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Published: December 14th 2010
Before Washington DC even came into the picture as the capital of the new world, Philadelphia held the bestowed torch for independence and revolutionary ideals of liberty as the United States capital for a decade. Still bearing remnants of its historic character which is evident even today, the city blends its intriguing squares and artefactual virtues with the modern markets and eclectic enterprise from its lowest street to the highest skyscraper. Philadelphia is affectionately nicknamed 'The City of Brotherly Love', siphoned beautifully by the hit film franchise, Rocky. Showing that, in this city above all others, a nobody can become a champion.
We caught the Amtrak train to Philadelphia from Union Station, admiring the beautiful architecture of the Capitol and station before we stept onto the train and bid our final farewell to the Capital- Washington DC- forever. The journey lasted just under two hours and games of Sudoku were enough to see us both through this childs-play of a journey.
Arriving on a clear but cold day, we knew the Comfort Inn was in the historical quarter near the Benjamin Franklin bridge, too far a walk from the 30th Street Station of 'Philly'. To avert such a hardship
we, for the first time, took public transport in the form of the subway. Paying roughly $3 for two tokens to get us both to our destination (or thereabouts) was considerably easy, and god wonders why we hadn't used the subway more often. We caught the Eastbound train, getting off at 2nd Street. After some mis-direction and bearance finding, we found the hotel and proceeded to relieve ourselves of our heavy loads for the next four days.
The view of the Camden area and Benjamin Franklin bridge was quite a refreshing one after our now accustomed tiring journey. The bridge hovering above the Delaware River, only really shining though during the night and sunrise, when it's multi-coloured lights could be seen dancing across the water.
For the rest of the day we investigated the historic quarter of Philadelphia. The cobbled streets and classy composition of the structures to the south was quite incredible and added warmth to the city in the deep of winter. We stopped in a bar for some lunch whilst heading north through the quarter in their upstairs cafe, thereby gaining a higher vantage point of the area. Further north, streets possibly appeared, at a
glance, grimy and run down, but with the impressive backdrop of skyscrapers and archival artefacts there was an element of class to the city. We came to the realistation that a trip to Philadephia was not something to miss lightly, mere hours after arriving.
Waking at seven the next morning in order to take full advantage of the complimenatry breakfast (and get down before anyone else- which you have to do) and fill ourselves for the day. Eventually leaving the hotel at nine, we headed on foot for Market Street, whereby we would walk to City Hall, passing numerous landmarks and points of interest on route. Getting to 6th and 7th Street we passed two great landmarks of American history, the Independance Hall (and former City Hall) and Liberty Bell.
Although under reconstruction, the aura of importance the Independace Hall exhumed was matched only by the huge hoards of tourists and school children arriving to admire it. Although the buildings scale was not as immensely dominating as other surrounding structures, it's level of significance and gravity in historical value was immoveable. The Declaration of Independance and Constitution of the United States were passionately debated and signed within Independance
Hall, the home of the Liberty Bell for over two centuries.
There was a wild gathering of tourists and children, flocking for a glimpse of the perennial Bell which has embodied, for over three hundred years, the the legacy of the American Revolution, the struggle for freedom and the open-ended nature of liberty. We waited in line to have our bags checked and sweeped before entering the building. Before the actual Bell was a presentation of historical information about the origins, uses and meaning of the Bell throughout its life. We then saw the Bell, which was again smaller than I'd anticipated. The Bell's inscription 'Proclaim Liberty throughout the Land unto all Inhabitants thereof' echoed the revolutionary model offered to the world of political freedom and individual rights, and why the now silenced bell has drawn so many people to it throughout its time. Like the Independance Hall, although physically tarnished its power as a symbol lives on.
Taking a leisurely stroll up 7th Street from the Liberty Bell past the delightfully quirky period-drama style carriages, we crossed the United States Mint before reaching a quaint resting spot in Franklin Square, a park sat in between the usual
hustle and bustle of Philadelphia streets. Going back down 7th Street, passing the Mint, Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, we approached the Washington Square. With a choir of children playing in the background, we entered the park and approached the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier and the timeless flame which graces the square. Although originally planned as a monument to George Washington, we discovered upon touring the square that the tomb was in tribute instead to the soldiers who died during the Revolutionary War and that the grounds still contain an unknown amount of buried bodies from the war, which are unwittingly discovered on occasion.
Watching where we stepped upon exiting the square we again backtracked up 7th Street, never tiring of its towering structures, and continued our journey towards City Hall along Market Street. Passing numerous seedy stores and neon-lit restaurants on our journey (including the Hard Rock Cafe), we continued until we encountered the gargantuous powerhouse of fashion- Macy's- which caught our gaze and tempted us inside. Macy's would be any 'shop-oholics' dream, the store in Philadelphia was massive. Being the largest and most reputable fashion store in the United States meant however that the
items weren't cheap, so besides from browsing there was little else to do.
Leaving Macy's through the same doors we came in, we could see the current Philadelphia City Hall. A dominant domain for the Philadelphia government, it boasts as being the second tallest masonry structure in the world. Having the Central Square of the city built around the architecturally dazzling base, City Hall also has a stunning spire with a bronze statue of the city founder, William Penn, sitting atop. We were both energised by the stroll around the building, seeing the many radiant sculptures designed by the same architect of City Hall. Learning also that the clocks on all four sides of the tower were nearly eight metres in diameter, making them even larger than the Clock Tower in the Palace of Westminster (had to get that off my chest too- as again Nathan wasn't interested).
We circum-navigated the structure with awe, taking our time in the various fashion outlets, cafe's and book stores around the square. Being quite late in the day now and with the weather taking a turn for the worse, we departed the square for the hotel, easily spotting the Benjamin Franklin
House on our retreat down Chestnut Street (which runs parallel to Market Street). Having spent a few evenings in at this point of our trip, we had gathered a collection of TV shows to watch during the evenings and weren't going to miss them.
Heading straight up Race Street towards City Hall the next morning, after our usual early breakfast, we headed north from there to Logan Circle. With the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul to our right and beautiful Swann Memorial Fountain straight ahead, my eyes lit with glee at the potential photo opportunities. Also seeing the main road clearly leading to the 'Rocky' steps, iconic statue and grand Museum of Art from the Rocky films. We took our time around Logan Circle, posing for various immature images around the fountain and taking in the different buildings which make up the Circle, including the Public Library, before continuing on our route through Fairmount Park to the Museum of Art up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The Parkway was lined alphabetically with flags from hundreds of nations around the world. From the distance we could see large white and red pitched tents, but couldn't quite identify what
they were until we had walked the grand parkway. The walk was long and the weather bitterly cold, but getting ever closer to the tents, we realised that it was the day before Thanksgiving and that there was an event to commemorate it at this famous location.
We moved through the temporary pitched tents area, which were still being organised for a large event for the Thanksgiving celebration. Seeing the imposing Washington Monument mounted proudly amongst the manic celebrations on show at Eakins Oval. Moving closer we could see a few trailers and tents around Eakins Oval and a seating stand in front of the 'Rocky steps'. We could see a choir of young school children reciting Christmas songs, among others, from the steps with their proud parents in the stands, the area also lined with cameras for TV coverage. We stayed for a few songs which the crowd joined in with and the occasion was bubbling along nicely up until (I imagine) a grand finale to mark Thanksgiving. Passing, on our way back, the famed and celebrated Rocky statue.
Having a photo with the champion statue from the acclaimed films was the least I could do before
leaving the park, not being able to climb the 'Rocky steps', something I've wanted to do since I saw the first Rocky film nearly eight years ago. The Thanksgiving celebrations put a roadblock in front of that little dream, but being around such jovial people, renowned scenery and immersing in such an incredible holiday spirit more than made up for it. We headed back for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway feeling jubilant and revitalised. We could see cheerleaders moving between the tents near the Washington Monument, probably preparing for a show. Although being tempted to go back for this, we continued on along the Parkway and past the flags and stone markers (commemorating the Civil War soldiers), and spent the rest of the day around the square at City Hall.
There has been yet another problem with my fellow traveller along this journey of ours. Yet another issue which has threatened to boil over on numerous occasions, but lets start from the beginning.
Being awoken by the cry that the first sign of snow had graced our winter in America, I was naturally and like an innocent adolescent, jumping with the joy at the possibilities. Thinking what to wear
Museum of Art
with Thanksgiving eventand where to go were the first questions popping into my head. I should have looked outside. I would have discovered that the snow that was falling, was indeed, the 'bad' snow. The kind that doesn't even lay, the snow that doesn't thrill- but teases you. By getting your hopes up and then dashing them almost instantaneously in one cruel moment.
Rubbing salt into this wound, and I get back to the original point, was my room-mates disorganised habits. Now I wouldn't say I was neurotic about my cleanliness issues, but I like to be fairly clean, tidy and organised. Nathan on the other hand, does not. His bag was lane over the floor with its innards of old receipts, useless books, dirty clothing and endless supply of padlocks (he literally brought about ten) spew everywhere.
Anyway, letting this go for the millionth time in my life (being brothers I've had to get used to this) we pondered what lay ahead for the day. Since the snow looked like persisting, we had a quiet day reading our books or watching TV. In the afternoon taking a brisk walk through the sleet-come-rain to the cinema along Columbus Boulevard. A
second rate cinema at best, but enough for us to see the latest Harry Potter film (being the only film we could agree on and didn't mind seeing- honestly!). With the rain still raging after, we hurried back to the hotel to coordinate the trip to our next destination.
We purchased tickets to New York on another midday train (seriously, without having wi-fi almost everywhere we had been, we wouldn't have found travelling as simple), then booked a hostel/apartment which, after alot of research, was the best option in New York and checked out of the Comfort Inn. Repeating the same journey back as we had in was, again, very straightforward.
Seeing the 29-story silver glass Cira Centre in the skyline on our arrival at the 30th Street Station subway, we made the short connection from the subway to the main terminal. Having more time to spare, I was more able to observe the art-deco interior of the train terminals main hall. Collecting our tickets from a ticket kiosk, we waited our time out in the magnificent terminal before departing Philadelphia on the Amtrak train to New York.
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