Photographic Evidence

We spent the weekend in Philadelphia and I must admit that never in my life have I enjoyed such luxury. The Rittenhouse Hotel was by far and away the most exceptional establishment it's ever been my experience to enjoy, and after wining and dining the weekend away I'm sure to have gained some weight, especially from the outstanding brunch we had at Lacroix where every bite was a delight.

After taking the train down Friday, Michelle, Cathy and I went to the township of Manayunk to enjoy the shopping there. While I didn't purchase anything it was fun to have a "day out with the girls" looking at and trying on various fabulous designer clothes. Relying on public transport, we had to wait for our cab to pick us up again later in the day (when he dropped us off he said we weren't likely to get another taxi easilly, so he could return at 6 - and thankfully he did as we would have been stuck without his help), after which we returned to the hotel and relaxed before heading out for the night. Unfortunately, Ian was held up in town with work and traffic but joined us later at Bookbinders. I ate a really lovely halibut fish caught not 24 hours earlier and a snapper soup (that's turtle!). We then headed back to the hotel for drinks at the bar and ended up closing out with the bartender and manager. A very enjoyable evening which I can honestly say I've not done anything like before. It was a fascinating thing to talk to complete strangers and be able to have genuine dialogue and connection (or watch this) with people of such varying backgrounds. There is so much I can learn and I really appreciated this interaction.

The next morning after a delightful sleep-in I went to the in-house gym and after mucking about on some of the state of the art machines decided to just float in the pool. Very few things beat floating :)

Ian and I headed out then to check out the historic sights and managed to get standby entry for free into the Independence Hall tour. I hear Ian talk so much about "freedom" and the right every person should have in this country to bear arms or live however they want. I admit I certainly didn't understand the context of his philosophy until this weekend. As an Australian, we never had a bloody war to fight for our independence. Yes, we had wars that we joined and an amazing ANZAC heritage of which I am truly proud, but never did farmers and soldiers join together to bear arms to change the constitution and rulership of our beloved home. America has, and did so on the basis that they didn't want to be told how to run their country by the English. Considering this heritage, the belief in the right to bear arms (even to fight against the government of the day should it not seek the best for its people), and the right of freedom of choice that these pioneers fought for, it is scary to witness the current state of politics here. The power is not with the people, but instead with a few which choose to limit the freedom of choice and decision that this country was founded upon. It was an understanding which I'm thankful for, but one that is disturbing to gain.

We headed to Chris's Jazz Cafe later that night after eating a HUGE meal at Smith and Wollensky's - the biggest steaks I've seen in my life (honestly - no veg on the plates.. just a chunk of meat). I've never heard much of Jazz, and I can't say what type of jazz I like in terms of categories.. but I liked the music that night and would gladly hear it again.

Worshipping at the Church of the Holy Trinity was also a service to remember on Sunday morning. A picture you can view here indicates the beauty of the interior, and I was blessed by the writing over the artwork "to the glory of God the Father, and to God the Son, and to God the Holy Ghost". To see a created work such as that and to in the viewing be reminded of the Trinity was a reminder not only of his gloriousness, but also of a sermon I heard 2 years ago that echoes in my head today - reminding us to work for the Glory of God, and how great he is. When men build structures to the glory of themselves through architecture to hold houses of finance, or real estate, or industry, people used to build cathedrals to be the house of God in that vicinity, to the glory of His name. The sermon was exceptional and I'm thankful for that time of fellowship.

I recognise that this has been a bit more of a diary entry of events over the weekend, but it keeps people in the loop and you can always email me or leave a comment if you want more info!

You might by this stage be wondering about the title of this blog though.. no photos yet? Well, I did take some but not too many as I've lost a bit of confidence in my camera recently after some photos with horrid lines through them (thankfully none in this batch though), and one of my biggest regrets from this trip was the lack of photographic evidence. Thankfully though, I came across this Flickr site which has many of the photos I would have loved to have taken - and with a great deal more artistry. Check it out, especially the Public Art set which is likely what I would have focused on (I do love bronze statues).

Back to Hong Kong this week after the holiday (experiencing holiday blues at the moment... I so don't want them to end!). I'm so thankful to God for making these past two weeks possible, and especially the family I'm staying with for all the extras which have once again exceeded my wildest imaginations.