Day Trip in Philadelphia

Bright Lights! Big City! Soaring Skyscrapers! Taxi Cabs! We have arrived in Philadelphia (AKA - Philly, AKA - City of Brotherly Love)!!!



We started our walking tour on the outskirts of downtown and made our way towards the center. We passed by City Hall (absolutely beautiful building, and all lit up at night), museums, funny statues, and more.





We stopped and had a late lunch at a great little place called Rouge on the edge of Rittenhouse Square. This was a great little are to check out because of the people watching. The park that sits in the center of Rittenhouse Square was full of people out enjoying the day.



A must see in Philly is, of course, the Liberty Bell. Although we didn't go into the building where the Liberty Bell is housed (you have to pay and I was perfectly content to see it through the window), it was great to see this historic monument just a few steps away.

















Just across the street from the Liberty Bell is another famous landmark - Independence Hall. The line was short so we were able to go right in and tour the ground floor with the help of a Park Ranger/Tour Guide who was perfect for the job. He walked us through the two main rooms and answered ALL of Mike's great questions. I would never have guessed it, but we found out that number of the pieces of furniture in the main room are originals!

We also got a chance to see the Google Car (up close and personal!).



From there, we walked towards Penn's Landing (you can literally shout across to Camden, NJ!). Along the way we stopped by the Irish Memorial. It was a beautiful memorial, but unfortunately, I don't know much of anything about the history surrounding it's existence.



Also along the way we passed Benjamin Franklin's final resting place (in fact, a number of famous historic people are all buried in the same inner city cemetery as Benjamin Franklin). Just across the street is the US Mint (a VERY formidable building!). Almost as if Ben is watching over our money...





Within the harbor off of Penn's Landing we were able to see a number of water craft including a destroyer (incredibly impressive), a number of ships, and a submarine (now de-commissioned).











One of the COOLEST parts of Philly was this house that can only be described as (literally) "art from scarp." These buildings are truly a work of art, but don't get too close to the shards of glass!









Our final stop was at a local dive bar where our friends from Philly had first met, and, quite randomly, the old jazz band that was playing the night that they met was playing the night we were in town! We stayed and had them play a few songs for us. These 3 old men who just loved to play music were a riot with their white fedoras and their dark glasses. A great way to end the evening.