Rosenbach

We live a few blocks away from the Rosenbach Museum of rare books, but had never gotten around to going inside - the conditions of it being open, us remembering it exists, and us having time to go just never all aligned. But last month it was featured on the Colbert Report, which finally galvanized us into putting a visit on our calendar for yesterday.

The first thing you see when you walk in is the Maurice Sendak and Stephen Colbert exhibition, which really does feature empty bottles of Bud Light Lime, a crumpled deli receipt, and Colbert's notebook next to a manuscript of Ulysses. It also features items from Colbert's interview with Sendak (including a ziploc bag containing 246 penises and butts excised from In The Night Kitchen), and a sampling of books from the museum's collection that contain poles in them.

Beyond the Colbert exhibit, the museum was bigger than I had expected, and had a much more diverse array of objects than just rare books - including Robert Burns's powder horn, Lord Byron's card case, a variety of ancient Egyptian burial jewelry, and a giant awesome clock with a golden snake whose tongue points to the time. Of course, there were plenty of neat old books too - my favorite was a manuscript of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures Under Ground, which later turned into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Unfortunately, you weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so I can't show you the beer bottles or the snake-tongue clock. But for those of you who will be coming to Philly for our wedding, why not consider pre-gaming with a museum visit? Nothing to get you in the mood for a wedding like a baggie full of cut-out penises!