Italics are mine

Things I like to do when I am in Philly

To follow up on last week's post, here are a few things I like to do when I am in Philly:

• attending a concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra at Kimmel Center,
• buying a book or two at the tiny Joseph Fox Bookshop, because whoever selects the books on the shelves has excellent taste and you have to support indie retail,
• eat a crepe at the creperie - simply called "La Creperie Cafe" - right next to the bookstore, which I highly recommend (and believe me, as a Frenchwoman, I don't recommend just any creperie, although be warned that the service is at French not American speed),
• attending an opera by Opera Philadelphia at the Academy of Vocal Arts,
• having a glass of wine at Tria,
• strolling through the galleries of the Museum of Art,
• enjoying the amazing collection of the Barnes Foundation in its new location on Museum Row,
• sipping coffee at La Colombe right off Rittenhouse Square while reading the New Yorker,
• having brunch at Parc on Rittenhouse Square,
• reading one of the books I've bought at Joseph Fox on a bench of Rittenhouse Square.

This all makes for perfect Philly weekends!

Things I like to do when I am in Seattle

If you find yourself in Seattle, WA, here are a few things I recommend - Seattle is a very walkable city and you can walk from any location I list to the others:

• attending a reading at Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10th Ave) and of course buying the author's book afterward (buy indie!)
• having tea at the Panama Hotel (605 1/2 S Main St) - it is the Panama Hotel mentioned in the "Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford and the tea house is gorgeous with beautiful wooden hardfloors, a wide range of teas and just the right atmosphere. You can see the basement, in particular belongings left behind in World War II, through a glass pane in the floor.
• having coffee at Zeitgeist on Pioneer Square (171 S Jackson St) - this is my go-to spot for afternoons in front of my laptop, I can admire the artwork of local painters on display if I want to take a break, and the lattes are delicious.
• watching the glassblowers in the Glasshouse Studio's hotshop, also in Pioneer Square (311 Occidental), and buying some of the wonderfully colorful glass artifacts on display, to counterbalance the gray that dominates many days in Seattle.
• if you enjoy glassblowing or the results thereof, you really cannot miss the Chihuly Garden and Glass (305 Harrison St) at Seattle Center, a long-term exhibition of my favorite glassblowing artist, Dave Chihuly - admission is discounted if you are a local,
• strolling through the (free) Frye Art Museum on First Hill (704 Terry Ave) or having a snack at the cafe with free wi-fi,
• enjoying the exhibition on display at the Seattle Art Museum 1300 1st Ave (SAM - although I find the admission price of $19.50 a bit steep given the collections, unless you use your ticket to gain free admission that same week at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, a normal price tag of $7),
• having lunch at one of the stalls of Pike Place Market and stroll by the waterfront afterward,
• enjoying sushi at Momiji (1522 12th Ave).

To finish, here are videos of the artwork for sale at the Glassblowing Studio and of the Chihuly Garden and Glass.