Philly offered up a plethora of activities to keep us busy
and on our toes, especially those fun random events we would stumble upon that made
our stay here even more memorable.
We took a weekend with our feet to the pavement and Ethel in
tow, ready to indulge in some iconic American history; from the roots of our
countries rich founding to modern day cinema. Speaking of cinema, one of our
first stops, the Philadelphia Museum of Art to climb those steps made famous by
Rocky III; taking in the vast Philly skyline and even admiring Mr. Balboa cast
in bronze. Now this wouldn't be my last visit to these steps, I took it upon
myself to recreate Rocky’s famous run and although I didn't have the chants
from the pedestrians or the an entourage of children running after me, I
managed with “Eye Of The Tiger” blaring in my ears and of course some victorious
air jabs once the sprint to the top was complete! A sense of accomplishment, a
dire need to pee and a realization I still need to head back to the
apartment, almost burst my bubble, but I made it heat, humidity and all, and
ever so glad I did!
Next stop, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell because it’s
a must, you can’t come all the way to Philly and not witness the building where the major fundamentals of our country were adopted; the Declaration of Independence
and the US Constitution (which we actually saw both of them while in DC), it
would be a crime against everything American! Standing outside the building,
knowing you’re walking the same hallowed ground of Washington, Adams, Jefferson
and Franklin is surreal, in fact all of Philly drips with the legend of
these men, of America in the making. And let’s not just focus on the men, around the corner from Independence Hall is the home of Betsy Ross, female icon of America, home where that first true symbol of everything American was sewn. Then you take one more turn and you’re
standing on the street of the oldest residential neighborhood in the country, Elfreth’s Alley, and people still live there, in these charming homes, intact and while
still representing their history, completely livable by today’s standards.
So what do you do when you take a city rich in history and
mix it with art? Well, you enjoy the Mural Mile, which is completely misleading
since it is technically 2.5 miles and that still doesn't cover all of the
murals this city offers, but none-the-less, it’s amazing. Ethel and I had the
pleasure of taking in seventeen of them in one day, walking the loop, stopping
for lemonade at a local stand, a stroll through Washington Square and of course
me taking lots of pictures. Throughout this loop not only do you revel in
the art on historic buildings, but you develop a feel of the real Philadelphia,
walking the streets of the locals, from the less crowded to the business
hustle, marveling at all the diversity and little details that make this city
so great! Not to mention you chance upon hidden gems I might not have
known about had it not been for the mural tour, a detour to the Magic Garden. I
know, not that kind of magic garden, although that would've added to the
joy this marvel is to the eyes!
The Magic Garden is a mosaic, a mosaic of a building, a yard
and the surrounding buildings that took fourteen years to create by Isaiah Zagar
and is absolutely phenomenal. One could spend hours here, sipping wine and letting all that Zagar has created soak in; I am visualizing string lighting, jazz
in the background, appetizers and evening gatherings in this place for reception
parties, corporate meet and greets and of course a place for fun and eclectic
gathering of friends. This is a place I would love to spend more time at, soaking it in. It literally has to be one of the most extensive pieces of art I
have ever seen; seriously, each step you take, you are stepping
on art: the ground, the steps the floors and the walls that surround you, it encompasses
you!
Then there is Rittenhouse Square, right outside our door offered up so much more than your regular park and nothing we
had planned for, pleasant surprises that were thrown our way; from encountering
park entertainers, yoga in the park and people practicing high hire acts.
Then there was the day that I had taken Ethel over for an afternoon walk and
ran into the beginning of Bloomsday, and we had the pleasure of sitting through
over an hour of long readings from James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” it really and truly
was all of these great little finds and treasures that made our trip to Philly the crème de le crème!
Video from just one day of fun at Rittenhouse
If you haven’t picked up on it already, I loved this city
and everything it had to offer. It was the perfect blend of hipster meets yuppie
that appealed to me, there was visual stimulation along every corner and
the people were cool! People knew us by the time we left and made a
point to say hi and make conversation, I felt like within a month we were part of a community.
Honestly this is a place I could seriously see us putting down roots and staying,
it was that appealing, in fact, so far it’s my favorite city! I know crazy,
right? We didn't even have Philly on the list originally, it just worked out
that way, crazy how fate works and I am so delighted it did!
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