PennDot: or where you want to lay down and die

I've been back in Philadelphia for four and half years. In those four and a half years I have clung to my California driver's license. It was a safety net that could carry me back to sunny SoCal. But it was also a foot out the door and today I pulled in that foot and shut the door - for today I exchanged my California driver's license for one from Pennsylvania.

The experience was far more dreadful than expected.

Fact:

• People who work at the DMV actually hate you. No, really, they do. They must - because civil and polite behavior is met with grunts and rudeness.
• When there is a line out the door they decide that three special needs employees (I'm not being mean -they really are special needs) taking license photos is one too many. So they then have only two employees helping one hundred people. 
• You are constantly getting a new number to put you in a new longer line. 
• The people sitting next to you - not the creme de la creme of society.
• These may not, in fact, be facts, per se.

Do:

• Make sure that you have plenty of time to spare. For example two to three hours. 
• Bring reading material or be content to stare at the grimy floor.
• Do have all the forms already filled out - it may just save you some mind-numbing wait time.

Don't:

• Bring cash. They only take check or money orders.
• Expect the man next to you to actually bathe or clean his long yellow fingernails.

Eye's Gallery - or how you don't have to like mosaics to like this store

Facts:

• The Eye's Gallery is located at 402 South St.
• It began in 1968 after Julia and Isaiah Zagar returned from their two year stint in the Peace Corps in Peru where they worked in craft development.
• In those early days they lived in the back of the store.
• They are one of the few businesses on South st from the 60s that is still there.
• Isaiah Zagar is responsible for a great number of mosaics in Philadelphia and for the Magic Gardens.

 Do:

•  Especially peruse the Day of the Dead art. There is a very large selection.
• Check out all three levels of the store.  

Don't:

• Like mosaics? Me neither, but the store has many great things - from plates to glasses to jewelry and clothing.
• Want to buy from the store? Then take a tour led by Julia to Mexico, India, Guatemala, or Peru. She'll take you to some great spots to buy from the locals.

Philadelphia Movies: Invincible

Why You Should Watch Invincible:

• It's about Vince Papale, a South Philly walk-on for the 1976 Eagle's season. 

• It's about Philadelphia, and okay, the Eagles.
• It's a great nostalgic 70s movie.
• Men were men. Or at least the people they chose to play them were.
• Times were tough, like they are now. 
• There is a couple of scenes with Bachman Turner Overdrive's Let it Ride and it captures the feeling of the movie perfectly.

• It shows how Philadelphia got a reputation for having tough fans.
• Mark Wahlberg looks great in tight pants. And tight t-shirts. Tight anything really.
• I relate to the movie, sort of. Not that I watch football. But if I did, I would absolutely relate.
• Everyone loves the story of an underdog.
• Veterans Stadium. RIP.
• It shows a time where your neighbors were your neighbors. If you needed to use their tv they'd also feed you a huge bowl of pasta.
• Also watch the bonus features to see the real Vince Papale. On a side note - I can't figure out how they have two such young kids unless Janet was a child bride.

Man Full Of Trouble Tavern - Now Someone's Home?

Facts:

• Built in 1759 and is the oldest pre-Revolutionary War tavern remaining.
• Located at 125-127 Spruce Street it catered to a less than genteel crowd.
• Was at one point known as the "Man with a Load of Mischief" with a sign of a man giving a woman a piggyback ride, rather than the sign standing today.

• Throughout its history of successive ownership, the tavern was also a hotel known for their oysters, and a wholesale chicken market.
• The tavern was renovated and opened for tours in the 1960s and an archaeological dig took place in 1966.
• The tavern closed to tourists in 1994.
• The tavern now seems to be a home because when I took these photos I noticed a woman changing her baby on the sofa inside. 

Penn Treaty Park: or a park that I had no idea existed but is kind of a big deal

Facts:

Commemorative marker. Click here for older pictures of the park.

• William Penn and Lenape Chief Tamanend entered into a peace treaty under an elm on that site in 1683. (Okay, this actually might not be a fact. There is no historical documentation of this specific treaty. But it has become part of our shared history and William Penn was on good terms with the Lenape.)
• The elm tree was lost to a storm in 1810 but a descendant of the tree was planted there again on May 6, 2010. 
• The peace treaty was the subject of several famous paintings, including ones by Benjamin West and Edward Hicks.
• The park became part of the Fairmount park system in 1894.

 To get here:

• It involves the subway and walking. Take Market-Frankford to the Girard stop. Exit to Girard Ave and walk 4 blocks east to Columbia. Walk to the right a few blocks to Delaware Ave and voila!
•  Or you can ask a friend with a car to drive. It's much easier that way.

Do:

• Check out the powerful views of the park.  You can see Penn's Landing, the Ben Franklin bridge, and a great city skyline. 
• Look at this amazing timeline of the park.

Don't:

• Know where the park is? Don't worry, I didn't either. It's hidden away in Fishtown at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Beach Street, just off Delaware Avenue.
• Be fooled by these photos. The park is actually several acres and holds many events, such as a free concert series.

Solar Powered Trash Cans: or a flaw in design as I absolutely refuse to touch one

Facts:

• Philadelphia uses BigBelly Solar trash cans.
• Philadelphia replaced 700 trashcans with 500 BigBelly Solar cans.
• Philadelphia went from 17 collections a week to 5 collections a week.
• Philadelphia saved $900,000 in the first year.
• BigBelly Solar trash cans uses solar power to compact trash up to 5x more than a regular can.
• BigBelly Solar trash cans have wireless connectivity and monitoring informing the city when the can is full.

However:

• Big Belly Solar cans require you to touch a handle.
• These handles are disgusting to touch.
• People don't want to touch the handle.

• BigBelly Solar cans should have a pedal that allows people to throw their trash away without having to touch a handle.

Kanella - or how a Greek restaurant has the best English breakfast

Facts:

• Kanella is a Greek Cypriot restaurant located at 1001 Spruce Street. (That's 10th and Spruce for those who can't figure it out)
• The chef Konstantinos Pitsillides grew up in Cyprus and later studied and worked in the London restaurant industry.
• Pitsillides came to Philadelphia, married a philly native, worked in some popular area restaurants, and then opened Kanella. 
• His varied menu displays both his Greek/Cypriot heritage and his time spent in London.

Do:

• Try their Lemonnana: half mint tea, half lemonade. All delicious.
• Try their English Breakfast. It is the best that I've had in the city and at a great price. It's like the ones that I had in London but without making me feel sick afterward.

Don't:

• Try and come for lunch during the week - unless it's a Thursday or Friday. Lunch/Brunch is only offered on Thursday-Sunday.
• Worry - that means you can get your traditional English breakfast on a Thursday - no waiting for the weekend!
• Only have their English breakfast. I know that I've been going on and on about it. But they have plenty of other tasty food.