Philadelphia PA: Day 4

I gave my second talk this morning. I am relieved that both talks are over...I decided today that I would do something really outside of my comfort zone. My normal activities on a trip like this are to visit museums and churches. Today, I did visit a church: I saw the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. I was not able to pack my tripod so I was not going to get good quality photos - but also I was worried that the sound of my camera making an exposure was annoying to the few parishioners who were praying - so I did not take as many photos as I normally would. The other thing I did today was to visit a prison: The Eastern State Penitentiary. I saw this in my travel book and I thought that it was one of the sites visited by the Ghost Adventures Crew (a show that I like to watch when it is daytime and I am not alone...). I debated about it, because it was a 2 mile walk from the conference and I did not even know if I could get in. Turns out - this is a spectacular historical place to visit. A bonus was that there were not many people there, so I think I may have gotten some amazing photos. As for ghosts, I don't think I saw any - but the feeling there is really strange...I can not explain it - just really eerie.

Philadelphia PA: Day 3

Today I decided to take a day off from the conference. I checked the book and there were not too many seminars or talks that are relevant to my interests, so I spent the day in historic "Old Town" Philadelphia. I saw the Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, US Mint, and Congress Hall. I also went to the National Constitution Center.

Philadelphia, PA: Day 2

Today I attended a couple of seminars in the morning. In the afternoon I went to the Reading Terminal Market. It was pretty busy and there was tons of food to see! Without a refrigerator in the room it is not a good idea to bring a lot back to the hotel, but I was able to get some fresh pastries - which is pretty much the greatest thing ever. I also went to The Barnes Foundation this afternoon. I was a bit apprehensive about going to this museum. The collection is the subject of some controversy. The collection was compiled by Albert C. Barnes starting at the turn of the 20th century. Barnes' taste in art was ahead of the taste of the time, and his collection was underappreciated and derided. Frankly, this pissed him off and he never wanted the elitist gentry of Philadelphia to get their hands on it. Well, after many years that seems to be exactly what happened. I think that it is OK - they have displayed the collection the way that Barnes had it displayed - but I think that if he knew that they were chargind $18 a head he would be incredibly annoyed. I am sure that some of the money is being spent to maintain and display the collection, but I think that Barnes would have liked for the price of admission to be free. Perhaps if the museum went to a donation system it would be more in line with the ideas of the original Barnes Foundation.  



Philadelphia PA: Day 1

I am in Philadelphia for PittCon, the largest conference for my field (Analytical Chemistry). I am here to give two talks - one today and one on Wednesday. The talk today went OK I think, it was definitely a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the only day that the weather will be better than rain and snow was today. As you can see in the photos - it still was not that great. As I found my way from the conference back to the hotel I stumbled upon a parade in Chinatown - which was really a pleasent surprise. I also had a famous Philly-cheese steak sandwich!