Mom's Birthday Weekend!

February 6th - 8th, 2026

The Continental Mid-town

For brunch, we decided on The Continental which is funny enough also where I had dinner for my 16^th birthday. That’s the first thing I think about when anyone mentions it. I’ve been there since, of course, and it’s always a good time. Just being inside feels cool. We were sat on the second floor ion the booths against the blue tiles and submarine-style windows. They’re not the best for people watching but they are impeccable for the vibe. It wasn’t too busy on a Saturday at 11, but it was still pretty early (and cold) for people to be hitting the town.

To start, we got the monkey bread. I’ve been having a sweet tooth recently that I absolutely needed to satisfy. The monkey bread helped. To start, it’s adorable, and each bite feels like a snow day when you’re a kid. Something about warm cinnamon makes me nostalgic. It was a little funky to go from something so sweet to lunch, but in the moment, it did exactly what it needed to.

We both got the grilled chicken sandwich for lunch. I don’t normally get sandwiches when I’m out because I hate when it feels like I’m eating something I could’ve made at home. With this sandwich, that wasn't the case. The bread was fresh, the chicken was moist, and the black pepper aioli was amazing. It was very slidey and much messier than I thought, but 100% worth it. I got the side salad, and she got the fries, and we shared. I will say it's very filling! Half for both of us was plenty, and we ended up taking the other two halves home. The side salad was finely chopped and perfectly fresh.

From there, we were so full. I don't think either of us were ready to think about more food for a couple of hours. But since I had already told the waitress it was her birthday, they were sweet enough to bring out a little treat. It was just vanilla ice cream with some sprinkles and a sparkler, but it was so kind! We tried our best on the ice cream, but not much damage was done. 10/10 lunch with the birthday girl!

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The Barnes Foundation

Next, we headed over to the Barnes. I have a complicated opinion of the Barnes from the controversy over moving the museum after his passing. I grew up going to the Barnes Foundation at the original space, now the arboretum, and being able to visit the gardens and the art was such a special thing. I was disappointed when I heard that they moved it, although Albert C. Barnes detailed not to in his will. I understand it was in the name of accessibility and that the original space was difficult for people to get to. But the art collection was his, and the gardens were mostly Laura, his wife's, work. It felt like separating the couple in a permanent manner. It was also disappointing that the new space didn't nearly represent the old space. It's beautiful, and there's no arguing that, but it's incredibly modern. The outside space is sparse of much of the same decorative greenery that the arboretum had. Not only had they moved the collection, but they left behind some of its soul. The art and the grounds were meant to complement and support each other, much like the couple themselves.

All this being said, I do appreciate the collections they have, the education on art they offer to the area, and the location, as it's just down the street from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum.

When we decided to come to the exhibit, I had thought it was going to be a special exhibit of Renoir, as I was familiar with the impressive amount of Impressionism at the Barnes. It was actually for Henri Rousseau. This definitely threw me off when we first entered the gallery.

I didn’t know much about him before coming to the exhibit, and truthfully, only one painting was even familiar to me. I don’t think I got it. I did appreciate the technique in some of his work or the meaning behind others, but for the most part, I found it off-putting. I felt like there were just basic aspects missing, and I couldn’t tell if it was intentional or due to a lack of ability. When learning about rules in art, I was told you didn’t have to follow them, but if you broke them, you had to know which rule you were breaking and why. It felt like he didn’t know the rules, so he couldn’t be aware of what rules he was breaking. It did beg the question, what makes something art gallery worthy?

We read under a few plaques that other artists had laughed him out of galleries and that he was never appreciated in his time. I began to wonder, what makes him appreciated in this time? Was it his resilience in his love for painting that made him notable? Was it his switch to primitivism, or is it just the controversy that surrounded primitivism?  I still don’t have an idea of an answer for any of these questions. I know it made my mom sad that he couldn’t be appreciated. At the same time, we both had some difficulty appreciating him.

Truthfully, something about his switch to Primitivism rubbed me the wrong way. My favorite of his earlier works were the nature scenes. Although the proportions were sometimes noticeably wrong, it felt more like surrealism, which is done so as a way to stretch the viewer's understanding or imagination of a place. When done in conjunction with the French country or town traditions, it felt whimsical and funky.

His portraits were not my favorite. It felt to me like he couldn’t understand a woman’s beauty and therefore could not portray it. All of the women had massive hands, broad shoulders, and dwarfed their surroundings. Every person, including babies, had more masculine facial features as well.

It wasn’t until his primitivism streak that he was able to start portraying people differently. This time, overemphasizing the women’s beauty in a way that felt like it was on the opposite side of the creepy spectrum. This time, they were portrayed as the temptresses or the damsels. It felt like he couldn’t make up his mind whether women were part of the wild, natural world or the victims of it.

There also seemed to be a correlation between coloration and where the women would fall on the madonna-whore scale. Women with darker complections were often naked, surrounded by snakes, and with open body language like extended hands. Women with lighter skin tones were more likely to be fully clothed, and when they weren’t, they were seen as prey, with dangerous animals hovering in some space near them. Their body language was fearful, closed off. 

Outside of my own opinions on the pieces, it was nice to see art that challenged the way I thought about art. Truthfully, I also think I have these opinions because the latter pieces came from a Frenchman. It felt like they were more exploitative than expressive or explorative. But again! better to see something that was new, different, and thought-provoking than only looking at pieces I know that I would like.

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Back Home

After a full Philly day, we needed some time. We both got a nap and had some phone time.

We then got dinner at Samurai Sushi, which is my absolute favorite sushi place back home. My brother joined us for dinner, which was so nice since we don't get to all eat together anymore. My brother is still around, but very busy, and unfortunately, it's tricky to balance seeing everyone when I am home.

While my mom and I were at the museum, I sent my brother to The Bakery House, which is a fan favorite bakery in my area, to get lemon squares and some other treats as a surprise. I hid them in the back of the fridge when she was napping, so it could be a nice surprise for dinner.

We pulled it off, thank goodness, and were able to surprise her again!

After we saw Marty Supreme and the local movie theater. Neither of us had any idea on what it was about. I will say, the opening scene was not my fav to see with family. Everything else was great, though!

The next day, I had an early train, so I pretty much went to bed right when I got home. I was so lucky that I was able to come up to spend some time with the birthday girl.