Urban exploration: the Italian Market
Fridays are non-work days for me most of the time, so they generally end up being devoted to some combination of errands and coursework. Yesterday’s errand was a badly-needed haircut. I’d heard good things about the Jean Madeline Institute down in Queen Village, and I wasn’t disappointed at all: the student who cut my hair did a really nice job of it, and they offer you scalp massages and use high-end hair products.
So then, since I hadn’t really done much exploring south of South Street, I headed for the Italian Market, which I’d been meaning to check out since I got here. It’s an outdoor market where vendors set up stalls outside their shops all year round. There wasn’t a whole lot of activity yesterday afternoon because of the cold (one vendor had a brisk fire going in a metal trash can to keep warm, with showers of ash from time to time). But I still came away with (for about $4) a bunch of scallions, half a dozen apricots, two of those long skinny Italian eggplants, and a hunk of ricotta salata from a shop where they were making pasta behind the counter — one of the shopkeepers was running flat sheets of what ended up as fettucine through the pasta machine, cutting each bunch off with a sweep of her hand. Next time I go back, I’ll take a look at the bakeries and remember to stop for a broccoli rabe sandwich.
Along the way, I kept passing buildings that had been covered in mosaics of glass and tile and mirror, reflecting the winter sun onto the sidewalks. Later, after a bit of Googling, I found out that they’re the work of Isaiah Zagar, who’s apparently been covering South Philly buildings with mosaics for the last 15 years. This was one of the ones I walked past; there are more pictures here, here, and here.
Afterwards I found a pleasant coffee place where I had an espresso and did a bit of reading for my 511 class, and then I hiked back up into Center City to catch the bus home. And I think I officially love this city.
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