There are a lot of places that I've been to when I was little but don't remember. And so I've decided for the purposes of visiting a new state that if I don't remember it, outside of seeing pictures, it doesn't count. That's why my trip to Philadelphia takes care of #3 on the list- hello Pennsylvania! Land of the Quakers and William Penn.
I'm really lucky that I was able to stay with Rochelle in Philadelphia and she was a lovely hostess. I got into town earlier than expected but wasn't really prepared to take on the city, so I wandered a bit, eavesdropped to a highly inappropriate conversation between two employees at a used bookshop (although they seemed nice and gave me some recommendations of things to do in town) and then sat in the center area of the mall while waiting for Rochelle to get off work. We picked up some dinner and cooked in her small but wonderfully decorated apartment downtown while watching Modern Family and catching up.
The next day, I took on Philadelphia. There was a lot of wandering around and a lot of walking and a lot of famous sites. I started with City Hall, in the center of the city with the huge statue of William Penn, created by Alexander Calder, and the open space across the street with large statues of game playing pieces including dominoes and "Sorry!" pieces.
Then it was all Independence, all the time. I started out at the exhibits in the Independence Hall and then went down to the actual hall itself. After a few minutes of waiting outside, the tour group I was with shuffled into the hall for our Tour. We got to see where the Declaration of Independence was sighed, as well as the hall where the Constitutional Convention took place, after the Founding Fathers realized that the Articles of Confederation were rubbish. There was a second tour that you could take which took you into the original Senate Chambers and original House of Representatives chamber and that ranger who led the tour was also extremely knowledgeable but slightly odd. I also popped in to see the Liberty Bell but only got a few minutes to take a quick picture before a large school group of teenagers showed up and I quickly left.
I then proceeded to just do a lot of wandering around town, hitting up famous places and finding where I could pop into places to get out of the cold because it was quite nippy and there seemed to be no hope of better weather. I went to the Curtis Building to see the gorgeous murals, created as a mosaic, which apparently was a theme of Philadelphia. There are also a ton of historical places, like Betsy Ross' house and Benjamin Franklin's home, as well as his grandson's print shop and publishing office. I also wandered down Elfreth's Alley, a historically preserved neighborhood that are homes to modern families but still in near-original shape. I made sure to pop into a coffee shop and get some warm coffee to drink before finding what I think it maybe one of the greatest used bookshops I've seen in a long time. It was basically two large storefronts connected in the back without a door but with a corrugated iron pull-down door to shut up the store. I'm really not explaining this well. Anything, it was jam-packed with books, photographs, DVDs and movies, things falling off of shelves, and COLD because there seemed to be no central heating. But also paradise.
The next morning, I bared the freezing cold weather and the wind and went to Philadelphia's Magic Garden, which was this house and lot made of mosaics and recycled items and was like a combination of Gaudi's works and a massive collage. I was obsessed. I took so many dang pictures there and they don't do the place any justice. So unique and fascinating and delightful!
Then it was off to Reading Terminal Market to meet up with Rochelle for lunch. We got these amazing, homemade, Amish sandwiches, made completely from local ingredients. And of course, I had to wander around the markets and keep myself from buying everything that was covered in chocolate. It was a bit of a challenge but I stayed strong.
That afternoon was all about museums. First, I walked down to the Mutter Museum, which was the weirdest place. Basically, it was like a combination of the UCL's Zoological Museum, the Pitt Rivers, and the storage unit of a morgue. It was like a curiosity cabinet of medical oddities, which included skeletons of people with deformities, all sorts of body parts, including tumors, in jars, fetuses (feti?) including of Siamese twins and aborted babies in jars and lord knows what else. I had no idea what my reaction was. It was gross and fascinating and disturbing and exciting at the same time. There was also a special exhibit about Civil War injuries and that included a section about Lincoln's assassination and Garfield's assassination, which is my FAVORITE story in US history. Poor James. Then it was onwards and upwards to the Rodin Museum. I didn't go inside but with the Thinker, the Burghers of Calais, and the Gates of Hell outside, I was more than happy with what I could see. Up the block was the Philadelphia Museum of Art, of "Rocky" fame. That night was pay what you want so I got in for less money than usual and had a few hours to wander the halls. There was a LOT there and I did things a bit quickly because I was kind of tired and standing around makes my feet hurt more than when I move about. I really loved their 20th century exhibits and their collection of pre-Renaissance work was also very impressive. I also got to pop into their special exhibit about Korea and enjoy these gorgeous Korean tapestries. After nearly seven hours of museums though, I was a bit tapped out and knew I still had nearly two miles to walk home so decided to head out before it got any colder and any windier. I took a few shots of the Schuylkill River and then walked as quickly as I could back to Rochelle's where we had one last dinner and Modern family episodes before headed to bed.
I took Thursday morning to relax, rest my aching foot, repack, have some breakfast and catch up on some work before I went to the Starbucks around the corner to meet up with Amit, Abba's cousin Tami's son who was in his first year at the Curtis Institute. It had been a few years since I had last seen him in Israel and it was so lovely to catch up with him and converse in Hebrew, although mine was more of a Hebrew/English hybrid with certain words. It was definitely a lovely way to end my three days in a new state and a new city!
