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| In front of the Liberty Bell |
Jase and I were ready for another slightly bigger adventure
than we’ve been having lately, so we decided to go to Philadelphia. I have
never been to Philly, so naturally, I was excited to go somewhere new and especially to learn
about our nation’s history.
After only a two hour drive, we made our way to my number
one thing to do on our trip: the Liberty Bell. My expectations for tourist
attractions tend to be higher than they should be and they always turn out
differently than I originally visualize. Just like when I was in London and saw
that Big Ben wasn’t just a clock tower, but was attached to the Palace of Westminster;
the Liberty Bell was inside a building (not outside, like I expected) and it
was roped off so I couldn’t even touch it! Jason still touched it and who knows
if that was allowed. I still loved the bell and was really happy I was able to
see it and learn so much about it. Did you know that the Liberty Bell weighs
2080 pounds? Its crack is .5 inches wide and 24.5 inches long? And did you know
that because of the size of the crack, if rung, it wouldn’t make a sound?
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| I would honestly never guess that the Liberty Bell weighs 2080 pounds |
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| He's just a kid |
Next, we walked by Independence Hall and took some pictures
in front of the building where both the Declaration of Independence was adopted
and the Constitution was debated, drafted, and signed. It is definitely surreal
to stand in a square you knew the founding fathers had walked. Close by, we went
to Christ Church Burial Ground to see Benjamin Franklin’s grave. It felt a
little silly having to pay two dollars a person to go inside the cemetery, but
we decided it was worth it. We visited Franklin’s grave and laid a penny on the
stone: “A penny saved is a penny earned.” We proceeded to walk around the cemetery
and find the 4 other Declaration of Independence signers. The cemetery itself
was very beautiful with different kinds of headstones that had been eroded away
by time.
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| Independence Hall |
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| At Benjamin Franklin's grave site |
We started to get hungry, so Jason led us to a place he had
been to before called Reading Terminal Market. He told me that you can get any
type of food there that you want and that none of the places there were your
typical fast food places. The minute I stepped inside, I wanted to step back
out. I wish we at least chosen another door to walk through so I could avoid
all the fishy smells. Apparently there was a marathon the next day in the city,
so our eating place was packed from wall to wall. I can get pretty high anxiety
when I’m in such a crowded place so I was not happy. We roamed around for a
while until we came to the first place that looked appetizing to me: a French
Creperie. Eventually we found an Italian booth, which made us both happy: pizza
for Jason and pasta for Danielle. I can’t even tell you how long we waited for
a table to open for us to sit down and eat. I felt bad glaring at people while
they ate to be sure to grab their table as soon as they started to move. The
food tasted absolutely delicious! Jason kept saying how Reading Terminal is one
of the only places he knew where it was practical to eat an Italian meal with a
French dessert. We will definitely be back, but hopefully when it is less
crowded.
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| The food was great! |
We took a long walk to JFK Plaza to work off our food. We walked
through Philadelphia’s City Hall topped off with a 37 foot statue of William
Penn. Just before reaching JFK Plaza to snap a picture with the iconic LOVE
sign, we found a building whose ground was covered in giant, classic game piece
statues including: Monopoly, Sorry, Checkers, Dominos, BINGO and Chess. Of
course, we took pictures with our favorites.
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| Yes, I am on a BINGO chip |
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| Giant game pieces |
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| LOVE |
To continue our walk, we strolled down Benjamin Franklin
Parkway, (which is modeled after the Champs-Elysees) passed Swann Memorial Fountain,
and ended at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that is featured in the famous Rocky movie training montage. These are
the same steps that Sylvester Stallone runs to the top of and pumps his fists
in the air. I’ll tell you right now, we did not run up those stairs like Rocky.
We simply walked up and enjoyed the view of Philadelphia. We also took pictures
next to the Rocky statue because Jason insisted.
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| Swann Memorial Fountain |
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| Ask me if I've ever seen this movie. . . |
After our long trek back to Independence Square, we took one
final trip to Elfreth’s Alley, the nation’s oldest residential street. I
absolutely loved this narrow, cobblestone street lined with tiny colonial
homes. I especially took a liking to the ones with red doors with letter slots.
It’s hard to imagine people still live there. We had fun trying to imagine how
much the two homes that were for sale would cost.
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| Elfreth's Alley |
After a long, history-filled day, Jase and I were ready to
head home. I really look forward to going back someday and learning more about
the history of our country. I feel it is much easier to retain history when you
can see it in person, than what the pages of a book try to teach you.
