(no subject)
***Pic Spam To Follow.***
Rain's Adventure in Chinatown
Picked up arthurpod around 10-ish. Stopped at a Rutter's to top off the gas tank and get breakfast. Drove up to Rt 30, to 222, to toll road 76, to interstate 76, to Philly, to CoonWulfs place. Hung out for a while and chatted. CoonWulf gave me some peanut butter trees and some peanut butter fudge for Xmas! Ah... my friends. You know me so well! Ha!! Got to meet his roommates three kitties and had a tour of the apartment. Very nice place. :-) Caught a train to the Market St./ Reading Terminal Market exit. CoonWulf called his friend Dave, we met up and then went on our tour.
First stop was for lunch. Dave suggested a Thai restaurant since arthurpod and I had never eaten there... and CoonWulf loves it! :-D We went to http://www.phillychinatown.com/siamcuisine.htm. OMG! It was simply FABULOUS! Dave had green curry, arthurpod had red curry, CoonWulf had something with bean sprouts (I love bean sprouts) and I had Siam Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken. OK. We all had mild versions of the typical cuisine but I think I could have handled the traditional spicy. Mine was so mild, I didn't really notice it. I must have acclimated to it quickly. But it was absolutely to DIE for food! Mr. Dave was such a gentleman that he picked up the tab for EVERYONE! How nice! I offered to pay for mine and arthurpods but Mr Dave said no. I then offered to cover the tip, but Mr. Dave said No. Yeesh. I didn't get his address ~ for which I feel like a schmuck ~ because I should AT LEAST send him a card.
Mr Dave acted as our tour guide. We went up to the Arch http://www.phillychinatown.com/images/images/chinatown888.jpg on Arch Street and I took a few photos. (I also got a photo of Mr. Dave, CoonWulf, and arthurpod all together. It will be posted in pic spam later - soon as I find my digital camera in all my Chinatown Schwag.) I did a lot of shopping while arthurpod did none. But CoonWulf and Mr. Dave bought a few things.
Let's see... the stuff I bought: a Maneki Necko bank (which is huge!), a set of 5 pairs of matching chopsticks (I figured out how to use them CoonWulf!!), some strawberry Pocky, some chocolate Hello Panda cookies, a Hello Kitty hand towel (which you need when in a lavatory in Japan as they don't have paper towel dispensers... a good, environment friendly idea, IMHO), several pads of paper, stickers and pens of Hello Kitty and friends, some keyrings (including one for CoonWulf of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - is it any wonder we're friends!?), a packet of Hello Kitty bandages and a BENTO! I saw a bento thermos like container on eBay that I wanted but it cost $50 plus shipping and handling!! I got one almost exactly the same at a store in Chinatown for $25 without shipping and handling! (Aha! Here is a link to that auction so you can see what I got. http://tinyurl.com/yst5ty Mine is grey with a spoon and fork holder, but it's long enough to accommodate chopsticks.)
After the Chinatown walk, we went into the Reading Terminal Market to see what was in there. Pretty much it was all food related ~ good thing we ate before we went in there. Various types of cuisine was available: Mediterranean, Greek, Latino, Italian, cheese-steak, Asian and Amish! You could buy ready-made food at the restaurants or buy the stuff to make your own at the veggie/fruit and meat stands. If I lived near Philly, I'd be making trips to the market once a week to purchase stuff to fix at home. Even if I just lived in West Chester out near Longwood Gardens (sounds like a spring or summer trip, CoonWulf!!), I'd take a train into town to hit the markets. There is a tea/herb shop in Chinatown, too, "catarzyna that you may wish to visit sometime.
Once we all got tired of walking, Mr Dave took his leave of us and the merry three of us rode the train back to near CoonWulf's apartment. Walking up the hill nearly killed me. I swear, I have to get in shape. I was SO embarrassed that I had to stop three times to rest. Brother arthurpod didn't have much - if any - problem, neither did CoonWulf. Sigh. Time to get my butt on the exercise track! I will admit to being fine today - except for my left arm but that was bothering me after I rearranged some furniture this week so I don't think that was from lugging the billion packages around yesterday. Got to meet CoonWulf's roommate who owns the kitties. It was SO cute! He came home and was nearly MUGGED by his cats! Ha!
Oh, when we were resting after the big walk, Mama Kitty got up on arthurpod's lap and was standing on her hindlegs, sniffing arthurpod's goatee. CoonWulf Mentioned scratching her back so she will lick. Whenever you scratch a certain spot on her back, she sticks her tongue out like a snake. So, while she was standing on arthurpod, I scratched her and she tried to kiss him! HA! She likes you, arthurpod!!
So, a BIG, UBER HUGE "Thank you" goes out to CoonWulf for putting up with me and arthurpod yesterday. We really enjoyed your company and hope that we didn't scare you too much. *HUGS*
Yes, I know. Why didn't you get some manga/anime or jewelry?! Because I/we AVOIDED those places!! Hello!? College student! I didn't really spend a whole lot of money (just over $100 really) when in Chinatown. I spent around $50 to get out there and back. I even have $$ left over!! Luckily, I used Dad's Xmas gift of $$ for this trip. :-) (Big thanks to Dad.) A lot of the paper, stickers, candy, pens and key rings were around $1 each!! The huge stack of Hello Kitty paper I bought was only like $2!! The most expensive thing I bought was the HUGE Maneki Neko bank for $28. :-) And, God Forbid, I win the lottery. I will have so many Maneki Neko figurines... *shakes head*. (I have two now, but I have several yards of fabric with her on them as well as some cell phone charms of her.) Oh. Yeah. It would help if I told you about Maneki Neko, right?!
There are two different kinds of Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat). One raises its left paw. The other raises its right paw. The legend specified that the one with its left paw up invited customers or people, and the one with its right paw up invited money or good fortune. The origin of this legend was not clear. (From www.amy.hi-ho.ne.jp) I have the left paw up kitty and she is a tricolor one like this picture (From the above mentioned website).
Isn't she cute?! She is a Japanese custom so I find it a bit odd that she was in Chinatown... but there were two sushi restaurants there, also. *Shrugs*
Can you tell I had a good time?? Ha!
Rain's Adventure in Chinatown
Picked up arthurpod around 10-ish. Stopped at a Rutter's to top off the gas tank and get breakfast. Drove up to Rt 30, to 222, to toll road 76, to interstate 76, to Philly, to CoonWulfs place. Hung out for a while and chatted. CoonWulf gave me some peanut butter trees and some peanut butter fudge for Xmas! Ah... my friends. You know me so well! Ha!! Got to meet his roommates three kitties and had a tour of the apartment. Very nice place. :-) Caught a train to the Market St./ Reading Terminal Market exit. CoonWulf called his friend Dave, we met up and then went on our tour.
First stop was for lunch. Dave suggested a Thai restaurant since arthurpod and I had never eaten there... and CoonWulf loves it! :-D We went to http://www.phillychinatown.com/siamcuisine.htm. OMG! It was simply FABULOUS! Dave had green curry, arthurpod had red curry, CoonWulf had something with bean sprouts (I love bean sprouts) and I had Siam Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken. OK. We all had mild versions of the typical cuisine but I think I could have handled the traditional spicy. Mine was so mild, I didn't really notice it. I must have acclimated to it quickly. But it was absolutely to DIE for food! Mr. Dave was such a gentleman that he picked up the tab for EVERYONE! How nice! I offered to pay for mine and arthurpods but Mr Dave said no. I then offered to cover the tip, but Mr. Dave said No. Yeesh. I didn't get his address ~ for which I feel like a schmuck ~ because I should AT LEAST send him a card.
Mr Dave acted as our tour guide. We went up to the Arch http://www.phillychinatown.com/images/images/chinatown888.jpg on Arch Street and I took a few photos. (I also got a photo of Mr. Dave, CoonWulf, and arthurpod all together. It will be posted in pic spam later - soon as I find my digital camera in all my Chinatown Schwag.) I did a lot of shopping while arthurpod did none. But CoonWulf and Mr. Dave bought a few things.
Let's see... the stuff I bought: a Maneki Necko bank (which is huge!), a set of 5 pairs of matching chopsticks (I figured out how to use them CoonWulf!!), some strawberry Pocky, some chocolate Hello Panda cookies, a Hello Kitty hand towel (which you need when in a lavatory in Japan as they don't have paper towel dispensers... a good, environment friendly idea, IMHO), several pads of paper, stickers and pens of Hello Kitty and friends, some keyrings (including one for CoonWulf of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - is it any wonder we're friends!?), a packet of Hello Kitty bandages and a BENTO! I saw a bento thermos like container on eBay that I wanted but it cost $50 plus shipping and handling!! I got one almost exactly the same at a store in Chinatown for $25 without shipping and handling! (Aha! Here is a link to that auction so you can see what I got. http://tinyurl.com/yst5ty Mine is grey with a spoon and fork holder, but it's long enough to accommodate chopsticks.)
After the Chinatown walk, we went into the Reading Terminal Market to see what was in there. Pretty much it was all food related ~ good thing we ate before we went in there. Various types of cuisine was available: Mediterranean, Greek, Latino, Italian, cheese-steak, Asian and Amish! You could buy ready-made food at the restaurants or buy the stuff to make your own at the veggie/fruit and meat stands. If I lived near Philly, I'd be making trips to the market once a week to purchase stuff to fix at home. Even if I just lived in West Chester out near Longwood Gardens (sounds like a spring or summer trip, CoonWulf!!), I'd take a train into town to hit the markets. There is a tea/herb shop in Chinatown, too, "catarzyna that you may wish to visit sometime.
Once we all got tired of walking, Mr Dave took his leave of us and the merry three of us rode the train back to near CoonWulf's apartment. Walking up the hill nearly killed me. I swear, I have to get in shape. I was SO embarrassed that I had to stop three times to rest. Brother arthurpod didn't have much - if any - problem, neither did CoonWulf. Sigh. Time to get my butt on the exercise track! I will admit to being fine today - except for my left arm but that was bothering me after I rearranged some furniture this week so I don't think that was from lugging the billion packages around yesterday. Got to meet CoonWulf's roommate who owns the kitties. It was SO cute! He came home and was nearly MUGGED by his cats! Ha!
Oh, when we were resting after the big walk, Mama Kitty got up on arthurpod's lap and was standing on her hindlegs, sniffing arthurpod's goatee. CoonWulf Mentioned scratching her back so she will lick. Whenever you scratch a certain spot on her back, she sticks her tongue out like a snake. So, while she was standing on arthurpod, I scratched her and she tried to kiss him! HA! She likes you, arthurpod!!
So, a BIG, UBER HUGE "Thank you" goes out to CoonWulf for putting up with me and arthurpod yesterday. We really enjoyed your company and hope that we didn't scare you too much. *HUGS*
Yes, I know. Why didn't you get some manga/anime or jewelry?! Because I/we AVOIDED those places!! Hello!? College student! I didn't really spend a whole lot of money (just over $100 really) when in Chinatown. I spent around $50 to get out there and back. I even have $$ left over!! Luckily, I used Dad's Xmas gift of $$ for this trip. :-) (Big thanks to Dad.) A lot of the paper, stickers, candy, pens and key rings were around $1 each!! The huge stack of Hello Kitty paper I bought was only like $2!! The most expensive thing I bought was the HUGE Maneki Neko bank for $28. :-) And, God Forbid, I win the lottery. I will have so many Maneki Neko figurines... *shakes head*. (I have two now, but I have several yards of fabric with her on them as well as some cell phone charms of her.) Oh. Yeah. It would help if I told you about Maneki Neko, right?!
There are two different kinds of Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat). One raises its left paw. The other raises its right paw. The legend specified that the one with its left paw up invited customers or people, and the one with its right paw up invited money or good fortune. The origin of this legend was not clear. (From www.amy.hi-ho.ne.jp) I have the left paw up kitty and she is a tricolor one like this picture (From the above mentioned website).
Isn't she cute?! She is a Japanese custom so I find it a bit odd that she was in Chinatown... but there were two sushi restaurants there, also. *Shrugs*
Can you tell I had a good time?? Ha!