baby girl had a smoked salmon with creme fraiche, capers and lemon. I had pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese melted under the broiler as my tartine. We ate them under the Bistro’s parasols in the Place, there was a fountain and a beautiful black dog jumped into the fountain to cool off.

Afterwards we simply walked, we made our way up to the Rocher des Doms, which is the rock of the Doms, the highest elevation in Avignon. I took many pictures, the surrounding countryside was beautiful, the far off mountains majestic, it was breath taking. Right below us when we descended was the Palais des Papes, the Pope’s Palace, it represents centuries of power struggles between the church and the nation state and even between two church leaders themselves. It is vast and beautiful, to think of all the wealth designated to buildings these monuments to God when there was so much poverty back then, there still is so much poverty in this very world of today. It makes me sad to see the sharp contrast of all this wealth for a few while the majority have little.

As we kept walking throughout the different areas within Avignon, I kept taking pictures of whatever visually intrigued me. Hopefully when I get back home in a few days and upload them, my pictures will tell a complementary story to go with my words.

This morning after breakfast, the baby girl and I will be walking to the marche, I have to see it. The marche in France are one of my favorite places to visit, the sights, the noise, the aromas in the air, I love it. After the marche, it’s lunch followed by more walking until it is time for our 16:15 train to Lyons.

Walking down the same streets that the Romans did

Tags

Arles, cobble stone streets, history, postaday2012, Roman ruins, travel

Yesterday the baby girl and I explored the city by walking down practically every tiny street leading us this way and that way. You can’t really get lost because it is so small, walk one way and you meet the Rhone river, walk another way and you meet the large avenue Georges Clenmenceau. Everything in between is a testament to the enduring history of this tiny city. My favorite was the Roman Amphitheater that is currently being worked on for maintenance but you can still enter and explore, it was built by the Romans in the first century after Christ and it is still standing.

Right alongside the Amphitheater are cafe’s and tea houses because it is the South and hot so they were packed, visiting historic monuments provokes a powerful thirst you know. Before the baby girl and I sat down to quench our thirst we went through all the shops, you can’t help yourself, the fabrics on display are so beautiful with their bright colors and patterns, at one moment I wished that I had an extra suitcase because there were bolts of fabric I wanted to bring home, the funny part is what would I do with them once I got back, I don’t sew. The pottery was just as alluring, the vibrant colors, the thickness and solid feel to the pieces, I was really wishing for that extra suitcase.

When the baby girl and I tore ourselves away from those shops, we sat down at a tea house specializing in crepes, the baby girl ordered a crepe aux caramel beurre sale and the expression on her face of sheer delight was an adorable sight to behold, she looked five again in that instant. Personally my favorite dessert here has been the ice cream. Last night after having a pizza, very good with the thinnest crust that was physically possible, the baby girl had her usual, steak tartare, we went to an artisanal ice cream maker, the baby girl had a scoop of the caramel beurre sale (caramel made with salted butter) and I had a scoop of cantaloupe and a scoop of mango, it tasted like the actual fruit, it was creamy and luscious melting slowly in my mouth then sliding gently down my throat imparting the natural flavors of mango and cantaloupe along the way, it was stupendous.

Today we are leaving Arles for Avignon. I am so happy to have revisited Arles and its monuments. Next time I would love to do it with my hubby so that we can explore the whole region because there is so much more to see.

Favorite teacher

Tags

history, lay teachers, math, nuns, postaday2012, science

Recall one of the best teachers you’ve had.

May 24, 2012

Favorite Teacher

Woodcut of Socrates

At my elementary school, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we had a mix of nuns and lay teachers. The nuns were all old school, they were exceptional disciplinarians, I don’t remember learning much beyond praying, singing and obedience. The lay teachers were the ones who encouraged and taught me my history, science and math. One stands out and that is Ms.Muroe. She taught science and I remember that she was teaching us evolution and the way she explained it launched me into the library because she had piqued my intellectual curiosity and I wanted more; more knowledge. I actually minored in Anthropology later on at NYU because that spark that she lit had never died out.