Saturday, October 17, 2015

Falling in love with...fall

If you think that once summer is over you will only stay home falling slowly into winter lethargy, you are wrong! Philadelphia is a place where you can really enjoy all four seasons needless to say that fall is maybe the best one.  My third expat fall in Philly is well underway and I want to share with you its best moments.
One of the first things you notice as soon as the temperatures begin to decrease is the colors. The city gets dressed into yellow, light brown, dark brown, all different shades of red and orange. It's a real art show of the Mother Nature and when the weather is still pleasant and warm you can go and admire it during one of your weekend getaways. In fact there are plenty of spots where you can enjoy fall colors both in the city as well as within a few miles drive from Philadelphia. One of the best known activities that was recommended to me is a tour through covered bridges. Covered bridges are numerous especially in the Lancaster County and Bucks County and in many places you can also do a wine tasting tour. Another option is to go to one of the botanic gardens and arboretums which are all around Philadelphia County.
Discover Longwood gardens, one of my favorite spots to admire foliage. If you are lucky and the weather is warm, you can have a walk in the middle of the multicolor fields. There is a lot to see inside the gardens such as a collection of bonsais or the DuPont's house, apart from the opportunity  to take some beautiful pictures for your family album.


Then there is Halloween! Another event which is immediately associated with the fall season.  Fall decoration is one of my favorite. I enjoy walking through the Philly neighborhoods and admiring all the different front door decorations people create. There are ghosts, spider webs, skeletons and of course, pumpkins! First you realize you see pumpkins everywhere, second you finally decide to buy one (or two, or three) for your place as well. You can get inspired and try something by yourself, too. Don't be afraid. It's pumpkin carving time. Actually I discovered there are pumpkin carving kits available everywhere and what's more, there are pumpkin carving events! I love that it is a real social event where people get together and carve and carve and finally put a candle inside a big orange head to bring the light to their homes.
Talking about Halloween I cannot avoid mentioning a number or Halloween parties in a costume that are held throughout all the weekend or other Halloween events such as scary movies marathon. In a more family version, trick-or-treat tradition is a must! Kids will have fun going around dressed like little monsters and asking for candies. 
Finally, I am going to tell you about an event which had a big success, organized by Mariana: the soup contest! All friends were asked to bring his or her best soup creation and at the same time vote for the best soup on the table. It was a great fun and a perfect fall season opening.

As I said, fall in Philly has a lot to offer from places to visit outdoor or indoor, biking and enjoying the last touches of warm sun rays and, of course, fall celebrations such as Halloween.

And there are many more activities to do such as apple and pear picking...And then, what about preparing your own jam or maybe this pear pecan chocolate cake?


I really love this period of a year and I hope that I passed some ideas and inspiration to you, too.

Happy fall!