I’ve been in Philadelphia for three days now. As of yet, I can’t offer too much insight about restaurants, culture, or local sports. However, I can state with authority that you immediately forget what city you’re in once inside Target, Ikea, or Walgreen’s. We also visited Trader Joe’s, a store that often appeared in my dreams in Ecuador. I’d especially missed all the great frozen foods, but I’d also forgotten about some products completely. Seeing the five seed almond bars and the turkey meatballs was like discovering that your favorite band has three albums you’ve never heard.
Unfortunately, my Philadelphia arrival has coincided with a cold. I should shake it soon, and hopefully explore places beyond massive chain stores. There are literally hundreds of bars, coffee shops, and restaurants within a mile radius of our place. I always like the idea of accumulating knowledge of various cities. I always feel in a hurry to somehow solve a city, to quickly absorb and categorize the major street names, landmarks, parks, etc. But knowing Philadelphia and adapting to life here will take time. I’ll try to chronicle the best and worst of what I discover, as well as anything noteworthy between those extremes.
Notice the Quito artwork in the Philly apartment ...
