Week in Philadelphia

Last week I made my first trip to Philly for a business trip, namely to attend the AA|RF Global Solutions Summit. Besides team events, training in the Philly office, and an evening walk to find the Liberty Bell, the week was much about leveraging data and cross-discipline knowledge sharing. By the time the week was up, my head felt saturated with cookie-this and extended data-that. As things came to a close on Friday, I met up with my friend Tom who is attending Penn Law there. We only got to hang out for roughly twenty-four hours, but it was a grand time.

We met at my hotel and then walked off where he gave me a historical walking tour, telling me stories along the way. This was perfect and reminded me how Tom is just as much a US history nerd enthusiast as I am (if not more). We visited Christ Church, the place of worship for folks like George Washington, Betsy Ross, and Ben Franklin; Independence Hall, where the Declaration and Constitution were signed; Washington Square, where GW’s army lies buried below; as well as other places along the way like Penn’s Landing. Afterward, he took me to a place to get a real Philly cheese steak sandwich and I was far from disappointed. Drippy cheese and all. It was awesome. We then took a cab back to his apartment and hung out for a while, catching up before heading out for a taste of the Philly nightlife where we met some of his friends at bar called Noche. Before calling it a night, at my request we stopped at a diner for some late night food.

The next day we had brunch at a greasy spoon-sort of place called Tony’s that was pretty good. It was a clear sunny day and the brisk 30-degree weather made for a refreshing walk. Under Tom’s suggestion, we walked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (Think Rocky.) The place was massive and impressive even from the outside. The exhibits inside really made the day though. My favorite was actually the Arms and Armor exhibit featuring actual European weapons from 1400-1800. That and seeing my favorite hazy Monet’s and Toulouse-Lautrec’s “Moulin Rouge”. The museum did an impressive job in creating an experience as you walked from room to room, from stone archways to a dimly lit reconstructed Indian temple. The museum was a definite win.

All in all, I had a really great time and it was a perfect way to spend my first trip to Philly and see an old friend. Now back in Seattle before I’m off again (next week Florida). It’s going to be a busy week.

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