Philadelphia Freedom

Day One:

I caught the train to Philadelphia and this time it was a lot shorter taking around two hours. Getting to the train station again it was breathtaking - the architecture on the East Coast is just spectacular. Everything was going fine until I got to the hostel and realised I had somehow booked myself into a 16 bed dorm. I thought this was a mistake at first, however, re-reading the email in fact it was correct! The next shock was when I found that my room was across the road and I had to carry my suitcase up three flights of stairs! Luckily the room has been quiet and only around half of the beds have been occupied. I decided to update my blog and then do some more reading before deciding to have dinner. I was feeling hungry as I had only had a sandwich for lunch. I forgot about sizes for meals and made the mistake of ordering a salad plus baked potato (plus I got free bread). It all tasted amazing but I could only manage half of everything.

Day Two:

I was due to take a walking tour of the area but my sore feet and now other sore knee (apparently I am just always in pain with something at this stage) I decided to join a hop on and off bus instead. It was a brilliant decision. As it turns out Philadelphia is a lot smaller then I realised and it took you to all of the main attractions. The most beautiful part of the whole city is the Town Hall as you can see below.





We also went passed to Rocky Steps and I can’t really remember the movie I decided not to take a pic. The statue you can pose beside was a gift from Sylvester Stallone and was left at the top of the stairs for a few years before the art museum wanted it removed as they saw it as a movie prob. Unfortunately they then saw a sharp decrease in people visiting and it was then re-installed at the bottom. 


Statue is on the right (of the photo) 


The statue of St Joan of Arc was much prettier 

It was on the bus that I saw a craft store so decided to get off. Let’s just say it puts spotlight to shame! There was everything you could think of plus more. I managed to buy some cross stitch thread for only $0.51 each (yes this is exciting as it costs around $1.70 in NZ). 

I then got back on the bus and went to see the liberty bell. It was quite impressive in real life and I think the closest to Big Ben I will ever see as it was made by the same people. (Big Ben also has a huge crack in it as well). 





I then decided to visit the Jewish American Museum. It was fascinating to see the many artifacts plus I loved the fake American kitchen they had made up to show the 1950/60s. 

After this I decided it was time to finally try a famous Philly Cheesesteak. I chose a place that was apparently thee best in town. Let’s just say from the start I am not sure what it is supposed to taste like - I had imagined a more cheesy taste. As you can guess I was not a fan. It did sound amazing though in principle. 



Day Three:

I headed out and back to the bus as I had bought a two day pass. I had decided to sleep in so it was the perfect time for brunch at the Terminal Market - the ultimate foodie paradise. I ended up having a turkey plate with mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry jelly - it was amazing. Apparently it was Amish, however, I have a feeling it was just the style of the place. The staff did wear similar clothes though. 

Baby Groot and I then went to the park with the love statue and took some pics. We then rejoined the bus and as I was the only person on board the tour guide and I chatted about New Zealand. She was amazed to hear that we also had soldiers that died in the Vietnam war and that we have only had one act of terrorism acted out on our soil. I told her as we are at the bottom of the world nothing that interesting happens!

I was then supported to visit the Museum of the American Revolution but I was feeling exhausted (maybe it was the turkey?). I instead ended up having a long nap before deciding to finally do some washing. 

I then finished the night with some liquid nitrogen ice cream … not sure how it made it different but it tasted really good. The place was called Happily Ever After and as you can see was filled with Sci-Fi collectables - I really need the giant Wall-E in my life!


Mmmm chocolate 






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