Pictures Spree: Philadelphia’s Landmarks

The city of Philadelphia is so rich with history. Not only it was the place where America’s founding fathers declared the nation’s independence from the British. It was  also the nation’s first capital city and many other “firsts” including the making of the first American flag and also the first arts school and museum. I was so amazed by how ornate these old buildings are and how beautifully kept they are.  Some people might find it weird having to see an 18th century buildings tucked between modern skyscrapers, but to me they’re so charming. It also shows how proud the people are to their heritage by preserving these exquisite old buildings alongside new developments.

The city’s very brief history

George Washington statue in front of the Independence Hall

William Penn statue on top of the City Hall

From the City Hall’s quadrangle

PAFA: The first arts school and museum in USA

Mini Vacay

(Wearing: ’70s men sweater, ’50s dress, vintage belt & shoes, Coach bag, gifted tights)

Last week I went to Philadelphia to meet up with an old friend of mine. We used to go to college together before she went back to Indonesia in late 2006, which was really the last time I saw her. When she told me she’s coming to Philadelphia for a conference, I didn’t think twice before I agreed to her offer for a meet up. It was great to see her again and we spent 4 days discovering the city as well as a day trip to NYC. The biggest let down was that Philly’s public transportation system went on strike last week, so we had to depend on our feet a lot. We also lost the chance of going to some places we’d like to go due to the lack of transportation. Though so, it was a great mini vacation for me, especially since my last weekend trip was 7 months ago! *Eeep! I don’t know about you, but a little vacation here and there really help me to get centered and let me do better in my work/study*.

I’d really like to share more pictures from the trip but I have to wait for my friend to send some pictures as her new high tech camera really took better pics than my beloved but old camera. So until then, I should get back to my study mode… finals week is next week, eep!

Summer Day Trip: Brownville, NE!

Brownville Mill

This post is actually 2 weeks late as that was when we visited Brownville. it is a small town, 1.5 hours drive from Lincoln, at the banks of the Missouri River. The town has that old charm with its peaceful air, friendly townspeople, and lovely surprises. The above picture is the Brownville Mill. Since its establishment in early ’50s, the store has been carrying healthy food products, including flours that they milled themselves. The building itself traced its origin as far back as the 1860 with notable patrons such as the notorious Jesse James and the first homesteader Daniel Freeman.

Antiquarium bookstore (frame from FrodoBabbs' Flickr)

Brownville also proud itself to be a book town.  There are 3 used bookstores mushrooming its main street (and like many small town, there’s only 1 main street which is also called the town’s business district). The last bookstore, however, proved to be the gem. The Antiquarium bookstore, as it is called, is located in an old school building with rows after rows of books. The main part of the building, i believe, used to be some kind of assembly hall with a stage on one side of the room.  This room, along with books, is also furnished with tables and chairs. Going deeper into the building, there is a hallway, again crowded with shelved books. There are 3 other rooms filled with more books, one of them is dedicated to rare and classics with Shakespearestacked all the way near the ceiling. We chatted quite a bit with its owner who told us that he (and his books) just move d down from Omaha. Responding to our comment about the big space he has, he said that it was actually only about 1/3 of what the bookstore used to be in Omaha… Wowzziee!!

Broom shop

The Broom Artist

Another unique shop in Brownville is this broom shop. We had a chance to see Merril, the owner, working on a broom. Back home, in indonesia, i’m pretty sure there are broom makers exist, but i never see the broommaking process itself. That machine that he used to clamp the broom is over 100 years old. He also used one big needle to thread the straws together. On the shop’s wall, he also proudly displayed a world map filled with thumbtacks indicating where his brooms now reside.

All in all, it was an enjoyable trip with many surprises. i’d love to go there again, though, and tour some of the house museums that were closed when we visited. More information about Brownville can be found here.

Ho-Li-Day

If we took a holiday
Took some time to celebrate
Just one day out of life
It would be, it would be so nice

-Holiday (Madonna)

Maybe it’s just me, but one question that has been going through my mind lately (in the middle of Accounting exercises ever so often) is: “What is summer without the longing of a road trip?”

Railroad along cliffs

Nebraska Highway

Grand Teton Mountain Range

All pictures taken in the Summer of 2007 when i, along with 3 good friends, went for a road trip from Nebraska to Yellowstone (Wyoming), then through Montana, idaho, then to Utah, Colorado, and back to Nebraska in the span of 8 days. We got to see a lot of picturesque views and it was one of the most memorable trips i had in the US.

As for this summer, i have no grand travel plans. However, i do have a smaller scale travel wish: To explore Lincoln’s surroundings, which may include towns/attractions such as Brownville, indian cave state park, and Fort Atkinson. We’ll see if my wish comes true

twin cities-continued

Waaah… hari ini asik… maen2 ksana kmari. Like I wrote yesterday, we had a more relaxed itinerary today. Though so, we changed a lil bit from what I wrote. OK, today we went to Uptown-Lake Calhoun, had a lunch at a Jap restaurant near the U of M, went to asian stores, dinner theatre, and finally karaoke box. Yeaaay! happy happy joy joy!