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We traveled to Philadelphia on the Acela Express - a service that runs from Grand Union Station in Washington to Boston. Grand Union is the station that was the model for Grand Central in NY and is a magnificent building, not only a busy station but also full of shops and restaurants - worth a visit in its own right. Bill had booked us 1st class tickets so we were ushered into a private lounge with complimentary hot and cold drinks before boarding. Once on board we were offered a choice from both breakfast and lunch menus ( it was 10 AM) and more drinks - all part of the service. The breakfast menu offered anything from a fruit bowl to steak and eggs! I opted for the former and Bill had a surprisingly good sun dried tomato and spinach omelette. Our journey took us through the states of Maryland and Delaware before entering Pennsylvania. As an express service I have to admit it wasn't the smoothest of rides and I felt the need to hold on to my tea securely on several occasions. It was, however, very efficient and the attending staff were helpful with our baggage (now groaning under
the weight of souvenir tee shirts and cowboy boots!) at both ends.The scenery was fascinating. We first passed through the outskirts of sprawling and built up Baltimore and then out into predominantly flat countryside. We crossed Chesapeake Bay where there were some very affluent looking communities with marinas etc. It was a beautifully sunny day which obviously enhanced the view! After just over 90 minutes we arrived in Philadelphia - birthplace of the American Constitution.Philadelphia is a very busy city - sprawling over a large area with many skyscrapers reaching out above. Our main purpose in our one night stay here was, of course, to see the Liberty Bell. Before doing that, though, we took the obligatory (in our family at least) open top bus tour to get an overview of the city. What we found were beautiful old and ornate buildings in close proximity to high rise complexes, giving the streets quite a crowded feel. Philadelphia was state capital until 1799 and saw the inaugurations of both Washington and Adams before the centralisation of government moved to DC in 1800. Philadelphia is a city which strongly supports art and there are several galleries here. There are also a lot
of modern sculptures dotted around the city, from a giant clothes peg to board game playing pieces and a culture of murals which was introduced as a measure to channel graffiti into more positive expressions of art.American history and art aside, I was also hopeful of a photo with the Rocky statue on the museum steps. Sadly it was not to be. Philadelphia was home to the NFL Draft last week and the area around the steps remained blockaded by stages which we being dismantled so no posing with Sly for me!The NFL draft is an annual event which dominates the media for several days. This is the second time in 2 years when we have been over here whilst it is on. It's like a massive auction for footballers who get "drafted" from college teams to major league teams. A guy from New Mexico could find himself moving to New York in the space of a couple of hours. Sport in general really dominates here. With the exception of Subway we have yet to dine anywhere that doesn't have at least two screens showing mostly basketball, baseball or ice hockey. Washington turned red in the colours of their hockey team The Capitals when they were in a playoff on Saturday night. Fake Bruce even announced the score halfway through his set to tumultuous applause. The bar of our hotel was filled with Capitals fans prior to us going to the gig. Just before we left The Kentucky Derby was on the TV. The majority of the hockey fans stopped what they were doing to watch, cheering on various horses, and clearly equally interested in that event also.Anyway, back to historic Philly. The Liberty Bell is no longer in its historic bell tower but in a visitor centre across the road. It's trademark crack caused it to become unstable and it was removed for fear it would damage the tower. In the past the bell would be taken on tours around the states to allow the public to get up close. For the bicentenary a replica was made, twice the size of the original, which was taken by rail to every state. That replica now stands outside Grand Union station so we had the pleasure of seeing both in the same day! The visitor centre highlights the Liberty Bell's status as a national icon of Liberty and you can get up close for a good look. The building across the road was of more interest to us though. It was in there that the founding fathers risked hanging by defying us Brits, starting the Revolution and defining their constitution. The bell tower is now home to another bell, placed there in 1876 to mark the centenary. It is a beautiful building and grounds, an oasis amidst surrounding high-rises and another fabulous experience of walking in the footsteps of the great. Our accommodation in Philly was a small boutique hotel. Run by an Italian it boasts the Ristorante Panoramique, a fine dining experience. We'd pre-booked a table expecting panoramic views across to the nearby Delaware river with New Jersey clearly visible on the opposite shore. That's quite a feat with a ground floor restaurant! We're still not sure how it got its name but the food was excellent and, quite frankly, a welcome break from the predominant "American Bistro" that has been within our budget to date. The hotel also hosts a bar which holds the Guinness World Record for the preservation of the largest number of open bottles of wine. They use some system I don't understand involving nitrogen but basically what it allows for is a massive menu of wine "flights". These give you tastings of five selected wines presented on a spiral stand, working from the top down in order of quality. We shared one of sparkling wines from around the world and one of rose wines from France and Italy. It really was an excellent experience. In just a couple of mouthfuls you could clearly taste the differences in style and all in all very entertaining. The restaurant was very busy with groups of locals even though it was a Monday night. An evening that will surely stand out in our memories. And so ends our brief visit to Philadelphia - a lovely city which I'm very pleased to have visited. As we sit awaiting our train to NY I pass you, as always, on to our sponsor... Thinking of what to call this trip I have thought of several perspectives but have settled on an obvious one for me-food! Or how to survive for 20 days in the USA without eating Fries! Not easy they come with everything so the expression "hold the fries" has become a common call.The food has generally been good with some outstanding meals. I must mention the Philly steak sandwich, along bun full of shredded beef and cheese, delicious!
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