A Weekend In Philly

The well-known Philadelphia tourism ad campaign states that the city is more fun when you sleep over. I believe this to be a true statement. It was with that in mind that I did something that I should have done ages ago - spend a weekend in Philadelphia. It was the weekend of February 10th and 11th and we were celebrating Kim's birthday. We made plans to stay at the Embassy Suites downtown, to visit the Art Museum on Saturday, the Franklin Institute's King Tut exhibit Sunday and then lunch at the Imperial Inn in Chinatown before heading home.

I have always struggled with the concept of art. My cynicism concerning the subject can be traced at least as far back as 7th grade. I got my first ever D in 7th grade Art class at Masterman JHS in Philadelphia. Besides my lack of artistic aptitude and a complete absence of any desire to work on improving it, I am convinced to this day that it was an essay that was primarily responsible for my poor grade. I am sure that Mrs. Tuckerman was a great art teacher, but she did not have much of a sense of humor. After showing our class a "masterpiece", a completely unimpressive work consisting of a big red circle on a quasi-white canvas with a couple of triangles and squares thrown in higgledy-piggledy for good measure, we were told that it was worth millions of dollars. I raised my hand and in typical smart-ass class clown fashion expressed my belief that it was not outside the realm of my 3-year-old baby brother Paulie's ability to produce a similar "masterpiece". I was then told in very smarmy fashion that there was meaning to the work and she showed us the artist's intended meaning from the book. Apparently the piece had to do with the duality of man, the hopelessness of existence or something about impending doom related to the Cold War. Whatever it was, it was a long drawn-out explanation - much like one of my blog entries. Our assignment that night was to go home and write a one-page essay on any of the pieces and explain what they meant to us. I did not follow instructions. I was so angry about being shown up by the teacher that I went home, gave Paulie some crayons and had him draw me a picture. Then, I wrote a 5-page essay on the artistic "meaning" of Paulie's work. It might have been the funniest thing I have ever written. It went on and on about one's bleak outlook on life, our insignificance in the cosmos and how the universe would be a better place if young artists weren't chided by their teachers for voicing their opinions. I got an F.

While art appreciation might be growing within me somewhat, I still found myself openly wondering what exactly makes something museum worthy. There were many pieces that made little or no sense to Kim and I, but there were some works that answer this question for themselves.

The museum was truly awe-inspiring. I can't believe that I had only stepped foot in its hallowed halls but once before - for a senior class meeting in 1991. The first work that struck me was "The Gross Clinic", probably the most famous painting by Philadelphia's most famous artist - Thomas Eakins (he of Eakin's Oval fame). The painting is amazing in and of itself but the furor that surrounded the painting upon its expected debut in 1876 in a prestigious exhibit intrigued me even more. The painting was rejected for the exhibit due to the realistic images of blood showing in the painting. I guess there have always been right-wing close-minded people who would keep truth from the rest of the world...

While "The Three Shades" and "Slaughter of the Innocents" spoke to me in different ways ("Slaughter" is one of many works that depict the killing of all male children by Herod in the Book of Matthew), it was a weird piece that struck me the most during my tour of the museum. "The True Artist Helps the World By Revealing Mystic Truths" is the piece that affected me the most. The piece is a neon sign, but its the message that spoke to me. I kept repeating the words to myself over and over. There is a lot of truth in the statement. And, it opened my eyes to other forms that can be considered true art.

Kim and I moved at different paces throughout the museum. Her favorites were Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and a painting by another famous artist that was a portrait of his wife.

I made reservations at a neat-sounding restaurant on Lombard St. called Bistro Romano for Kim's birthday dinner. It was a very nice place although there were some tense moments when they tried to seat us upstairs near the bar. Not the most romantic spot, piano bar aside. We held out for a table downstairs which was a lot cozier. Should you go, make sure you hold out for a downstairs table, it is worth it. The wait allowed me to try my first Grey Goose martini. The recommendation came from my supervisor at the time and I figured I'd give it a whirl. I ordered a dry Grey Goose martini dirty. It was SO good. It was also $18. Now, it was a great drink - and I love the added snack factor the olives bring to the table. But I don't know if any alcoholic drink is $18 good. That is what I get for being a top shelf neophythe. Dinner was awesome. They actually make their excellent Caesar salad right at your table, which is very cool. I highly recommend the restaurant, it was a very nice experience.

Sunday morning we had breakfast then headed straight for the Franklin Institute and the Tutankhamun And the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit. It struck me as funny that Kim and I chose to go to the Art Museum and the Tut exhibit when neither of us really have a huge interest in art and almost zero interest in Egyptian history. We ended up enjoying both visits immensely. Our trip to the Institute was during the second weekend of the exhibit, so it was a popular spot. There was also a lot of confusion as people were struggling to make their audio headsets work properly. We skipped the headsets as it was deemed unnecessary to pay $10 extra to have Omar Sharif read the displays to us when we could just read them ourselves. The exhibit was amazing, seeing all of the relics from thousands of years ago. Some of the ornamental figurines amazed me with the design and detail that went into their creation. The only downer about the exhibit was that I felt somewhat mislead by the advertising for what we would see. "Come Meet the Boy King" makes me think that a Tutankhamun sarcophagus would be on display, but the only mummy coffin present was that of Tut's grandmother or great-grandmother. They did have a couple video displays of how Tut's sarcophagus was designed that were mind-blowing.

We also took in an IMAX film (my first) "Hurricane on the Bayou" at the Franklin Institute. I had completely underestimated the experience. It was amazing. I got dizzy a couple of times while trying to take in everything on the screen. There is no way I could sit through a blockbuster like Spiderman without collapsing in a heap. The movie was pretty good, and very informative.

Our last stop on our Philly weekend was lunch in Chinatown - my first meal in Chinatown since my second senior year of high school when I was 18. We went to the Imperial Inn and it was pretty darned good. A totally different setup than any other place I've been, as various wait staff brought carts around with various dishes and appetizers while we waited for our menus and then our food. One highlight was the waitress who took our order by asking "what you want?". It was a very nice wrap-up to a very cool weekend. I had forgotten just how much I missed the city I grew up in.

[Currently Listening: Mika - "Grace Kelly"]