So, amidst all of the driving and getting Winston ready for the drop-off, we kind of forgot to think about the fact we were headed for Philadelphia. We knew that its city centre had 'the most historical square mile in the USA', and that Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell were there, but that was it really. At any rate, we LOVED Philly. We're now on a fancy train to NYC!
We arrived about 2pm on Tuesday and got to our B&B, which shall remain nameless for reasons which will become apparent later. Our landlady, whom we will call Jane*, showed us to our massive room (shared bathroom - still good though), told us the places to go for a drink/dinner/to see the Amish in action and then we headed out. We wandered past Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution was debated, and then headed to an awesome bar called Varga.
Philadelphians, as it turn out, are a really friendly lot. Within about 10 minutes, we'd started drinking beers with a couple of locals (who didn't know each other either) and who were very interested in our trip. They explained local culture, places to visit, why Obama is less popular than he was before, why America is the way it is (various reasons for this, the one that I remember is "The Constitution needs updating" - Lefty: I thought of you - this guy was also half European!). We ended up having a few more beers than we'd intended... and I finally had a root beer float (basically a spider with Vanilla ice-cream, root beer and whipped cream on top with a cherry - this bar was really nice though so it was fancy). We then headed to a restaurant recommended by one of our new friends for some excellent Italian and then staggered our way home to be greeted by Jane's tiny barking dogs glaring at us from behind their little gate in the hallway.
Up bright and early the next morning (and feeling surprisingly fine) we set off for Independence Hall, and swung by the Liberty Bell on the way. The Liberty Bell is kind of cute - I think the enormous crack in it makes it cuter. The tour of Independence Hall was great - another stellar effort by the amazing National Park Service. The ranger took us around the court room, the signing room, and the upstairs rooms (the ballroom and weapons rooms which are only open 6 weeks per year). By this point, we needed coffee, so we headed towards the Delaware River, dropping into the Carpenters' Guild (the first Trade Union Building in the USA - I think - and where Benjamin Franklin had a library, and met French Spies to find ways to deal to the troublesome English). Finally we found a coffee and spent some time sitting in the pleasant, not-too-humid sunshine and enjoyed being on holiday. Then down to the Delaware, to Penn's Landing, where William Penn and his settlers first arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682. We looked across the river and contemplated walking the 1.6 miles across the bridge to New Jersey, but decided we'd just enjoy Philly.
Next stop was Elfreth's Alley - "probably the longest continuously inhabited street in the USA" - originally small row houses for working-class Irish families in the 1700s. It's extremely charming and very close to Betsy Ross' house - "where the first star-spangled banner was probably sewn" (although this does not reconcile with information at the Smithsonian in DC). Then to pay our respects at Benjamin Franklin's grave. He's our favourite of the founding fathers, a real rockstar amongst early statesmen. And despite his huge number of achievements as a scientist inventor, author, politician, journalist, humorist and statesman, his grave says only his name and the dates of his life (contrast and compare: Thomas Jefferson). Then past Chinatown, City Hall and into U-Penn, an Ivy League University founded by Ben Franklin. It's really beautiful and, as expected, covered in Ivy.
By this point, our feet hurt and we needed a drink, so we headed to Rittenhouse Square for a drink in the sunshine. Note: Rittenhouse Square is a pretty "nice" area - you should see what a bottle of Kiwi Sav sells for there!). The waitress told us we looked disgustingly relaxed. We did a wee bit of damage at the surrounding shops on the way back home, where we were barked at again before we undertook the most important mission yet: finding a Philly Cheese Steak. Everyone recommended Jim's on South Street, including, as demonstrated on our arrival, Billy Joel, Bruce Willis, various stars of 21 Jump Street, Anne Heche and Mr T. A Philly Cheese Steak is chopped beef, with cheese on a bun. It is both disgusting and wonderful, and somehow, unlike with most fast-food, we didn't feel disgusting afterwards. After a quick drink at Varga again (we were greeted like old friends by the staff), we headed home and got barked at again.
Our second day in Philly started well, we got up, went to a cafe, had a couple of excellent espressos and nipped in back at Jane's to drop off the laptop. As we went back down the stairs, one of Jane's dogs, an angry little sausage dog, charged Mark and savaged him on the leg, leaving some scratches and two little vampiresque puncture wounds. At first we thought it was OK, but when it started bleeding I insisted we go to a pharmacy (as you can imagine, Mark insisted it was all fine). The pharmacist had some concerns about rabies and tetanus and recommended a visit to the ER. We went back to Jane's to ask about the Sausage Vampire shots (which it had, and our concerns were poo-pooed).
So we headed off to an otherwise relaxing day: excellent lunch, a tour of what remains of Franklin's house, his post-office (he set the first one up), his printing room and book-bindery. On our way to Varga, a girl greeted us in the street with "Hi nice couple from NZ!" (we realised later she'd sold us our coffees that morning), and the bar staff had our stools ready. We think that's why we like Philly - after a very short amount of time it felt a bit home-like.
We've just been asked not to "dilly dally" by the train conductor, so better get going. We're almost in New York
*Not her real name
No comments:
Post a Comment