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Mario and I took a direct flight from Madrid to Philadelphia and didn't have too much fuss getting into the country. In fact we had more trouble even before check in at Madrid as they didn't realise that Mario had already received his American visa which was in his passport.
We were cheerfully greeted by Roy, our driver and were shocked when he rolled up in a massive white limousine! He took us to lunch at our request - an American hamburger restaurant. It was called Ruby's Diner and was themed from the 1940s. Food was good and our drinks were huge!
Mario spent the week working for a private bonsai collector and I spent the days admiring his garden, checking out the area and becoming a Twilight fan!
By coincedence, Taiga was in Pennsylvania at the same time as us and would be working with Mario. Taiga Urushibata is the son of Oyakata (Mario's teacher in Japan) and also a great bonsai artist. It was a nice catch up and good to see a familiar face.
We were very generously treated to dinner every night and we were impressed with the politeness of restaurant staff and
quality of American food. I also have a new favourite dessert - Key Lime Pie!!! Iced tea, sweetened or unsweetened, is a common drink with dinner and a lot of restaurants never let your glass go empty, offering unlimited refils!
The area, just out of Philadelphia, that we stayed in was really beautiful and like I pictured American suburbs to look like. Big two-storey homes with cute, well looked after gardens and of course the American flag in prime position!
The only real thing I wanted to do in Philadelphia was to try an original cheesesteak. It's not what you think it would be. Basically it is just a long bread roll with cut up thin pieces of steak coated with a cheese sauce.
Cheesesteak - Wikipedia It was pretty good and even in bad weather the lines were huge!
Another day we went to Longwood Gardens, one of the premier botanical gardens in the United States. This will be my next journal entry as the place was so spectacular I have to put it seperately.
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Bec
non-member comment
All the food looks delicious, such big servings. Loved the look of those cheese steaks x