Findcate

Barcelona’s players must form a corridor of honour for Real Madrid, the cate champions, much to Rijkaard’s distaste.

“It pains me to form the guard of honour because I wanted us to be champion,” he told Sport.es

“But you need to be sporting about it and it’s customary to form a corridor for the league champions, so there’s little point in dwelling on it.”

The Dutch manager admitted that this “could be [his] last Madrid-Barcelona” in light of recent rumours that he was to be sacked, and as such tonight’s Clásico takes on extra significance.

He said, “Our major objective is to win in Madrid for the club, the players, and the cate fans.

“Clearly we’ll come up against a buoyant Madrid side, given that they’ve won the league, and maybe against another side they’d relax, but against Barcelona they’ll surely give their all with the goal of cate showing their fans a great game.”

Tags: cate, champion, distaste, dwelling, great game, guard of honour, madrid barcelona, objective, real madrid, rumours

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%26bull; Radical plans for cheaper housing

%26bull; Family forced out of home in mortgagee sale

The couples rolling up in brand-new SUVs bought after double-digit capital gains on the house are looking nervous. But the aspiring home owners left behind by soaring prices over the past five years wonder if the housing slump could prove to be their silver lining. They should steel themselves for more bad news.
There may be bargains around, but the credit crunch is likely to keep the cost of servicing a mortgage beyond the reach of those shut out from the housing market by its record-breaking five-year run.
A report by the Government%26#39;s high-powered house prices steering group, led by Prime Minister Helen Clark, sees little likelihood of a housing downturn severe enough to ease the housing-affordability crisis. The report points to a lifetime of renting for tens of thousands of New Zealanders who, in their parents%26#39; day, might have expected to own their own home.
It finds that just 2 per cent of single renters, and 29 per cent of couples who rent, can actually afford a mortgage. The measure of affordability is that mortgage repayments cost no more than 30 per cent of their income.
Yet surveys show home ownership remains their dream. According to one, most renters aspire to owning a home within 10 years.
The Government is looking at measures to boost the supply of affordable housing, but these on their own are unlikely to meet the 20,000-a-year shortfall in the number of new houses that are needed to return New Zealand to historical home-ownership levels.
And renters are not immune from the housing downturn.
One downstream effect could be fewer speculative developments and a decline in the number of property investors till the dust has settled. That means fewer rental properties, pushing up demand, which in turn will push up rents. Expect rent rises in the next one to two years, the report concludes.
So saving for a deposit looks as if it%26#39;s going to get harder, not easier - and just as food and petrol prices march upward.

New Housing Minister Marian Street acknowledges the growing housing-affordability problem among those who fall into what the Government labels the %26quot;intermediate market%26quot;.
These are the people who don%26#39;t earn enough to comfortably service a mortgage at today%26#39;s prices - while earning too much to put them in line for assistance from the Government and other providers aimed at easing low-income earners and vulnerable families into their own homes.
But Ms Street despairs at some of the %26quot;hard luck%26quot; stories.
The latest target of her ire is a weekend newspaper article about a young professional couple who turned up their noses at $400,000 do-ups in Grey Lynn and starter houses in %26quot;dodgy%26quot; outer suburbs. They were distressed when they found a two-bedroom townhouse in Herne Bay, one of Auckland%26#39;s most exclusive suburbs, was on the market at $900,000.
The Government, Ms Street stresses, is looking at a raft of innovative solutions to the affordable-housing crisis %26quot;but I think people have got to get back to that idea that they start somewhere in the home ownership market.
%26quot;I%26#39;m really sick of reading stories about nice young couples who have got hugely high earning potential stretching out in front of them complaining about how awful the housing market is because they can%26#39;t get a house in Herne Bay.%26quot;
The couple in last Sunday%26#39;s article had dismissed $400,000 do-ups in Grey Lynn because they said they couldn%26#39;t afford to renovate - an argument that holds little truck with Ms Street.
%26quot;Well, you afford it the same way as their parents did when they brought their three-bedroom house in Ponsonby. You do up one room at a time. And when you have people round you only show them the room that you%26#39;ve done up.%26quot;

THE Government is looking at a multi-pronged approach to the affordability crisis - the first step being to see whether there is more land that can be freed up for development.
It has a stocktake of crown land under way and wants to use some of it for affordable housing.
But getting developers on board is the key. The carrot would be the opportunity to develop some prime land that might otherwise never have become available for subdivision. The stick is a requirement to have affordable housing in the mix.
%26quot;We can say, [to developers] `Here%26#39;s some land you never thought you%26#39;d be able to build on and we%26#39;re keen to go into an arrangement with you to develop this land. But we%26#39;d like 15 per cent of it to be in affordable houses and they%26#39;ve got to be nice houses, sustainable houses, clever, smart attractive houses%26#39;,%26quot; Ms Street says.
The Government is also looking at what can be done with existing state-house land, such as some of the older state-house developments, where little old cottages sit on luxuriously large sections.
She points out that the Government has already embarked on a building programme %26quot;the scale of which we%26#39;ve never tried before%26quot;. It includes 3000 houses in Hobsonville, 3000 in Tamaki and about 650 across Papakura and Weymouth.
Local councils are also looking at solutions, including requirements for affordable housing within any new developments.
But Ms Street is careful to avoid raising hopes that such schemes can plug the 20,000 shortfall identified by the steering group.
IT used to be that young couples would get their foot on the property ladder by buying in the new-build %26quot;nappy valley%26quot; suburbs that sprang up on city borders. But building costs have pushed new homes well beyond the reach of nappy-valley buyers.
The house prices group puts the increases down to factors including rising costs for material and labour. But higher Government-imposed costs are also to blame.
Some of those costs arose out of the backlash to the leaky homes crisis; tougher rules and stricter controls have been put in place over new building projects. But some of the figures are staggering. According to the house prices steering group %26quot;the costs of finance, development levies and the costs of development are a larger component of section prices than the raw land itself%26quot;.
Those costs include council-imposed developer levies, which can add $25,000 to the cost of a new house, rising to as much as $40,000 in Auckland city. These levies are to pay for the extra load on services such as sewerage, drainage, water and electricity.
There are also building consent fees of $1500 to $3000 a house and %26quot;holding costs%26quot; - the cost of delays in gaining planning approvals and building consents - of about $15,000 a house.
New Building and Construction Minister Shane Jones is keenly conscious of the burden some of those costs have imposed and wants to simplify the building-consent process, particularly in cases where houses are built to a simple, standardised design.
But that could still be a drop in the ocean. Continuing labour shortages mean building costs could be difficult to pull back.
Wages in construction have soared 28 per cent since 2001, compared with 14 per cent across the rest of the economy. That is a reflection of a tight labour market.
In 2006, only 34 per cent of carpentry positions were filled within 10 weeks of advertising and there was an average of only eight suitable applicants per 10 vacancies.
HOUSE PRICES
* House prices have gone up by 80 per cent since 2002.
* Between 2001 and 2006, 120,000 new houses were built.
* In 2006, only 29 per cent of renting couples and 2 per cent of singles in rental accommodation could afford to buy a house. At current incomes and interest rates, falls in prices are unlikely to make a marked change in home affordability.
* Mortgage repayments account for 22 per cent of the average household expenditure, while paying rent for those who do not own their own home accounts for 28 per cent of the average household expenditure.
WHO OWNS HOUSES?
* In 1991, 74.9 per cent of Kiwi families owned their own home, compared with just 66.9 per cent in 2006.
* But some of us own more than one house. In 2007, 15 per cent of all households owned an investment property, including holiday homes, rental properties, timeshares and overseas properties. Most were aged between 45 and 54.
* We don%26#39;t all own our own home outright, however. Around 50 per cent of owner- occupiers make mortgage payments.
* Female home owners now outnumber male ones %26ndash; reflecting the ageing population of home owners and the tendency of women to outlive their spouses.
* The biggest falls in home ownership have been among those aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 34. But home ownership rates have also fallen among older age groups, up to age 44.
IS BUILDING YOUR OWN HOUSE A CHEAPER OPTION?
* Not really. Estimates by the Building and Housing Department put the cost of building a 145-square-metre house at $422,000, compared with $232,000 seven years ago.
* Section prices are the main factor in the price jump, increasing from an average of $81,250 in 2001 to $175,000.
* Building costs are also up. In 2001 they were estimated at $150,607 for a 145-square- metre house. This has risen to $247,636, reflecting a sharp rise in the price of both materials and labour.
* Regulatory costs have also soared.
A report by the House Prices Unit puts them at between $5000 and $40,000 per dwelling, depending on location.

Tags: backlash, dwelling, Food, ford, target, ups, zeal

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11 March 2008

The proportion of South African households living in informal dwellings

decreased from 16.4% in 2001 to 14.4% in 2007, while 74.4% of

households now have access to piped water compared to 72.1% in 2001.

South Africa’s population increased from approximately 44-million to approximately 48-million people over the same period.

This is according to the latest data, released on Tuesday, from

Statistics South Africa’s 2007 Community Survey, the biggest survey

conducted by Stats SA since the 2001 census, involving research among

250000 households across the country.

The latest release provides data at municipality level on type

of housing, type of energy use, and water source among South African

households. It also gives estimates of South Africa’s population

growth.

While the proportion of South African households living in

informal dwellings had decreased, and the proportion with access to

piped water (within 200 metres of the household) had increased, some

municipalities still had a lot of work to do, according to Statistics

SA.

Three provinces - North West (23.3%), Gauteng (22.7%) and Free

State (18.4%) - were above the national average of 14.4% for proportion

of households living in informal dwellings, the survey found.

The provinces with the lowest percentages of households with

access to piped water were Limpopo (56.3%), the Eastern Cape (54.1%)

and KwaZulu-Natal (63%).

The survey found an increase in the percentage of households

using electricity for lighting (from 69.7% to 80%), for cooking (from

51.4% to 66.5%) and for heating (from 49% to 58.8%) between 2001 and

2007.

The survey also indicated that South Africa’s population is

growing by about 1.5% annually, increasing from approximately

44-million people in 2001 to approximately 48-million in February 2007.

South Africa’s smallest province, Gauteng, is still the most populous with about 10-million people, while the Northern Cape

still the least populous of the country’s nine provinces, with just over 1-million people.

SAinfo reporter and BuaNews

Tags: cate, dwelling

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Under the current state planning laws, 900 new houses may soon
engulf Catherine Hill Bay. This idyllic Central Coast coalmining
town from the 1870s comprises 100 historic homes and intact
heritage streetscapes nestled in rolling green hinterland on a
pristine surf beach. The area is rich in social history and abounds
in biodiversity and endangered species.
Rose Property Group plans to build 600 houses there, and Coal
Allied 300 dwellings. Both proponents have signed memorandums
of understanding with the Minister for Planning to facilitate the
developments. If these plans proceed, “Catho’s” heritage,
environmental and aesthetic values will be obliterated.
A ministerial decision on the Rose Group application is expected
imminently. Public submissions on the Coal Allied plans close
this Friday.
Catherine Hill Bay’s significance has been recognised by a
rollcall of authorities. It is zoned as a conservation area and has
been nominated for state heritage listing. In 2006 the Land and
Environment Court rejected Rosecorp’s earlier proposal for 600
homes. That year the NSW Department of Planning recommended against
development on environmental and heritage grounds.
The developments are now being considered under Part 3A of the
NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, which gives the
Planning Minister the authority to override environmental and
planning legislation and policies on projects deemed “state
significant”. The National Trust is deeply concerned about the
growing use of these powers. The application of Part 3A to green
light Catherine Hill Bay will set a dangerous precedent for the
coast, and other places of environmental and heritage significance,
raising developer expectations.
The role of the trust, the nation’s largest community-based
conservation charity, is to safeguard natural and cultural heritage
and to encourage Australians to appreciate that each generation has
a responsibility to the next.
Yet we are not anti-development, and are acutely conscious of
the need to provide housing and infrastructure to support our
population and economy.
However, the construction of 900 dwellings at Catherine Hill
Bay, with the inevitable impacts for infrastructure and the natural
and built environment, would represent the triumph of development
over the environmental and social values that the broader community
holds dear. What will our children’s children think of us when they
reflect on an irreplaceable heritage and environmental jewel,
trampled by the relentless march of capital over community and
culture?
Tina Jackson Executive Director National Trust (NSW)
Sydney
Apart from superwoman, 2020 vision looks blokey
I am a senior female human resources executive, specialising in
remuneration and organisational effectiveness. I have lived all
over the world and returned quite recently from nine years working
in New York, Istanbul and Europe. Australia has a reputation for
its blokey, misogynist work environment. My work has given me great
insight into how inequality (particularly in relation to pay)
becomes entrenched in organisations and cultures.
To have the Prime Minister include just one female in a
10-person leadership team that will discuss Australia’s future is
disgraceful (”Rudd’s summit slammed as a one-woman show”, February
27). It sends a message to thousands of women that it’s not worth
bothering. That the one female is a beautiful celebrity - an
actress - rubs salt into the wound.
Amanda Wilson Balmain
The businesswoman Catherine Harris apparently thinks that the
Prime Minister should understand “that most women are not actually
at home looking after the grandchildren or children %26#133; they’ve
got lots of other jobs as well”.
Mrs Harris appears to assume that a woman who looks after her
children or her grandchildren at home is incapable of contributing
to a significant national debate.
This attitude shows scant regard for the diversity of
circumstances in which many women find themselves.
Of course, there should be more women on this committee, but
they need not necessarily be drawn only from high-profile positions
in the business world.
That would be decidedly unbalanced.
Elizabeth Chandler Mount Victoria
After the very positive reception to Kevin Rudd’s announcement
that Cate Blanchett is one of 10 committee members guiding
Australia’s 2020 Summit, the following are other positions this
very versatile actress is being considered for by the Federal
Government: governor of the Reserve Bank; leader of the Australian
mission to the next round of Kyoto Protocol talks; Australian
ambassador for peace, Darfur region, North Africa; head of
emergency services, Royal North Shore Hospital; special rapporteur
for Aboriginal intervention, Northern Territory; astronaut on
NASA’s 2015 manned mission to Mars; and governor-general of
Australia.
Please note there is absolutely no truth to the rumour that she
will be the next premier of NSW. Some things just can’t be
fixed.
Ben Cardillo Epping
There may be only one woman on the 2020 committee - but boy,
what a woman.
Mike Doyle Darlington
The summit will be just like the great republic debate, where a
selection of high-profile (mostly) men participated. That debate
turned out to be a dog. Will the 2020 summit also be just a
propaganda exercise?
How many real people, such as the women at the grassroots of
local communities, will end up there?
Mary Jenkins Spearwood (WA)
Never have I heard so much whingeing and whining about so
little.
Each of the 10 chairwomen and men at the 2020 Summit can invite
99 women, and six of the groups will be co-chaired by women.
Marilyn Shepherd Kensington
Hollow promises for the north-west

For years the Baulkham Hills Shire Council has been told to
increase densities in Sydney’s north-west to accommodate the
population growth on the promise that real infrastructure in the
form of heavy rail will be provided.
The targets for that growth through development were set and are
being implemented by council and enforced by the State
Government.
We’ve grown and the densities are clearly evident, but all we
are left with is the traffic chaos, empty promises and more
speculation about the removal of the rail line.
Unless there is absolute proof that the State Government is
going to provide the north-west rail line, the upgrade of
Showground Road and more buses, no increase in densities above the
absolute minimum should be approved by the local council
involved.
The people of the north-west have had enough of overdevelopment
based on empty promises.
Cr Peter Dimbrowsky Baulkham Hills
Metro rail systems work fine in highly built-up areas like
London and Paris (”Bye heavy rail, now for a north-west metro”,
February 26), but Sydney’s north-west is much more spread out.
If the NSW Transport Minister, John Watkins, needs proof of how
passengers shun the all-stops services for longer trips, he need
look no further than his electorate, where his own constituents
prefer to crowd out the Central Coast express services to travel to
Eastwood and Epping, rather than use the all-stops services.
People simply won’t use a first-stop-Rozelle service to get to
Rouse Hill.
Bruce Stafford Tascott
Clearly for certain key members of the NSW Labor family the
Light on the Hill only has a future if privately powered.
So maybe it’s time Frankie “The Dinner” Sartor, Mickie “Power of
One” Costa and “Macho” Morris Iemma (have you seen the size of his
water cannon? It’s huge!) left the True Believers and formed their
own gang: the ADP (Australian Developers Party).
Nick Franklin Katoomba
Yesterday in Parliament our embattled Premier stated that
Malcolm Turnbull (27 per cent) had an approval rating three times
greater than Barry O’Farrell (13 per cent).
He is clearly using the highly specialised Macquarie Street
mathematics system used by all past and present health ministers,
which does away with the usual customs employed in rounding numbers
up and down.
Perhaps arithmetic could be introduced as an optional elective
at the table of knowledge? Numbers don’t develop new relationships
with each other - their relationships are fixed. If I have two
kebabs, even if one is a tiny bit larger than the other, it would
be absurd to say I had three kebabs.
Jonathan Egan West Ryde
The concept of democracy is a myth. The definition of democracy
is “government of the people by the people”. But our only input
into government is once every few years when we vote for one of two
political parties. After that the winner does what it chooses
unhindered.
The best example of this is the current electricity
privatisation proposal, where three-quarters of the population of
NSW oppose the sale yet the Iemma Government is going ahead with
it. Is this democracy?
John Poleson Kingsford
Mind their own business

What a breathtaking piece of gratuitous advice from the Business
Council of Australia (”Freeze new spending, business tells PM”,
February 25). Its deputy chief executive, Melinda Cilento, needs to
tell the likes of Macquarie Group and many other Australian
corporations that executive salaries present a far more significant
issue requiring the attention of Australia’s businesses than
government spending.

Just imagine the added employment or the enhanced infrastructure
investment to be gained by applying just half a Macquarie Group
CEO’s salary to the economy in one year.
Russell Mills Redfern
Driven bats

Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens is just that: a botanic garden for
the protection, display, scientific study, education about and
propagation of plants, not a stinking bat colony (”Batanic gardens
to evict squatters”, Letters, February 27). The bats are destroying
very old and irreplaceable trees.
We have taken overseas visitors to the restaurant in the gardens
and had to speak loudly to make ourselves heard above the din of
the bats. Walking through the gardens, I have been shat upon from a
great height. It was pretty awful for me but dreadful when it
happened to my infant granddaughter, as bats are known to carry
disease.
We are coming up to the bicentenary of the gardens. The bats
must go.
Kate Chivers Epping
Tim Entwisle has been shirking his responsibility for the past
10 years by failing to act on the only advice that will move the
bat colony: plant some fast-growing, hardy natives in an
appropriate place in the gardens and then net the palm grove.
Instead he has been pursuing a policy that is guaranteed to
increase the amount of damage to the trees, that of noise
disturbance, which cause the bats to repeatedly take off and
land.
In the past 20-odd years, one successful colony relocation has
been undertaken, while dozens have not worked. Mr Entwisle is
wasting still more time to protect the palm grove by going down a
path which is all but guaranteed to fail.
Storm Stanford Lewisham
Responsibility ducked

It is impossible to quantify the role of public money and the
subsequent business goodwill that has underpinned the recent
adventures of ABC Learning. It is also very difficult to assess the
social impact of cherry-picking sites, the concomitant closure of
community-based child-care centres and alliances with other private
schooling initiatives.

Now a light is being shone on the folly of carelessly diverting
public responsibilities to the for-profit sector. Affordable child
care is always at the top of reasons for gaps in workforce
participation and lack of opportunities for women.
Governments should apply their resources to publicly managed,
staffed and properly supervised agencies and leave the private
sector to be just that.
Gus Plater Saratoga
Hey Dumbo, we’ve already got Morris in Blunderland

Mickey Mouse in White Bay? Wouldn’t work %26#133; too close to the
real thing in Macquarie Street (”Disney eyes White Bay”, February
27).
David Calvey Vaucluse
Who would contemplate besmirching our beautiful harbour with
this cultural Chernobyl? I had the unfortunate experience of
visiting EuroDisney last year. While I put on a brave face for my
children, I was paying $200 per person for the right to queue all
day and loiter around tacky souvenir shops.
We already have our own iconic home-grown harbour theme park -
Luna Park.
John Arneil Fairlight
A whole new ball game

Roy Masters may be right when he says the AFL will fail in western
Sydney (”AFL imperialism doomed to fail”, February 27) but he’s got
a nerve to call it “imperialism”.

It was the rugby codes that colonised NSW when the schools gave
them preference just after federation. Australian football was
quite well established here by then. So why is it the rugby league
claque pretends Australian football was never played in Sydney
until Warwick Capper arrived in 1982? Is Masters afraid the
indigenous game might really catch on if it is played in
schools?
Tony Barrell Balmain
Prelude to peace

Perhaps it is because the New York Philharmonic was part of a US
diplomatic plan that they were welcome in North Korea.

Whatever the background, once again the ability of music to rise
above economic or cultural imperialism and draw people together has
been demonstrated.
Let’s hope an invitation is extended to an Australian ensemble
soon.
Philip Cooney Wentworth Falls
It makes fashion sense

Allan Tieu (”Society grooms men who blush”, February 27) challenges
the norm that only females should wear make-up. He’s quite right to
question the fashion rules. I want to know why you have to be at
least 185 centimetres tall and no more than a few centimetres wide
to be a model. Do clothes really hang better on stick insects?
C’mon designers - be brave and use a variety of model sizes, so
that the rest of us can relate to your creativity.

Wendy Crew Lane Cove
Allan Tieu is correct in asserting that the wearing of make-up
by men no longer signifies “sexual orientation or subculture” - but
it does signify the resurgence of a loathsome beast that has
remained in obscurity since the Regency. Ladies and gentlemen, I
give you the fop.
Scott Hillard New Lambton
Lunch can spice up your life

David Breeze (Letters, February 27), I agree that making your own
lunch is the sensible option. So is wearing Clarks shoes, a spencer
in winter and chewing your food 20 times before swallowing. These
things are also incredibly dull. Feel free to wallow in a life of
mundanity, but please be kind enough to allow us risky people to
live on the edge and splash out on an $8 meal at lunchtime. Some of
us can even afford it without risking bankruptcy. Crazy, I
know.

Rebecca Gordon Surry Hills

Tags: actress, attitude, australians, cate, cate blanchett, dwelling, europe, Food, ford, job, malcolm turnbull, real people, target, ups

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FRIDAY6 p.m. - For a pre-dinner beer or two, check out the Nodding Head Brewery and Restaurant in Center City. It%26#39;s one of a number of independent local breweries that is helping to restore Philadelphia%26#39;s reputation as a center for craft beer making.
8 p.m. - The Tin Angel, a cozy second-floor live-music venue near the busy corner of Second and Market Streets, regularly hosts nationally known artists. Past acts have included Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Richie Havens. It%26#39;s joined with the Serrano restaurant.
SATURDAY
10 a.m. - Time to see the sights. The Liberty Bell is Philadelphia%26#39;s most famous historic landmark. The cracked bell was rung on July 8, 1776 to summon the people of Philadelphia to a reading of the newly written Declaration of Independence. It%26#39;s in a special pavilion on Independence Mall, the center of Philadelphia%26#39;s historic area.
11 a.m. - Independence Hall. Within walking distance of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall was where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776 and the US Constitution drafted in 1787. The National Park Service provides free tours on a first-come-first-served basis. At the other end of Independence Mall is the National Constitution Center, housing a permanent exhibition on the US Constitution.
1 p.m. - Reading Terminal Market. It is a bustling city-center food emporium where you can buy anything from bagels to brisket to bananas, as well as prepared food from many nations. Grab lunch in the no-frills food court and watch the world go by.
2 p.m. - South Street. A potpourri of some 300 shops and around 60 restaurants, cafes and bars, this street between Front and Seventh claims to have something for everyone, and is lively day and night. It also has fringe theater and live music venues.
4 p.m. - Time to try a cheesesteak. Philadelphia%26#39;s most famous culinary offering consists of a torpedo roll filled with shredded beef and melted cheese and is served by many long-established restaurants that all claim to make the authentic steak. They include Geno%26#39;s in South Philadelphia which has drawn national attention, and some criticism, for its sign instructing customers to speak English when ordering.
6 p.m. - Make room for dinner and take a walking tour of the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia%26#39;s main classical music concert hall beneath its distinctive glass roof. A few blocks away, on one side of the elegant Rittenhouse Square, it%26#39;s worth looking into the ornate lobby of the Curtis Institute of Music where some of the world%26#39;s most talented young musicians are trained. Students sometimes give free concerts.
7 p.m. - Dinner time. Choices in a famously foody city include — Pod: a futuristic restaurant on University of Pennsylvania campus in West Philadelphia. You may be able to choose your own %26quot;pod%26quot; (alcove) or eat in the main restaurant serving %26quot;contemporary pan-Asian cuisine%26quot;
– Le Bec Fin: venerable, elaborate, expensive French restaurant that is consistently near the top of the ratings in Philadelphia restaurant guides.
– Maggiano%26#39;s Little Italy: a chain that produces high-quality Italian family cooking in prodigious quantities for large groups in bustling restaurants. You%26#39;re guaranteed a good feed.
9 p.m. - Head to Warmdaddy%26#39;s, a renowned blues club and restaurant that has recently moved from its Front Street location to a new space on Columbus Boulevard at Reed Street. Taste the southern cooking while listening to a selection of blues and soul.
SUNDAY
10 a.m. - For brunch try the Marathon Grill, a popular deli/coffee shop chain with five locations in central and west Philadelphia. It serves eggs, sandwiches, salads and a range of brunch fare.
11:30 a.m. - Fairmount Park%26#39;s Japanese House. Amid one of America%26#39;s largest urban park systems, the house is a replica of a dwelling that would have been occupied by an aristocrat or senior official in the 16th century. If the weather permits, take a walk around the nearby gardens.
12:30 p.m. - Visit the boat houses, the homes for the city%26#39;s many rowing crews, which are lined up on the east bank of the Schuylkill River a short way north of the Art Museum. Stroll past and take in sweeping views of the river and its rowers that inspired the 19th-century painter Thomas Eakins.
2 p.m. - Take a tour of City Hall. This national historic landmark is the world%26#39;s tallest masonry building, and with almost 700 rooms, the largest municipal building in America. Its ornate style, dating from 1871, stands out from the bland modern office buildings and hotels that surround it at the very heart of the city. With its statue of William Penn on top, it was the tallest building in Philadelphia until 1985 when a nearby skyscraper broke a gentleman%26#39;s agreement that no building in the city should be higher than Billy Penn%26#39;s hat.
4 p.m. - Philadelphia Museum of Art. One of America%26#39;s largest art museums, it contains some 225,000 works of art including paintings, sculpture, textiles and metalwork. From the top of the front steps you can look out over Benjamin Franklin Parkway with City Hall at the other end.

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