Day 37: Philadelphia

---

After a little lie-in I headed out to explore Philly's sights, first stopping off at a phone shop to get them to top my cell phone up (the website is confusing, ok?). First I came to Rittenhouse Square, which is a lovely grassy park where apparently they've shot lots of films (e.g. The Happening). I next came across the City Hall, a neo-French/Italian monstrosoty built in 1871 which claims to be the tallest masonry building in the world (although in fact Wikipedia says there is one taller in Turin). You can pay $5 to go up the tower but I was too stingy, so I just looked around and then went to find their equivalent of the Covered Market which is called Reading Terminal Market. The Pennsylvania Dutch (of which the Amish are the strictest branch) Festival was going on, and despite my better judgement I bought a handmade carpet which I'll now have to fit into my bag somehow.

I then decided I couldn't avoid the big deal tourist sights any longer, namely Independence National Park. Philadelphia was the capital of the US for a while, and so they're all too keen to declare themselves the most historic square mile in the country even though St Augustine and Jamestown said the same. I luckily tagged on the end of a free tour around Pennsylvania State House (more commonly known as Liberty Hall) where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. You can even see the very chair that Washington sat in to do it, which I guess is quite exciting if you're American. So many school children looked bored out of their minds and were moaning loads though, which I found rather funny. I also queued up to see the Liberty Bell, which I think was made so they could ring it after they read out the Declaration (although it promptly cracked and now doesn't work). I was also a bit smug that they decided it had to be the best made bell in the world, so they ordered it in from England. There was actually a very good exhibition about how the bell continued to be a symbol for abolitionists and suffragettes, since America wasn't actually that liberal - something entirely absent from the exhibition in Congress in DC.

I then went on an entirely uncontrolled shopping spree, culminating in a new handbag to try and squash everything in to for the flight home. I can't really defend myself except (a) I was feeling homesick and reatil therapy always works (b) some of the clothes could be worn in the hospital next year, so I Needed Them.

Back at the flat I met Philip for the first time, as he'd just got off a ridiculous shift that basically spanned two days. We all went to dinner in cafe and stuffed our faces, since I still can't cope with the size of American portions.

---

Photos

The room where the constitution and declaration were both signed
The chair behind the desk is the original one GW sat in, allegedly

Comments

[Simon]

Liberty Bell
And still the Liberty Bell remains a symbol for those (of us) fighting for freedom... http://www.heritage.org/ (look for the logo in the top left corner)