Posts Tagged ‘Philadelphia’

Diana | A Celebration

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

I have never been a big royalties fan, but I remember vividly Diana & Charles wedding, and sitting at my grand-parents table, watching the cortege go down the streets of London. When I heard Diana: A Celebration was coming to the National Constitution Center, I knew it was worth of few hours of my precious time for a trip down memory lane.

I stood in front of the world famous wedding dress and let the emotion of remembering my childhood and my family set in. And it was beautiful. But what I was not expecting is looking at Diana as a woman, not as a Princess. Witnessing pieces of her childhood, or the full wall of condeleances books pinched my heart in a different way.

If you have a chance to check the exhibit out, you won’t regret it. But if you don’t, here are bits & pieces… En Images!

DSC00791

DSC00795

DSC00807

0

Reason #97 – My city, so pretty…

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

When my friend Olivier came to visit a couple years ago, he was surprised to see how beautiful and active Center City Philadelphia was. He thought American cities were all like downtown L.A.: places where people work before going home in the suburbs. In Philly, you want to live in the pretty and lively downtown. It has the charm of historical neighhorhood and the class of modern architecture. Sneak peeks…

Skyline

Old Charm

Towers

0

How to become a Philebrity

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

There are 3 tips that seem to be the key to stardom in this city. Follow these simple rules and you might find yourself on the cover of Philadelphia Style or any other local gossip column.

1. The trashier the better
Whether it’s the people you surround yourself with or your attitude in general: the trashier, the better! Top outfits to wear to pompous celeb parties: ultra short / ultra low cleavage dresses, preferably in wild patterns or bright colors. The man uniform is a little more boring: jean / t-shirt, preferably designer version, but always accessorized with a couple of young, fake boobed, bimbos (very convenient to have later in the evening when drunk and making out with each other: great appeal to the crowds).

2. When everyone struggle to keep their living resources: stop working!
Because after all, you’re so above the simple worker… To reach the Philebrity status, you need to consider yourself as one and live that way. You “job” now is to report all your actions and thoughts on your blog so that your “million” fans can follow your whereabouts. Potentially, you can start a “modeling” career; meaning get a friend to take naked pictures of you to post on the sus-mentioned blog.

3. Be provocative, oh wait no, better: be rude
Because provocation is done for a greater purpose which you don’t really care about. The purpose is yourself, isn’t it? Be rude to people who serve you, to people whom you don’t consider good enough to be part of your entourage, to half of this city’s population… The rudest and the most obnoxious you get, the more they’ll love you.

When you get to stardom, don’t call me. Really.

4
Tags: ,
Posted in Tips |

Reason #98 – The grass is greener here!

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Philadelphia’s 9,200-acre Fairmount Park is one of the largest city parks in the world.

Wissahickon-1

With 215 miles of scenic trails, you can run, hike, mountain bike, horse back ride, roller-blade, even golf… or simply find a quiet spot of green grass and throw your blanket for a picnic and lazy afternoon…

Wissahickon-2

Which one will you go for?

0

Reason #99 – When in Philly, you'll want to be "sent to jail"

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Of course there are numerous legends on how the Eastern State Penitentiary is a haunted place… and that does not prevent it from being one of my favorite place to take visitors, au contraire!

Eastern State Penitentiary 1

A few facts, from Wikipedia: “The Eastern State Penitentiary is considered one of America’s most historic former prisons open from 1829-1971. Its revolutionary system of incarceration was the first to establish the policy of solitary confinement, emphasizing principles of reform rather than punishment. Notorious criminals such as bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone were held inside its unique wagon wheel design. When the building was erected it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever constructed, quickly becoming a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide.”

Eatern State Penitentiary 2

Today, the Eastern State Penintentiary can be visited daily and host swanky events like “Terror behind the wall” around Halloween or a reenactment of the storming of the Bastille on July 14.

0

Reason #100 – Philadelphia loves its beer!

Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Selection of French beers at Le Bec Fin - Beer Week 2008

Selection of French beers at Le Bec Fin - Beer Week 2009

With a line-up that featured over 50 of the biggest names in brewing and 679 successful events, Philly Beer Week (PBW) 2009 held in March became the country’s largest celebration of beer event, in only its second year.

From what I noticed, in March, there are 2 ways of showing your love for beer in Philadelphia: the Erin Express way… a stroll from bar to bar, drinking cheap beer and where what matters is quantity; and the Beer Week way, a journey through a wide variety of beer tasting and their pairing with food, here, what matters is quality.

In 2010, Philly Beer Week will be moving from March to June, which I believe is a good thing: warmer weather and no confusion possible with St Patrick’s day and it’s crowd of Miller Lite drinkers.

So wether you’re a beer novice, like a I was last March, or a connoisseur, save the date: June 4 to 13 2010!

0