Advertisement
Published: December 4th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Friday 9th November
Had to catch the train to Philadelphia at 11.40am. Used the subway to get there, which nearly turned out to be a big mistake. Just got there with literally seconds to spare. Ran into the station, throught the gate, down the platform, and straight onto the train (which was no mean feat with the size of the pack on my back). After the sweat had dried, and around 7 hours had passed, I arrived at the 30th street station in Philadelphia. It was a really beautiful building, in an early to mid 20th century style. Behind it there was a tall, modern office building which provided a real contrast in architecture. This building was comprised of sharp angled facets of glass which reflected the sky and surrounding buildings. Seeing the two side by side was really interesting. I got the train at the underground station across the road. The Philly system was not very good. Too expensive, a weird token scheme, and you can only get the cheaper multiple day passes from the start of a week on Mondays.
I stayed in the historical part of town, in a hotel called The Society Hill. It was
only a block away from Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Liberty Bell is situated. The room in the hotel was very small and old fashioned (see pictures). Some might say it was quaint. I would say it was cramped, even for one.
Whilst I was in the hotel bar a lady told me that she loved my scarf and asked where I had gotten it. When she heard I was from London she got exited and told me she used to live in Covent Garden with her ex-boyfriend. Turns out she was fairly well-off, and her ex was a music producer who had worked with big indie bands like Supergrass and Goldfrapp. She must of had been drinking for a while because she started ranting about American politics and how she hates George Bush. She was a fair bit older than me (mid-late 30's), and not wanting to end up a toy boy to a drunk I decided to evacuate at the earliest oppotunity.
Saturday 10th November
Walked around the shopping areas. It's fairly easy to walk around Philly because it's not the biggest city and the
signposting is really good. It's split in to various districts e.g. Historic, Museum, etc. (see photo). In the end I didn't need to use the underground system at all.
I was still looking for a travel clinic to get my remaining vaccinations, so I popped into a local hospital to get some help. They sent me to another building a couple of blocks away. The security guard there told me to take the lift to the 7th floor. When I got up there the place was completely empty, but all the lights were on and the doors open. If I was a junkie or a thief I would have hit the jackpot, because all the drugs and equipment were there for the taking. It turned out that the clinic shut early on a Saturday, and yet again I couldn't find anyone to stick a needle in my arm.
Sunday 11th November
Walked down to the pier called Penn's Landing. Had a look round the local farmers market, which was enthralling (please note that this statement was typed with a hint of sarcasm). Found a cheap internet cafe ($9 for 3 hours compared to
$30 in Boston) and updated my blog.
As I walked up South Street I discovered a fascinating building. It belonged to an artist, who had completely covered the outside in mosaic designs using all sorts of materials (see photos). He a had also made many sculptures using other random objects.
Went into another hospital to get info. on jabs. Got caught talking to the security guard who loved the sound of his voice. His name was Johnny Jay Johnson, which I found amusing. He talked about corruption in politics and his hatred for President Bush (he actually asked me to take a piss on the Whitehouse lawn when I got to Washington). Then he told me about his theories on life, how he got married too young, got divorced and then remarried, and his ambition to move to Ecuador. After an hour I finally managed to escape, only to find it was dark, and so decided to head back to the hotel.
Monday 12th November
Walked for miles and miles to the Philadelphia University district to find the hospital which had been recommended to me. Finally managed to get my two remaining vaccination injections.
It was a good doctor, I didn't even realise he'd finished because I hadn't felt a thing (either that or the UK doctor didn't like me very much). Walked back over the bridge towards downtown and visited the Science Museum.
Sat watching TV in the hotel and was surprised to see a mouse run across the floor and out under my room door. I suppose it's good preparation for all the rodents and insects I'm likely to encounter in South America. Needless to say I wouldn't recommend the hotel, unless you have a penchant for small furry animals and enclosed spaces.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.094s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 12; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0482s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb