Summer in the city...

... is most glorious. It's warm enough to enjoy long walks, people are having sidewalk sales, there are festivals and flea markets everywhere, and Penn's Landing has started it's series of cultural celebrations. I wouldn't trade summer in the city for anything, except maybe summer on my own private beach. But since THAT won't be happening anytime soon, I'll take summer in the city. I wanted to share a few photos of one activity we did recently: the Italian Market festival.

The Italian Market is an amazing area down 9th Street south of South that's full of little cheese, pasta, and herb places, along with vendors that sell fresh fruits and vegetables. The festival included these vendors, but also added a bunch of craft tents, live music, ready-to-eat foods on sale on the street, and a "stickball" tournament. Yeah, I didn't know what it was either, but apparently it's a traditional game in South Philly. It's much like baseball, except played with cut-in-half tennis balls and broomsticks. That's so people can play without breaking windows. And it's played up against a wall and each level of the wall entails what the hit was - like the lowest tier of the wall is a single.

















And here's a kid playing stickball.



















I know I've said this before but still one of my favorite things about being in the city is that there's so much to see and it's all within walking distance. I encourage everyone to check out Yelp.com or gophila.com to find nearby events. You won't be sorry!

This girl only sleeps with butterflies

You gotta believe this blog is pretty important to me when I pry my eyes away from the House marathon long enough to make an entry!

This was another philtastic weekend in the 19107. On Friday night I discovered where everyone and their mom in the city has been hiding on the first Friday of the month - that would be First Friday in Old City. It's a great cultural event when the art galleries stay open late and serve wine and goodies (but you have to get there early to partake in those). It was amazing how packed the sidewalks were, and walking through the galleries was like being part of a herd of cattle. Despite the crowds and the heat, it was a worthwhile way to spend a Friday night. 

One of my favorite collections was by a guy named John James Pron, a professor at Temple. It was called Philapocalypse, and it depicted neighborhoods in the city with fragmented grids, buildings missing, and people scattered like the world was ending. Check it out here. I'm no art critic or even an enthusiast, but it was innovative, easy to "get", and interesting to look at. A+. 

Saturday, in anticipation of hurricane Hanna dropping a deluge on the city, we decided to go to the Natural Science Museum. Most of it was old-hat... reconstructed dinosaur bones and stuffed panda bears. But what I really appreciated, and what was probably my favorite part of the weekend, was the Butterflies exhibit. 

It was... in a word... magical. The setting was a very bright, plant-filled room where butterflies of all shapes, sizes, and colors flew free - often right into the people walking through. It seemed like they were everywhere. If you looked closely in the leaves you could see them perched all over, and some were camouflaged so you didn't realize you were seeing a butterfly until someone else pointed it out. 

I've heard that when a butterfly lands on you, it's a sign of fertility. If that's true, I must be ovulating like crazy. 

If you're interested in more pictures and would like to comment on my skills as an amateur photographer, visit my Flickr site. 

And now it's Sunday and so beautiful out you'd never know that we had a monsoon yesterday. Fall is in the air... and maybe it's a good thing, since we're a little tired of the sweat and the electric bills that reflect our air conditioner usage. But I sure will miss the green grass and the colorful blooms and the way the yellow summer light hits the trees and the bricks. Also, I'll miss talking to my boyfriend on Thursdays, Saturday and Sundays... as he'll be too busy watching football to pay any attention to me :)