I'm in Philadelphia on a weekend press trip. Home of the Liberty Bell, cheesesteak wars and Rocky. I took the Amtrak here from Penn Station NY and arrived at Philly's beautiful high-ceilinged 30th Street Station in 1 hour and 22 minutes.Lap of Luxury
We're staying at the Four Seasons, and it's lovely.
On That Note
1. They sell cellophane-wrapped black bow ties in the lobby--for the gentlemen who forgot theirs; $20 each.
2. The spa is tranquil. We all got Cleopatra Facials--a tie-in to the current exhibit at the Franklin Institute, which we're seeing tomorrow. It's called Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt. My facial involved a special enzyme treatment made from pears and figs. Jennifer Wegner [professor and curator of the Egyptian section of the Penn Museum, who joined us for margaritas and dinner at divine Mexico-City-inspired Distrito] confirmed over guacamole that Cleopatra may indeed have eaten figs. The Penn Museum has an awesome collection of Egyptian objects, and Jennifer and her husband and young son go to Egypt once a year for excavations. How cool is that? She knows everything about everything Egypt-related. It made me realize: People are passionate about so many different things. The info I house about upscale chocolate is one passion; Jennifer's is another. Both equally rich.
3. The story of the spa products is even better. My facialist, Debbie, clued me in to the Naturopathica products made with organic fruits and flowers in an East Hampton, NY business run by Glenn Close's cousin. One great thing is there's no hard sell here like at some other spas. I was free to sniff and explore and then choose what I wanted, no pressure. I can't wait to mist the Lavender Blossom Bath & Body Oil on my damp skin after showering [www.naturopathica.com].
As for the rest time, well, I need to steal a little bit of that. In between everything, I was fielding calls from my Dad and his care planner at the hospital, and also called his urologist twice. It is a worry. I do feel guilty not being there, but I will return Sunday evening, and Sis and my brother Will are stepping in, too.
So forgive me...I really should be writing more about the amazing Egyptian objects we saw, which were really, really cool and thought-provoking.
But I want to savor a tiny bit of luxuriating before we meet up again at 8:30 A.M. in the lobby.
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I'm traveling for work, too, and I feel a guilty pleasure at the nice room and surroundings, (and food), leaving the family to fend for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about going up to see the Cleopatra exhibit - I'm a fan of Egyptology, have been there, but mostly I know of Cleo from Shakespeare. Is it worth it?
Hi Nan. I honestly have been ignorant about Egyptology until now.......the eight of us on the press trip [journalists] all really loved the exhibit. Really got us thinking--about women in power, body image, more. I think you would agree. The audio tour is included and we also found that very good. Thanks for writing. Have a safe trip, and enjoy it. Best, Alice
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