a day for history.

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?

I would honestly never guess that the Liberty Bell weighs 2080 pounds

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.

Independence Hall

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.

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.

Yes, I am on a BINGO chip

Giant game pieces

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.

Swann Memorial Fountain

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.

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.