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Published: August 6th 2009
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The City Of Old
Beautiful contrast to the glassy skyscrapers In These Shoes? I Don't Think So...
I'd been crafting and planning for months to get together with my sisters, two women who are as different from me as they are from each other. We form a triangle of genetic dissimilarity. To further illustrate this point, we're spread out across the country and it took weeks of planning to get us together in an exotic location where all of us would be far from our regular routines.
Lydia refuses to get into an airplane (there aren't enough Bloody Marys in the world) and we only have a few days each away from work so we picked Philadelphia.
The icing on the cake was that there's a Four Seasons Hotel and neither Lydia nor Leanne has ever stayed in one. Of course, my Four Seasons experience is a full-time one, with five days a week being spent behind the bar with a bow tie strapped on. But it's still good to get away from home for a while.
Since Lydia rode Amtrak, she made the most of her opportunity to lug as large a suitcase as possible. "I
Welcome To Philly
And the fabulous fountain at Logan Square want options" she declared, pulling out at least 5 pairs of shoes. There may actually have been more hiding in her purse or elsewhere, I lost count at some point. Leanne and I "oohed" and "aahed" at her collection. "Don't even think about it!" she warned. Even Leanne, who claims to be immune to the charms of girlish accessories, brought multiple "options" as well.
Prepared for anything, the three of us spent our first night exploring the city's Pub Food offerings. We found a hopping little spot nearby the hotel where the entrance is into a crowded bar and to be seated you have to seek out and intercept a busy waitress. We finally just sat where we wanted to, outside under the Philly night sky in the company of the surrounding skyscrapers.
Though we were underwhelmed by the meal, we all appreciated the contrast in the architecture. Well-preserved historic buildings stood their ground as the modern world made its statement. A sure sign that the economy of Philly has made a positive shift in the last 20 years or so.
One of the effects of this progress is that it
We're here for the Luxury
Don't know why you'd ever stay anywhere else attracts people who thought they'd never find themselves here. Like Jen, Leanne's friend who ran screaming from Philly years ago but finds herself back here with a teriffic job and a fabulous home. The only thing she could find to complain about is that tree roots are trying to violate her bathroom.
Besides that, Jen maintained her joyous outlook and suggested we all meet for pedicures. Leanne is certainly no stranger to a spa and Lydia didn't need to be talked into a new toe-polish to match her outfit, so we took the short walk over. I was the only one who didn't know what to expect, never having indulged in such a girlish activity. But I did wear my comfy blue slingback heels for the walk, mainly to make Leanne jealous. She covets them.
After pedicures Jen showed us a swanky little spot for drinks and appetizers. I looked under the table and noticed that my otherwise comfy shoes were agitating a scrape I had on my toe. No sooner did I remove the shoes than Leanne had them on her feet. Lydia had the only pair among us that wouldn't irritate my
Lydia Makes Her Arrival
After a grueling first-class train ride, our youngest sibling finds her way to the Four Seasons Philly injury so I forced her to give them up. For the rest of the afternoon we immersed ourselves in downtown, shopping all over the place. Lydia shot sideways looks at my feet the whole time.
We decided to spend a good chunk of our vacation getting to know our Four Seasons bartenders. A festive and professional bunch they were, keeping us busy drinking and talking - and away from the news of the world like the Wimbeldon scores, the political gossip and the sudden passing of Michael Jackson (still hard to believe.)
One of the strangest things about the Philly Four Seasons bar is that there's no way out from behind it except a wierd little trap door disguised as a beer cooler. If you apply for this job and you're over 6 feet tall, forget about it.
The next day we visited the Franklin Science Museum. Leanne was especially excited because the museum featured a Star Trek exhibit. It was okay, it featured actual costumes from the tv series and the movies. There was a lot about the history of the series AND the history of our own space program.
Leanne kicks back...
...and chills out in the Lobby of the Four Seasons after a long day of travel I found that part to be a let-down. Don't douse us with reality, we want to get lost in this fantasy world of Klingons and Vulcans and all our favorite space characters!
But bravely on we went, hitting each and every exhibit including the planetarium show. As soon as I sat down I felt like I was launched back to 1975 when our family would frequent the Boston Science Museum. The planetarium was always one of my favorite things. And Dad's, too, I think. Mom could take it or leave it and usually volunteered to stay outside with whichever of us was youngest and too "scared".
Leanne was still struggling with the right pair of shoes for walking/fashion. She was juggling 2 pairs and a package of Band-Aids. I had no such trouble and was enjoying my white sandals. This proved to be a problem, though, when I wanted to ride the Sky Bike. Turns out you have to have shoes with backs on them, the lovely Sky Bike hostess informed us. I laughed out loud and pointed at Lydia's Betsey Johnsons. "I need your shoes" I told her. The look on her face
The Longest Mile...
...was down this hallway to our hotel room. It's the length of an entire city block. could've halted a charging bull in his tracks. "No way!!!" "But I can't ride the Sky Bike without them," I appealed.
Sufficiently ambushed, she managed to peel the shoes off her feet and hand them over. I was laughing so hard I could barely mount the bike. Then as soon as I got situated and pushed out over 2 stories I started to freak out and asked myself "WHY did I really have to do this?" But it was good fun, nonetheless.
It was all we could do, the next day, to face up to the fact that we had to leave the pampering of the planet's best hotel chain. (Lydia is still freaking out that when she called the front desk at 1am, they had a spare toothbrush kit in her hands within 10 minutes. And the bellman even asked if there was anything else he could do for her, Miss Coyle. At 1am.) Leanne and I sent Lydia off in a cab and then got some breakfast at the diner around the corner. We took the train to the airport together and left from our respective terminals.
When I
Study in red
Lydia shows off the toile drapery in our room arrived for my layover in Chicago I was blown away by the vastness of the concourse. Big and metallic, bustling yet quiet except for the faraway shouts of a vendor trying to get travellers to sign up for some airline giveaway. Then one vendor walked past another who worked the Brookstone kiosk and shouted "How about some music?" He wasted no time in filling the concourse with the feel-good sounds of little Michael Jackson singing ABC.
A fuzzy warm yet sort of numb feeling came over me thinking about the innocence and pure talent he had at such a young age. And to think of what a strange life he would grow up to lead and what a massive impact he would have on the music industry - unbelieveable. Big shoes to fill, indeed.
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JC
non-member comment
Fun!
Wow - this looks like it was a lot of fun! So great that the 3 of you got together like that. Fav pic is the expression on Lydia's face w/ HUGE pile o' fries - excellent! Miss u guys! xo