Good-Bye Columbus, Hello South Philly

    "Equal and Opposite Reactions"
               By Patti Liszkay
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Good-Bye Columbus, Hello South Philly

     Last Thursday, June 14, Tom, Tommy, Emily, Callie, Theresa and I,

    Drove from Columbus to Philadelphia,

...for the weddings of my nephew Chris and his  bride Simi.

     Weddings, because, Simi being a Hindu and Chris a Christian, they wished to have two ceremonies in honor of their two cultural and religious heritages.
    And two beautiful ceremonies they were.

​   Though the families of the bride and groom had been celebrating with parties and events since Tuesday,

​...including the Mehendi celebration, during which the bride's hands and feet are painted with henna in beautiful, intricate designs.

...we the Ohio branch of the family planned on joining the festivities starting with the rehearsal dinner on Friday night.
       For Thursday night, however, I'd booked us an Airbnb in South Philadelphia, .on the other side of Chinatown,

​...off 10th Street several blocks south of South Street

...at 1010 Salter Street, 

...Salter Street being a tiny little alley of a street, barely wide enough to accommodate our Ford Flex. I won't go into the agita  suffered by Tom as he tired to maneuver our car down the street without taking out any steps or flower pots.

    That being said, it was a lovely little street.  Just not really wide enough for a Ford Flex.

     (N.B.: If anyone ever opts to stay at the Airbnb on 1010 Salter Street, no matter what Mapquest tells you, DO NOT attempt to make a right to turn onto Salter Street from 10th Street. Rather, make a right onto Christian Street then a quick left onto South Adler Street, which dead ends at 1010 Salter Street. Then after you've unpacked your stuff, make a U-turn and exit back out onto Christian Street,

... and go find the SP+ parking garage at South and 11th,

...then walk the several blocks back to the Airbnb.

​    Trust me, there is no other way).

     Anyway, our Airbnb turned out to be a super-cute, if slightly curious, little place, the front door opening into a kitchen,

​...and a four-story spiral staircase.

     On the bottom floor was a bedroom with a double bed,

...first floor was the kitchen,

...on the second floor there was a sitting room with a sofa-loveseat and a single-bed blow-up mattress in the closet,

​...and a bathroom,

...and at the top of  the staircase to third floor,

​...another bedroom.

     Now, this Airbnb advertised that it slept six people. To me that means six bed spaces, not four bed spaces, one sofa-loveseat and a blow-up mattress. Hence I felt the ad had been a weence misleading. However happy campers Theresa and Callie said they'd take the couch room, so it was all good.
     Other than that, the place was pretty, spotlessly clean, and in a great location in the heart of South Philly. View from the third floor.

     After we'd settled our cars in the SP+ garage - Tommy and Emily drove in one car, the rest of us in the Flex - and our stuff in the Airbnb, we set off in search of some nourishment, walking along skinny Salter Street,

​...then through the neighborhood,

...until we found a cute little pizzeria called Santucci's

...known for its square pizza with the cheese on the bottom and the sauce on top.
​         We ordered pizzas with veggie toppings,

​...and one with just cheese.

    The pizzas were great.

    After dinner the guys wanted to return to the Airbnb while the girls had a hankering for ice cream.
    Callie, Theresa and I  walked down South Street, and close to the corner of South and Broad we found Big Gay Ice Cream.

...which was pretty crowded for it being close to 10 pm on a Thursday night.

     However it was a really cute place,

...and the ice cream was quite yummy,

    Fortified by our Big Gay ice creams, we were ready to head back down South Street,

​...then up the spiral staircase.