Last night, we made an impromptu trip to Philadelphia. Had a terrific time. What motivated me to go were some Magic Socks I picked up earlier in the week. I had been killing time in Nordstrom Rack, waiting for my takeout dinner from next door, when I spied these rare and colorful socks in the Men's department. The socks make me want to walk and walk and walk...
Here's a picture of the colorful Ben Franklin Bridge which leads into the city.
We visited two of the hottest places there. Informed by rave reviews in The New York Times, I ate a phenomenal dinner at a Sichuan Chinese restaurant. This is not your father's Chinese restaurant -- the food was authentic, spicy and fun. Each dish is rated 1 to 10 for degree of spiciness, with 10 being the hottest. I ordered the only dish having a 10-rating and loved it. Very flavorful and hot right up to my tolerance-level.
Afterward we waited in line to get into the hippest place in town -- an underground cocktail lounge. It's where the cool kids hang out. I knew the place was hip when I saw a girl next to me wearing a fascinator. The crowd ranged in age from 28 to 30. I was the only old guy there. Fortunately nobody called me "Pops."
After cocktails, there is nothing better -- or worse -- than a few slices of pizza. We paid a visit to The Famous King of Pizza whose domain is not as regal as you might expect. But the pie was fine. Your probably familiar with the phenomenon of one's standards plummeting after a night of drinking. I left the waitress a big tip (130%) which made her smile. Ya gotta spread the love...
I had a great evening. The only thing that would have improved it is if I could have worn heels and a sparkly dress. Such is life. :-)
Do you like cities? Which are your favorites?
Love the socks! Very inspirational for sure!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite city is my hometown of Chicago.
OH MY GAWD I LOVE THE SOCKS!!! I m a sock freak, I love them busy and bright! Pops - thy were prolly think "That dude is cool". I wish I had a place to wear a Fascinator, I do long for the old days hn women wore seamed stockings, pearls, hats and gloves. Don't get me wrong I love the days of easy causal dressing, but we seem to have lost the romance and elegance of days gone by. I think I'm going to we to make reservations for high tea and get gussied up, but evn then it's still too casual. Love the socks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dar. What sweet comments. I'd love to spent a glamorous day with you.
DeleteI can feel your energy in this post! I live 5 minutes from down town Seattle so I soak up the vibes as often as I can, or have the energy for. I also like San Fransisco and Vancouver, BC. They feel clean and fairly safe to me too.
ReplyDeleteLive music is what makes me feel young and energized. That and great food, yes!! I want more more more!
Love your socks! Are you still walking???
Yup!
DeleteI love my city, Vancouver, San Francisco, NYC (of course!), London, Paris, Montreal...
ReplyDeleteLove the socks!
WwwwoooO! Awesome socks! I'm a sock fanatic. People look at me crazy when I admit how much I've spent on a single pair, but magic socks are just that - magic!
ReplyDeleteSpicy food sounds amazing. I bet you made that waitress's night!
I can admit, I'm not too fond of Nashville though it does have it's good places. It's kind of dirty, gritty, sad, and small. An air of desperation to compete with the big cities, but there's not the space or the wealth to hold its own.
I think of the new show called "Nashville" and while I've never seen an episode, I can only imagine how Hollywood portrays our small city.
New Orleans felt like home, good food, nice people.
Atlanta was bright and shiny - my memories are that of a small child on long car rides. It feels futuristic with its underground pathways and lights everywhere.
Lexington - I've only ever seen the farming side. The area with the castle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Castle I grew up knowing that castle meant I was getting close to my great-grandmother's house. Maybe lexington is old fashioned?
St. Louis is touristy in my opinion. I went up the arch and rode a steamboat. I 'saw' the city, but not the real one.
nice socks...really cool!!
ReplyDeleteI do like cities, but only which have a lot of character, nature and history, like my city Delhi and then New Orleans, Paris, Amsterdam :)
happy new year :)
Fun socks! I love them!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love my own city - Minneapolis - I feel like we have a great culture here and a lot to offer - you should come visit :)
Beyond that I like St. Louis ok, we have relatives there. Boston is pretty cool. Washington D.C. was fun to visit once, I don't know that I'd spend a ton of time there in the future.
Fun socks :)
ReplyDeleteMy fave cities are Buenos Aires, NY and Barcelona.
I love spontaneus trip. Sadly, have been doing too few of them lately :(. In Japan we used to do a lot!
ReplyDeleteMy fave cities gotta be Helsinki and Kobe (Kobe is next to Osaka in Japan). Both not huge cities, but nice and pretty and interesting :)
x, Lara
http://rockteraptor.blogspot.fi/
That place sounds like a place I'd love, I like spicy food! I love too many cities. But, I really LOVE Prague, Vienna, San Francisco, and London. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the argyles--what fun colors! I am a country girl, so big cities do nothing for me.
ReplyDeleteI like your socks too! It sounded like a good night. My favourite city is Milan, but I also like Amsterdam and bits of London...
ReplyDeleteLove your socks!! And Philly rules. I love my city.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for another spontaneous road trip to Philly, 1/26 is Dorian's Parlour. It's a steampunk event and it's REALLY fun. I'm not sure if I'm going or not, but it's one of the most fun things and it's 21 and up. There are a huge variety of people there. Super fun.
Sounds like my fave kind of adventure. You know how much I love NYC, and am constantly trying to figure out ways to spend more time there.
ReplyDeleteWe should make a list of places you can go wearing heels and a gorgeous dress, which should be anywhere you like, but we should pro'bly go with anywhere you'd feel comfortable. You are a pretty lady, Ally, and I'm so glad you feel comfortable wearing pretty clothes here, with all of your adoring fans and friends.
Like your socks. I got Corgi socks in Bryant Park last time :)
The next time you're in Philadelphia look up a restaurant called Distritos on Chestnut St. They have really innovative Mexican food served tapas style and the tmosphere is a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteNew York will always be my favorite city but I love Phila., Denver and San Francisco too.
Bonnie
We were on Chestnut Street! Probably walked right past the restaurant. Thanks for the tip.
DeletePerhaps in part because traveling is very challenging for me from a health standpoint, I'm a huge fan of urban exploration, too. Even in my younger days though when I was healthy, I adored it all the same, but now it holds even more significance for me, as it's usually the only kind of travel I do. I wrote a post last summer about that called The intrepid Urban Explorer. I love uncovering new sides, streets, and elements to my own town and those around us, and completely second what you said about wandering the streets on a Saturday night. No matter where I've lived over the years, I've always loved strolling through the town at night and seeing the persona that a place takes on under the gaze of a thousand streetlights.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
What a fun excursion. I almost felt like I was there with you.
ReplyDeleteThe cutest socks ever. :)
Daphne.
Those socks would make me want to dance a jig!! I really love Barcelona to walk around at night in. It seems that everyone (teenagers, parents, grannies and tots) are walking around to see and be seen even at 11:30 on a weekday. I just love it!
ReplyDeleteIT's so weird, but I don't like cities that much anymore. I grew up in a large city, so I was pretty used to hustle, bustle, noise, etc. But starting in undergrad, I moved to smaller campus towns, and I really love the atmosphere there. There's not much to do, though :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the argyle socks! They're colorful without being tacky! Something I would love to get my husband. AND spicy Chinese food is the best. The spicier the better!
♥ laura
the blog of worldly delights
the shop of worldly delights
Ooooh I may be going on a work trip to Philly this summer, will have to check out the cocktail lounge, looks right up my alley! Am loving the socks and am loving that you can do a 10 level of spiciness, I would probably do the 4!
ReplyDeleteI would have bought the magic socks, too!!! It sounds like you had an amazing time! I don't know if I have a favorite city... I've been to Manhattan and Paris and they are breathtaking but smaller cities like Sanford and Winter Park (Florida) have a certain charm, too. I guess it's all good in it's own way.
ReplyDeleteOMG those socks are awesome!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a blast! My kind of night out on the town, I love spicy food too :D
Cities can be fun, but I prefer the country. I can't imagine e waiting to go into a crowded cocktail bar. The visit sounds like fun. Sometimes impromptu trips are the best!
ReplyDelete