Blogs from Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North America

Today we ventured to Camden Aquarium, surrounded by small children and for some reason the entire Jewish population of new jersey. My attention span lasted all of about 45 minutes there are only so many fish you can be awestruck over before you come to the conclusion they are still just fish. Though the penguins were pretty cute if not also completely stupid I was overwhelmed by the urge to push one of them over and watch them attempt to self right. Kayla told me that the penguins wouldn't have appreciated that even if she would also find it hilarious. I stroked a string ray who seemed to be enjoying human contact a little too much. After much persuading Kayla, my American mother, agreed to let me wander around Camden unaccompanied so I could see what ... read more

After breakfast replied to mails and updated travel blog...my routine every morning. It has been raining non stop since Saturday night. Left at 11:30am and drove for more than an hour to Sabrina's Cafe. Lot of people were waiting in that small crowded restaurant and we also had to wait in spite of making reservations. They call out names from the reservation list as soon as there is a table to accomodate us. After brunch drove around downtown. Did a small city tour by car in the rain. Camcost where there was supposed to be a huge screen of 2000sq.ft. showing the history of Philadelphia was closed. Saw City Hall, which is the center of government, Logan's Square with the lovely fountain in the center, the dockyard with many ships..some of them warships. Also saw the ... read more

WOW.....what a great sleep it was!!! During the morning, we enjoyed a continental breakfast in the lower level of this "boutique" hotel........and realized just how much of a little, inexpensive jewel of a hotel we had found!!! Soooo, clean, such amazingly friendly staff, and located in the most wonderful spot for our 5 days here in Philadelphia. After an extra cup of coffee......a bit weak for my tastes.....we left the hotel....maps in hand...and walked to the City Hall...about three blocks from where our hotel is located. I MUST pause here to discuss the largest Convention Center I believe I have EVER seen in a city.....even for a city this size. It must stretch more than a quarter of a mile, going from east to west, and is one block "deep". The streets going north and south ... read more

OMG.....what a morning!!! Up at 4:45, took the hotel shuttle across to the Airport at 6am.....and then through Security! Not as easy as previously since.........I was carrying one large carry-on bag plus my laptop carrying bag which inside had my camera in it's bag, a plastic ziplock with gels, toothpaste, shaving cream, etc., etc.....and another ziplock with some meds in it. I took out the one with the gels and put it into a plastic bin, put the laptop into a bin along with my cell phone, my shoes and jacket in another bin and then the carrying case for the laptop in another one, and then shoved the carry-on bag down the rollers and through the x-ray machine. Everything came out and back to me on the other side....except the carrying case for the laptop. ... read more

Yep......another short journey which will begin next week!! And.....as the title suggests, we are flying to Philadelphia from St. Louis, MO to spend the weekend visiting our son Jay and his wife, Anne-marie! We have not seen them since they made their three month trip around the world this past winter, so we will enjoy hearing about their trip, and we can then add more details as we describe to them our trip....at the same time as theirs....to New Zealand. We were in Philadelphia last fall.....and, quite frankly....we fell in love with the city center of this old city. And, as you can expect I will have more about everything when we arrive next Thursday morning.....October 20th. Sooooo, for now.....I will close this beginning of the journal/blog of our upcoming journey to the East Coast. And, ... read more

I have now spent 2 1/2 days in Philadelphia & have loved it. The sun has been shining & there has been lots to see to keep me busy. I have seen the Liberty bell, taken the tour of Independence Hall & seen the oldest alley in the US that has been continuously inhabited. On top of that I visited the Eastern Penitentiary & was guided through the old prison & its history. I have tasted a Philly Cheesesteak & eaten at the Reading Terminal market. So it has been an educational & culinary experience. ... read more

Welcome!! I've decided to start this blog for anyone who might be the smallest bit interested in hearing about my upcoming travels in Europe. So...Hi Mom! If you dont know what my plans are, here is a quick overview of my itinerary: -Flying to London on May 27th. -Prague -Berlin -Crete -Athens I will be staying in Athens for 8 weeks, participating in an excavation in the agora. My weekends are free, so I plan to do some additional traveling around Greece during those 8 weeks. Be sure to check in from time to time on for updates!!! ... read more

Two weeks until we fly across the pond and....... We have not bought rail passes..... Finished our itinerary...... NOR.... Do we have anywhere to stay once we get there -All sarcasm aside.... "This is going to be amazing"! ... read more

We woke up starving and we carbo loaded. Between the five of us, we ate 2 bowls of oatmeal, 2 waffles, 4 muffins, 3 donuts, 3 bananas, and 2 oranges. Thank you Comfort Inn for the continental breakfast! Good thing because we had more walking to do today. After hiking the 4 flights of stairs to Market Street (the main street through the historic section of Philly) and putting on some sunscreen, we walked towards historic Philadelpia. First, we saw the Liberty Bell which was surprisingly smaller than both of us imagined. The girls seem to just soak up historical facts--Brecklyn in particular will stop to tell us random bits of trivia from the cracks in the bell to how the Wright Brothers flew their plane (from a lecture at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum ... read more