Chocolate Nutty Toes!

This lovely Saturday morning started with me and Zunarah waking up early and getting ready to go out and take advantage of our last day in Philadelphia. We quickly got dressed and ready, but later found out that we weren’t going out until later so we relaxed in bed for half an hour.

After everyone was ready we met up in Kendra’s room upstairs and went go eat breakfast at Corner Bakery Café. The same one we ate at the day before. Outside the sun was shining and everyone was busy getting coffee and taking their morning jogs. We all found it insanely inspiring how they could exercise in such temperatures. I could barely stand in the direct sun for a few moments without becoming overwhelmingly uncomfortable that I would have to escape to a patch of shade.

At the café, I had the usual oatmeal with cranberries, a coffee, and banana. Kendra and Bianche ordered oatmeal as well. We all joked about how that I was setting a trend. Zunarah got scrambled eggs, fruit, and a banana muffin with some hot earl grey tea. Esmeralda got a panini sandwich with some fruit and a hot chocolate. I know what you’re thinking. Why would you drink hot beverages on an extremely hot day? Well it’s said that by drinking hot beverages on really hot days, it causes your body to increase in temperature and makes you sweat, thus cooling you down. It also tricks you into thinking that the outside temperature is cooler than it was before. So, if you are suffering through a hot day try drinking a cup of tea or maybe even hot chocolate.

After finishing breakfast, we decided to go sightseeing on the UPenn campus and look at the famous monuments. First, we found ourselves by the famous Benjamin Franklin bench statue. We all took very funny pictures with it. This monument is often referred to as “Ben on the Bench”.

We then went to the famous “LOVE” sculpture created by Robert Indiana. This sculpture is especially important in Philadelphia since it is known as “The City of Brotherly Love”.  Many believe that this sculpture is so popular because of the “o” in the word. It is tilted to  the side making it look very interesting to others, provoking thought and emotion.

After posing next to a few other monuments we headed back to the hotel to get into the car and head out to the Reading Terminal Market. As soon as I entered the market the fresh smells of doughnuts and cinnamon filled the air. There was a vast variety of small shops, the majority of the shops sold food and very interesting sweets such as these weird toe/almond chocolate bars, and nose bars. Zunarah and I laughed at how strange it was but agreed that adding on the almonds as toenails was pretty creative. 

One of the coolest places I stopped by was this kitchen ware shop that sold all sorts of cute kitchen tools and appliances. Small wooden ladles, ceramic-animal syrup pourers, cookie cutters in various shapes, and of course cook books as well. It was so funny seeing Zunarah so excited over tiny tart holders and thinking everything was cute.

Cat Syrup Dispenser

The whole morning, I was mainly focused on arriving in Providence. So, to make sure we didn't miss our flight we headed back to the hotel to put our luggage into the car. Trying to get back to the hotel was a hassle since everyone in Philadelphia drives insane. I thought San Francisco was bad, but this was something else. We also had a few problems with our navigation but finally ended up taking the right street and made it to our hotel safely

We quickly grabbed all the luggage and loaded down to the car. My cohort and I all worked together as a team to make sure we were doing everything as efficiently as possible. We checked out of our hotel and made our way to the Philadelphia International Airport.

My side of the dorm.

Once at our gate we found out our plane was going to be delayed. So, we took the time to start processing photos onto MediaFire (a site the ILC uses to store all the photos we take) that we previously took. While we were waiting for the plane we all were a little tired but were laughing it off and cracking jokes with each other. It truly has been a blessing to have such amazing and lovely cohort members. We all work together so well and have each other’s back. 

Water fire event.

At 6:22 PM, we officially landed in Providence, Rhode Island. It was pretty overcast and was sprinkling a little bit. Soon we got situated with a rental car and were driving to pick up our dorm room keys and schedules. Luckily all of us are in the same building. We are scattered on different floors but that's alright since we’re only a few flights of stairs away from each other.

We quickly tossed our luggage into our new rooms and then ran back out to Kendra to try and see the rest of Water Fire. Water Fire is an event where they light fires along the canal in Providence. We made it and I am so grateful we did. The fire was so warm and comforting, there was also very relaxing music playing. Small pop up tables were set up along the streets selling all sorts of goods. Blown glass, popcorn, and other merchandise.

From what I’ve seen tonight, I’m already falling in love with Providence and I can’t wait to explore more of it tomorrow!