Fabulous Philadelphia

I’ve enjoyed a little break in Philadelphia with my friend, Erinie, and can honestly say it is a fabulous city. I really loved how the nation’s founding history lives side-by-side with modern life. There’s something very real about the space, rather than the “theme park” feel of some historic sites.

It’s also a very walkable city centre, and everything feels so accessible. I’m always impressed by how America manages federal museums as public access sites (free). Although I am less impressed with how they work to whitewash much of the true American history. However, Philadelphia seemed to be frank in addressing some of the dark sides of American history. And I really appreciated that.

It really was an interesting mid-trimester break. And I’ve returned home feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the year.

Day 1 (arrival): I arrived around 3 pm and met Ernie at the airport, as his flight arrived about 15 minutes before mine. We made our way to the hotel, where we got to engage with the tail-end of the No Kings Rally. (Although Dad did say I should avoid it at all costs. Not for lack of agreement, per se, but out of an abundance of safety and caution in a world gone mad.)

After a quick post-travel shower, I met up with Ernie for dinner and a walk. We grabbed a simple dinner at the Reading Terminal Market, then wandered around town to get our bearings. There were a few rally stragglers around, making for an energetic and jovial atmosphere. However, the best thing about the walk was stumbling upon our first of many Philly murals, which prompted us to book a mural walking tour for the next day.

Day 2: This was my first fullday in Philadelphia, and it was truly a full day. We began with breakfast in the hotel before walking to the Big Bus for a hop-on, hop-off tour. Our first hop-off was at the Eastern State Penitentiary, which was one of my must-see attractions for the holiday.

The self-guided penitentiary tour was far better than I could have hoped for. They have preserved and/or restored different sections of the site to allow visitors to see the building’s changing approach whilst it was in service. There were also several areas dedicated to justice education, and some cells are used as art installations that address the prison or the prison system in different ways. That was such an insightful way to interpret the site.

They even did a good job of showcasing some of the slow decay and dilapidation process. And as I love good decaying institutional architecture, I was truly in a place of joy, which is certainly not the emotional experience of the prisoners who were held here in near isolation.

After getting paroled from the clink, we made our way back to the bus for more general history, alighting once again for our scheduled mural walking tour. The tour took us past several interesting murals and included some history of the murals programme in the city. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed seeing many more murals throughout the holiday. However, it was all so sanitised and curated, and I soon found myself yearning for the grittier street art style of Miami and Chicago.

After the walking tour ended, we were back on the bus again to complete the route. We also repeated the first few stops so that we could end our bus journey in sight of our hotel. From there, it was back to the market for dinner before saying goodnight and recharging to Day 3’s adventures.

Day 3: Today was a full-on museum day with a side of Rocky and geocaching – although I started my day with a run in the hotel’s gym before meeting Ernie for breakfast. When we left the hotel, we took a little side excursion beside the hotel’s delivery alley to look at an interesting sculpture that was also home to a geocache.

Our first museum of the day was the Barnes Foundation. It was an interesting place to visit, not just because of the eclectic mix of paintings but because of the way in which the art is displayed. There doesn’t appear to be a rhyme or reason, but Barnes had a vision, and it works very well. Indeed, it feels like admiring someone’s personal art collection rather than a curated museum. I loved it!

Next up was the Rodin Museum and a staged photo in front of The Thinker. It was a fairly small museum with a collection of sculptures both inside and outside. I especially liked the left-hand sculptures and the Gates of Hell at the entrance. The gates are a popular place for wedding photography, which made me laugh.

Our third and final museum was the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It is the location of “The Rocky Steps” and a statue of his famous run to the top. We spent a lot of time here admiring the range of art styles. Indeed, we were there until they started herding people towards the doors – something that has happened to us at previous museums, too. The nice thing about this was that it made for some nice moody-sky pictures of the Rocky statue.

Day 4: This was a day of history, enjoying a walk with no real plan. Instead, we took the day as it came, at times letting the geocaching app lead the way. Our first stop was at the Liberty Bell and the President’s House. The republican government shutdown meant we could only view the bell from outside, but the President’s House is open-air, so we were able to explore that with ease.

Next up was a visit to Carpenter’s Hall before going to visit the former site of Tun Tavern – the birthplace of the United States Marine Corps. It’s merely a sign along the road now, but the USMC is in my blood, so I had to pay my respects.

From Tun Tavern, we wandered down to Penn’s Landing to admire the old boats before heading back into the old city centre for more random historic locations and a few more geocaches. We then ended the tourist portion of the day with a tour of the US Mint, where we got to watch the process of making coins.

Day 5: Our last day together was another big museum day, but we started with a couple of geocaches. Once I bagged my geocaches, we visited the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. It’s a medical history and science museum with collections of anatomical and pathological specimens and antique medical equipment. It was not as interesting as either of us expected, although I’m not sure how to explain my (mild) disappointment.

From there, we walked to The Franklin Institute, where we spent the rest of the day. Indeed, we spent several hours exploring the exhibits. There were a lot of interactive installations for us to play with, learning along the way. We even watched a live autopsy of a squid, which made up for the disappointment at the first museum.

There is a planetarium at the institute, so we went to an interesting show about the creation of the universe. I have never been to a planetarium before, and all I could think of was how amazing it would be to take Cameron. So, that’s his Christmas present (along with a telescope or something similar).

We enjoyed a stroll back to the hotel before heading out for dinner in Chinatown, a final holiday meal to wind down the week. After the meal, we enjoyed a walk around the city in the fresh air.

Day 6 (departure): Ernie had an early morning flight, whilst mine was an evening flight. So, we said our goodbyes the night before, and I enjoyed a solo adventure for the last day. I began my day with a 4-mile run up to the Rocky Steps and back. I mean, I was in Philadelphia, so I really did need to do it.

Back at the hotel, I showered and packed my bags for storage at the front desk. Then I made my way out for a couple more geocaches around the city, taking in more great artwork along the way. I also visited the grocery store to pick up some delicious American goodies to take home to Scotland. Then I played a bit of luggage Tetris to fit all the goodies into my bags before heading to the airport.

Despite arriving home late yesterday (Day 7, as it’s an overnight journey), I am already unpacked, and my laundry is done. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I have friends coming to the castle for a ladies’ cocktail night, so there’s no time to indulge in the laziness that jetlag generally causes. But maybe that means I’ll have a faster recovery, and I’ll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the week to come.

Once again, I had a fabulous break, and I think I’m ready to face the rest of the teaching year now. But I am already thinking about my next holiday: Christmas in The Homeland.