Philadelphia
1 February 2009 15:37![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kmusserSo last weekend we went off to Philadelphia to get in touch with our historical roots.
Our pictures are here.
We headed out Friday and made into Phily in the afternoon, we decided to start out with a stop at the Italian Market, some of the stalls were already closed up, but there were quite a few open and it was marketish. Our reason for stopping here is Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese and we stock up on yummy, yummy cheese and pick up some pepperoni for good measure. From there it is on to our B&B for the weekend: The Thomas Bond House which proved to be an excellent choice. They are walking distance to most of the historical sites, right across the street from the City Tavern and they ply us with wine and cheese which we shall take advantage of. Our view outside the window is a park arranged in the original layout of Philadelphia as laid out by William Penn. Inside the B&B there is plenty of colonial map goodness as well, yay maps.
While most of the NPS sites are already closed for the day we walked around the park for a bit. Buildings we see include the First Bank of the U.S., founded by Hamilton, and Carpenters Hall, founded by (like most things in this city) Franklin and site of the First Continental Congress. We also visit Washingtonton Square and the memorial to Revolutionary War dead that is there - was interesting to read about the square's history as a potter's field. We close out the day taking a walk along South St. - Phily's alternative-ish neighborhood and have dinner at an Irish pub.
Saturday morning we see the more of the park, starting off with the site of Ben Franklin's house and a re-created print shop - there is a small museum there devoted to Franklin which was nice - I find Franklin one of the more fascinating of the Founding Fathers and enjoyed learning more about it. Sam and I were both highly amused by his Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress.
Next stop was the visitor's center, which was very brief, tickets to Independence Hall are not needed today so it's off to see the Liberty Bell which was neat - it's somehow smaller than I always envisioned it, but I suppose that's to be expected given how famous it is, also interested to see how beat up the thing is. Next is Independence Hall itself - site of the 2nd Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, arguably the birthplace of the United States. We joined the long line to get in, going through in a big mob - the rooms have been restored to look as they might have during the constitutional convention and the guide did a nice job except that we felt rather rushed - we didn't get a really good view of the room where the famous debates took place - I did get a decent picture though. In the galleries upstairs we got a little more time and they had a gorgeous set of colonial maps - could've spent days looking at those. Adjacent is Congress Hall, capitol of the U.S. from 1780-1790, with the House of Representatives on the first floor and the Senate upstairs - we had more time to wander here which was nice. We had lunch at the City Tavern included warmed cider with whisky, rum, and brandy added, wow was that yummy.
Afterward we drove about for a bit, including a visit to Elfreth's Alley, one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in the country. We were going to do the Franklin Institute as well to get our dose of science in, but upon getting there decided we were just too tired to do more. We got a few pictures of the giant stature of Franklin and then went back to the B&B for a nap. For dinner Sam managed to score us reservations at Little Fish Restaurant which is the absolutely tiny seafood place with amazingly good fish.
Sunday we say farewell to Philadelphia and drive out to Valley Forge - we thought it appropriate to visit during the winter. Take a drive through the park there and chat with the rangers, interesting to hear about the war at a time when it really could've gone either way. From there we headed home, stopping at several wineries on the way home, more wine and more cheese, yay. And then we slept for a week :-)
Our pictures are here.
We headed out Friday and made into Phily in the afternoon, we decided to start out with a stop at the Italian Market, some of the stalls were already closed up, but there were quite a few open and it was marketish. Our reason for stopping here is Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese and we stock up on yummy, yummy cheese and pick up some pepperoni for good measure. From there it is on to our B&B for the weekend: The Thomas Bond House which proved to be an excellent choice. They are walking distance to most of the historical sites, right across the street from the City Tavern and they ply us with wine and cheese which we shall take advantage of. Our view outside the window is a park arranged in the original layout of Philadelphia as laid out by William Penn. Inside the B&B there is plenty of colonial map goodness as well, yay maps.
While most of the NPS sites are already closed for the day we walked around the park for a bit. Buildings we see include the First Bank of the U.S., founded by Hamilton, and Carpenters Hall, founded by (like most things in this city) Franklin and site of the First Continental Congress. We also visit Washingtonton Square and the memorial to Revolutionary War dead that is there - was interesting to read about the square's history as a potter's field. We close out the day taking a walk along South St. - Phily's alternative-ish neighborhood and have dinner at an Irish pub.
Saturday morning we see the more of the park, starting off with the site of Ben Franklin's house and a re-created print shop - there is a small museum there devoted to Franklin which was nice - I find Franklin one of the more fascinating of the Founding Fathers and enjoyed learning more about it. Sam and I were both highly amused by his Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress.
Next stop was the visitor's center, which was very brief, tickets to Independence Hall are not needed today so it's off to see the Liberty Bell which was neat - it's somehow smaller than I always envisioned it, but I suppose that's to be expected given how famous it is, also interested to see how beat up the thing is. Next is Independence Hall itself - site of the 2nd Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, arguably the birthplace of the United States. We joined the long line to get in, going through in a big mob - the rooms have been restored to look as they might have during the constitutional convention and the guide did a nice job except that we felt rather rushed - we didn't get a really good view of the room where the famous debates took place - I did get a decent picture though. In the galleries upstairs we got a little more time and they had a gorgeous set of colonial maps - could've spent days looking at those. Adjacent is Congress Hall, capitol of the U.S. from 1780-1790, with the House of Representatives on the first floor and the Senate upstairs - we had more time to wander here which was nice. We had lunch at the City Tavern included warmed cider with whisky, rum, and brandy added, wow was that yummy.
Afterward we drove about for a bit, including a visit to Elfreth's Alley, one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in the country. We were going to do the Franklin Institute as well to get our dose of science in, but upon getting there decided we were just too tired to do more. We got a few pictures of the giant stature of Franklin and then went back to the B&B for a nap. For dinner Sam managed to score us reservations at Little Fish Restaurant which is the absolutely tiny seafood place with amazingly good fish.
Sunday we say farewell to Philadelphia and drive out to Valley Forge - we thought it appropriate to visit during the winter. Take a drive through the park there and chat with the rangers, interesting to hear about the war at a time when it really could've gone either way. From there we headed home, stopping at several wineries on the way home, more wine and more cheese, yay. And then we slept for a week :-)
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Date: 2 Feb 2009 01:42 (UTC)Glad to hear you soaked up the history and made it to Valley Forge. Mom (Cindy)
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Date: 2 Feb 2009 12:11 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 Feb 2009 15:01 (UTC)no subject
Date: 3 Feb 2009 23:00 (UTC)