The Founders

On a random whim, I decided to take a weekend trip to Philadelphia. With Megabus, the round trip cost was only about $30! On top of that, most of the sightseeing in Philadelphia can be done for free. It was a great refresher lesson about our country's history and its brilliant founders. It was also my chance to visit my friend, Thomas, my former section leader from the Michigan Marching Band and a 2L at Temple Law School.

It was also "Beer Week" in Philadelphia, so Thomas and I went to a couple of bars to participate in some of the events, which included meeting the owners of Grand Rapids-based Founders Brewery and try their beer specials. Factor in an awesome farmers' market and some cheesesteaks, and it all adds up to a tasty AND educational weekend!

Independence Hall

The inside of Independence Hall. Thomas Jefferson sat here!

More Independence Hall...This was a sort of courtroom.

The Senate's Chamber was much nicer than that of the representatives. Do you think our founders came to this building, and then walked to the bar and drank Founders Beer? Because that's what I did.

This was a nice surprise! There was a choral class visiting Independence Hall, and they sang for us! And my camerawork rocks!

House of Representatives.

The Liberty Bell. Too bad it's broken. Thomas was telling me about how the site for the Liberty Bell Museum was built on top of what used to be a cemetery for slaves. Pretty ironic, considering that it's supposed to be a symbol of, well, liberty and freedom. I guess we should just blithely ignore the hypocrisy. Tra la la.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Okay, so Philly has a huge indoor market called the Reading Terminal Market. They have TONS of different types of food there from many different backgrounds. Here's the "Pennsylvania Dutch Chocolate".

Butter Almond Bliss. Google needs to figure out some sort of gadget to incorporate actual scents into Blogger.

Apparently, there is a big cheesesteak Rivalry between Geno's Steaks and Pat's Steaks. The buildings face each other in a busy intersection. Geno's has the extravagant bright lights, but I've heard Pat's has the better steaks, so I went with Pat's.

Philly Cheesesteaks, the reason Philadelphia is one of the most obese cities in the world.

And, of course, words simply cannot convey how awesome Thomas is. Thanks for taking me around town, Thomas! Here we are with our cheesesteaks. I admit that it was tasty, but I felt pretty disgusting for about 24 hours after eating it. I'm guessing Philly Cheesesteaks became popular well after 1800, because I don't think our founding fathers could have created a government while suffering from extreme indigestion.

The Kisho in Times Square

Sorry, Kisho. Your hair is not quite long enough to block Times Square out of this photo.

Ashton, aka "The Kisho", took his turn visiting me in New York City this time. Much like when Nicky visited me, we basically spent a lot of each day eating food. However, unlike when Nicky visited me, we spent a lot of each day....well....making fun of Nicky. Interesting how that works.

The highlights included: Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Jackson Hole Diner, Wicked on Broadway, The Nintendo Store, Chopped Liver and Matzo Ball Soup at Carnegie Deli, Sprinting through Times Square, Ground Zero, Chinatown for Chinese New Year, Spicy Food and Sushi in Koreatown, Rockefellar Plaza, Zabar's, and Restaurant Week Lunch at Alfama Portuguese Restaurant. Oh, I also made Ashton come to work with me and remove staples from some of our files. Child labor laws don't apply to New York City.

We found a lot of cheap junk in Chinatown, which happened to go surprisingly well with the rest of The Kisho's wardrobe.

I thought this sign was really amusing. Apparently, the act of merely looking at the Chinatown clothes causes them to actually increase in value. Don't unfold the clothes, or else the Communists will get you!

Ashton, way under-dressed, at 30 Rock.

Ashton and all of the crazy people willing to pay $45 each to go ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza.

Taking Columbus Circle by force! Look at how fierce that stance is.

NintendoWorld!!! I was way more excited to meet Mario than Ashton was. This was before he took us into the back room and offered us some of his 'shrooms. Then I hijacked his Yoshi while Ashton strangled that Pikachu with the WiiMote nunchucks.

Ashton walking to see Wicked on Broadway by himself because we could only afford one ticket, and me creepily following and taking pictures of him.

We took this picture in honor of The Prapo. Any trip is a success if you can slaughter both a lamb and a Pikachu in one day.

We scarfed down a delicious meal at Jackson Hole in the Upper West Side and then sprinted to Gershwin Theatre. There were at least 100 burgers on the menu. Ashton had a massive cheeseburger and some O-rings.

And my delicious mushroom-chicken burger. Mmmmm delicious fungus.

Alfama - Portuguese cuisine in the West Village

This mosaic actually did look a lot like Portugal.

Appetizers! The bread and olives were particular delish.

Ashton's first course were ginger-shrimp meatballs and a ginger sauce. Yeah, we thought it sounded Asian, too. Whatevs.

Caldo Verde soup. Made with kale, linguica, and potatoes. This was more traditionally Portuguese, but Grandma's and Aunt Angelina's are both better.

Ashton's main course was a beef steak with egg and some fries. Yeah, we thought it sounded like typical French steak frites, too. Whatevs.

My main course was cubed pork with peppers, onions, and mussels. Sort of like an extravagant version of dog food.

Ashton's dessert was creme caramel with a graham cracker topping. Once again, very un-Portuguese. Whatevs.

My dessert was bizzarrely awesome. It was an almond/walnut cake with a coconut topping. It almost made up for the awkward waiter we had. And the overpriced food. And the fact that we managed to discover the only authentic Portuguese restaurant that serves absolutely no Portuguese food. Huzzah!

The Prappening

Ahh! The Tofu-Pesto Spelt Crust Pizza at Cafe Viva Natural Pizza had no chance against the famished Prapo.

Nicky, aka "The Prap", came to visit me in New York City. The long weekend, or "The Prappening," as I like to call it, featured the typically absurd occurrences, perilous obstacles, and (satanic?) foodstuffs of the Prapo variety. The astonishing part was that, as carnivorous as I am, I found vegan New York to be quite wonderful. Yes, it Prappened to me, and be careful, because it could Prappen to you, too!

The weekend's highlights included:

Grand Central Terminal, Bryant Park, dinner in Chinatown, movie at Astoria-Kaufmann Studios, lunch in Koreatown, shopping/stealing M&Ms at Macy's Herald Square, walk up Fifth Avenue, Rockefellar Center, the TODAY Show set, the Rockefellar Christmas Tree, Nintendo World Store, The New York Dog Shop, watching USC win the Rose Bowl, Times Square, Avenue Q on Broadway, The United Nations, Hot Apple Cider at the Union Square Greenmarket, The Strand Bookstore, Economy Candy Store, The American Museum of Natural History, Lunch at Cafe Blossom, The Staten Island Ferry, The Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero/WTC, Battery Park, Lunch at Pommes Frites, Dinner at Kate's Joint, and comedy and drinks at Comedy Cellar in Washington Square.

The Prapo goes to the United Nations! My favorite part was when he got all frazzled while going through the security checkpoint. He frantically took off article upon article of clothing, tossed his gum into the bucket, removed all the receipts and papers from his pockets, and fortunately, prior to actually slitting his wrists and draining his blood into the container, I managed to get through to him the fact that none of those items were likely to trigger the metal detector. Sheesh, Prap, why do you always have to come across as a terrorist?

Token photo of me with the U.N. logo. Look how important I am!

A Prapo in Times Square! While I was waiting in line for tickets for Avenue Q, I sent The Prap to try to win some tickets to In The Heights. He was reluctant to go off on his own, but managed to survive the 50 foot journey! The Prap is progressing!

The Prapo in front of the financial district. Don't be surprised if his mere proximity to Wall Street was the direct cause of the recession.

The Prapo crosses the Brooklyn Bridge.

Sailing to the Statue of Liberty. If this were 1900, I suspect that this is as close as The Prap would get before the Americans started throwing stones at him.

Yes, THE New York Dog Shop, and the best doggie treats that $247.00 can buy!

Look at that ferocious beast! Oh, and theres a wolf behind him, too.

And, of course, the veggie food. This is my tomato, onion, mushroom, and broccoli pizza on whole wheat crust at Cafe Viva.

Tofu-Pesto Spelt Crust!

This is vegetarian chicken-fried steak from Kate's Joint in Alphabet City. It's made with seitan (satan?), which is a wheat gluten meat substitute.

Belgian fries at Pommes Frites in the East Village. They let us try several dipping sauces before we picked the one we wanted. It was down to curry/peanut and pomegranate/teriyaki, but the latter won out.

My portobello mushroom, tomato, pesto, and alfalfa sandwich from Cafe Blossom. Everything about this was surprisingly delicious.

Nicky got the grilled setian (SATAN!) sandwich with fries at Cafe Blossom. Nobody does vegetarian like NYC.

The Bonfire of the Insanities: Part Two

(to follow The Bonfire of the Insanities: Part One)

*To read this entry, you need super secret exclusive "insider" permission. Email me (paul.t.moura@gmail.com) if you want to read it.