Charlotte's Web

Saturday 14th January

Today we ventured into down town Philadelphia for the first time. We caught the Septa train which takes about 50 minutes and dropped us right in the heart of the city. Philadelphia was the first capital of USA and has much to offer in terms of historical sights but those can wait until the warner weather. Today we were headed for a relaxed Italian lunch - we chose La Scala (http://www.lascalasphilly.com/) - not quite Pizza Express but a good substitute. After lunch we continued the cultural theme of the weekend (see earlier post) and went to see Charlotte's web at the Arden (http://www.ardentheatre.org/2012/charlottesweb.html). It was a fantastic production. The set was a barn and the seating of the theatre, and the fact that there was no stage as such, meant that you felt as though you were really part of it. The mouth organ playing added to the atmosphere. We particularly liked Charlotte who played the flute very eerily from the rafters before abseiling to the stage (she is very flexible) and all the events at the fair (some good Christmas fair side stall ideas there!). After the performance we could meet the actors in person and ask questions, including what was the spider sack made from and what was Wilbur eating! Shepherdswell's Wilbur (also see earlier posts) is certainly living up to his name sake!