Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love

Location – Macungie, PA (near Allentown)
Mileage - 550

Philadelphia

We arrived in Philadelphia around noon on Wednesday. After spending some time in the Cosi using their wireless, it was time to go exploring. Having walked up and down South Street, one of the city’s trendiest places to shop and eat, we made our way up to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, fancied by some (not us) as the American Champs-Elyseés. We walked from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, immortalized in the minds of movie buffs everywhere by Rocky’s training routine, all the way to the Independence Mall via Logan and JFK squares. We both really enjoy just walking around; I think it’s the best way to feel out a place. Well, if not the best, than at least the cheapest.

Alina cooling herself with mist from the fountain in JFK Square.

After a few hours of walking it was time to move Speedy lest he be ticketed and make our way back to the Museum of Art, which our guide book promised had extended hours on Wednesdays and Fridays. Well that turned out to be only partly true, and by the time we had achieved a satisfactory Rocky imitation pic the museum’s regular hours were over and we discovered upon pulling on locked doors that extended hours were strictly a Friday phenomenon despite the Rough Guide’s lies. Not to be discouraged, we took a scenic drive through the beautiful Fairmount Park and eventually ended up at the University of Pennsylvania, located in Western Philly. Part of this road trip for me, and I think also for Alina, is to visit potential graduate schools to get a feel for their campuses and student bodies – the things that you can’t get from their web sites or rankings. We were both quite impressed with the Franklin’s old Ivy League school, so much so that for the remainder of our time in Philly we’d say things like “Oh when I live here I think I’ll just buy the yearly pass to this museum,” and “I think I’ll try and get a job as one of the park rangers on Independence Mall during grad school.”

Once again working to avoid parking tickets, we made our way back to the car and drove back to South Street to find some food. Though we are both vegetarians, I always make cultural exceptions when I’m traveling to try the local flavor. In Philly, this naturally means that a philly cheesesteak was on the menu. The guidebook’s best recommendation, Jim’s Steaks at 4th and South, was the same place Alina had seen on Rachel Ray’s 40 Dollars a Day. That sealed the deal, I went in to order. Though I don’t know if Rachel Ray exclaimed “Yum-O!” or “Delish!” as she enjoyed her cheesesteak, I think either would have been appropriate. The real culinary find in Philadelphia, however, was a place called Maoz a block down South, where Alina went to get her vegetarian falafel salad. It was so good that we returned for lunch the next day – too bad it’s the only one outside of Europe.

The vegetarian and the cheesesteak - yum-o.

That night we had a pleasant though ascetic stay in the lovely Motel 6 of Maple Shade, NJ. The next day it was up and out early so that we could beat the crowds at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Both Alina and I have a fine appreciation for Revolutionary War history (perhaps because we lived for four years in Colonial Williamsburg) so we really enjoyed seeing the assembly room where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed and that celebrated symbol of American individual freedom, the Liberty Bell. My favorite exhibit was the Philosophical Hall, which houses to this day America’s first Philosophical Society, founded by Franklin in 1744. They had a really nice exhibit called the “The Princess and the Patriot” that charted the intellectual friendship of Ekaterina Dashkova, the director of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the first female member of the Philosophical Society, and Ben Franklin. It combined three strong interests of mine – Enlightenment Philosophy, Revolutionary War History, and St. Petersburg.

Alina and the Liberty Bell really hit it off.

Me outside of Philosophical Hall in a pose only a philosophy major has the right to pull.

After a day full of history we went back to Maoz for a lunch of falafel and deliciously seasoned veggies. Then we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to enjoy the culture and the air conditioning. Though we had to be relatively quick in order to beat traffic out of Philly in the afternoon, we had a good two hours which we spent enjoying the Asian art (Alina’s choice), contemporary art (my choice), and impressionism (both chose). I hope to return there one day because it is a fantastic museum, very well done with extensive collections. From the art museum we left the city and drove up the Penn Turnpike to my cousin’s house in Macungie, near Allentown. Richie and Leslie have been great hosts, feeding us pizza and allowing us to just bum around there house last night and this morning in order to rest after a few days of hard core sightseeing (all this vacation, so tiring, so tiring). Now I think we’re about ready to set out for the day and start seeing some of the Amish Country.

Cheerio,
Paul