Fil and I started off the morning at The Fitzwater Cafe. They live downtown, so we can walk to anything in just a few minutes. This awesome restaurant is just down their street. Brian would have liked the food here.
Fil writes a blog called "Rhino Love" (the Rhino Bar was where she met her husband, Sam, in Missoula, Montana). She was able to use the "cancer bonus" at the zoo, and we got to go behind the scenes with a 5,000 pound rhino. The rhino's name was Tony. Felicia said that the rhino didn't like loud noises, so I was NOT allowed to use my kitty voice in his presence.
We got to brush Tony (this was like a massage for him). We also got to pet him, but we had to stay behind the bars. I'm not sure who would want to be in a cage with a 5,000 pound creature with a giant horn. His skin was very leathery. While we were inside, his shares his outside pen with the zebras.
The garbage cans are Tony's toys.
While the word is actually the abbreviation for building, the door looks like it says, "Blog Rhino." Awesome.
The giraffes were out for the first time this spring, and they were excited and galloping around.
I liked this sign: "Don't call me kitty," because I call everything "kitty."
Felicia and I got to attend the Philadelphia Orchestra's matinee. Sam is an amazing clarinet player (I played clarinet in the junior high orchestra--I was only better than Katherine--ask Bill Roehrs, and he'll confirm this). We had amazing comped tickets, and Sam stared us down and gave us his sign: he patted his head. I have never been to a professional orchestra concert before, and it blew me away (maybe literally). Fil and I forgot to wear our fur coats, so we stood out in the audience a bit.
After the concert, Fil and went to The Fat Ham for dinner. As we were walking there, Fil wanted to get call-ahead seating, so she asked Siri this: "The Fat Ham." Siri replied, "That's not nice." Since the restaurant didn't open until 5, we walked slow and wandered through a few stores. Fil wanted me to eat at The Fat Ham, because it reminded us of eating at Fatty's Pizza in Breckenridge (when we were kids). Felicia thought that Fatty's was an awful name, and she made a fuss about it. Then, when we returned to our condo, she sat down and "broke the bed." The food is similar to Tapas, but it has a Southern flair. We decided to walk the two miles (or so) back home via some stores on Walnut Street. For the record, I did not buy anything at Tiffany's.
When we returned home, we watched the India episode of An Idiot Abroad with Sam and finished up our giant chocolate chip skillet cookie that Fil made Thursday night.
In addition to a variety of culinary experiences this week, I also had a variety of good drinks--local hard apple cider, Lambic, margaritas, Moscow mules, wine, and Sam's prized Maker's 46 whiskey. Thank goodness there was some walking involved this week, so my pants still fit for the flight home.
Kat and Felicia were awesome hosts. However, despite being both highly educated people, Kat thought I should follow the rental truck in her car instead of leaving her car in the U-Haul lot, and Felicia told Ruby and I that Ben Franklin was president.
My TripAdvisor reviews for Kat and Felicia will be positive.
