Philly | July, 2017

Jaunts around town in Philadelphia! I got to meet up with some old friends and also stepped inside the Masonic Temple for a tour.

Looking out from the courtyard at Philly City Hall.

Friends at the Parks on Tap beer garden pop-up in Shofuso Japanese Garden.

Dinner with Colman & Amaris at Wm. Mulherin’s Sons in Fishtown.

My new color-changing manicure! Warm on the left and cold on the right.

Wednesdays are for double lobsters at Oyster House!

Discovered this awesome shop: The Resource Exchange. It’s kind of like the Creative Reuse shop we have here in Oakland, but way more organized. You can find miscellaneous craft supplies, artwork, and stuff that might otherwise just be junk turned into potentially useful seeds to new projects.

Reunited with Austin and Sheena, whom I haven’t seen in a decade! We were all friends from playing in the symphony in college.

I met up with my past client Casey and we checked out the Masonic Temple, which offers daily tours of the elaborate interior. And yes, it’s Masonic as in freemasons, conjuring up all sorts of thoughts of Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code.

The “Oriental Room.”

Gothic Room

Ionic Room

The chair is from the Egypt room.

The Renaissance Room.

Corinthian Room

And finally, a giant Ben Franklin sculpture in “The One,” which they sell as a wedding and events space.

Pretty fascinating! Though I still feel like I know nothing about Masons.

My watercolor illustrations of a house in Rittenhouse Square and the outside of the Masonic Temple!

 

This is what Justin’s street looks like now. They’ve torn up the whole thing to work on the streetcar tracks.

Afternoon tea with Sheena.

And finally, dinner and gelato with Justin at Gran Caffe L’Aquila.

 

I’ll be back in Philly again next week! So, more Philly explorations soon to come!

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco but often traveling and working around the world. She creates beautiful, soft, and timeless imagery while capturing the most fleeting of moments. View her work at annawu.com, follow her daily adventures on instagram, or contact her to book your own session today.