This week we had the pleasure of seeing my Aunt Marisa (my mom's sister) and her husband, Uncle Alan, here in Philadelphia! They live in San Jose, CA, and neither of them had ever been to Philly. This was also Alan and Tony's first time meeting. We had a great time!
Alan and Marisa were in DC visiting their son, Nick, and his wife, Emily. They came up to see us all while they were out here on the East coast. They drove up Monday and we chatted until dinnertime. We had a great dinner at Bethany's. Tony had made yummy gravy (red sauce) and his famous stuffed shells (jumbo pasta filled with either a meat mixture or a 3-cheese mixture). Bethany augmented the main dish with salad and a yummy dessert. After her kids went to bed, we played a riotous game of Apples to Apples - Bible version. We laughed the hardest at Tony's play of something like "the peaceful shoe of the lions" or something like that. It was after 9:30 so I can't vouch that it was TRULY funny... we were all just laughing hard.
The next day we drove down in our car with Alan, Marisa, and Bethany (David sacrificed and took the train since he had to go to school later on anyway). Tony gave us his best impression of a Philly tour guide as he drove us through beautiful Fairmount Park! David was smart enough to get us tickets to Independence Hall, so we just had enough time to see the Liberty Bell before heading over to tour beautiful Independence Hall. For those that are interested, about 3 months ago a new outdoor exhibit opened in front of the Liberty Bell building showcasing the excavations done on George Washington's home and exploring the role of slavery in Philadelphia. It was pretty interesting.
Independence Hall is always so inspiring. I can never go without feeling the gravity and importance of what happened there. This time we were also able to visit the West Wing where we saw 3 original documents (one was a draft of the Declaration of Independence), as well as visiting the Congress Hall and Senate room.
We walked around the corner to the Curtis Building and saw the beautiful Maxfield Parrish/Tiffany Company mosaic there. Then we walked a LONG way to the fantastic Reading Terminal Market for lunch. It is a must-see for Philadelphia. You can get almost any kind of food there that you can imagine. After lunch, we had a nice sunny walk back to the Independence Hall area and drove home. We had to get Alan and Marisa some Rita's Water Ice before they left, and they really enjoyed it! So did Gigi and Madeline, who Bethany had picked up in the meantime.
It was a quick trip, but we had a great time. I was so glad that we got to be reacquainted with a great aunt and uncle, and especially that Tony and Alan got to meet and spend some time talking together. Thanks for coming to Philly, Marisa and Alan! Hopefully you will come again very soon!
They said they had a great time with you all!
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