Friday July 8

 Friday July 8


Touring Philly day. Very odd hotel breakfast and onto the I95 into the city. Took a LONG time to find parking as every street was jam packed with cars. Eventually we parked a long way away and hiked in for a bunch o blocks. 

We arrived at the Independence Hall - where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 followed by the Constitution. The buildings were majestic and has some original furniture in them. The tour guide was highly enthusiastic and brought history to life as he spoke about the 13 original states and the conflict back and forth between Britain and the US from the 1750’s through 1814. Congress, Senate, Supreme Court all housed in Philadelphia until 1800 then moved to DC to appease those from the south. Big names like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin along with James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, the conflicts leading to the abolition of slavery. There is SOOOOOO much history here and hard to recall from my University days. Fascinating place - would be nicer in day September when it isn’t 90 degrees. 😉

We received a free copy of the Declaration of Independence and went to see the majestic Liberty Bell. We headed north and west for a 20 minute walk to the Reading market but powered out a few blocks short and consumed some Panda Express under duress. 😔




















Reading Terminal Market


Philadelphia touts having the oldest Farmers Market in America and this was an experience like no other. The number of cultures represented was overwhelming. From meats to cheese, prepared dishes and desserts, I wanted to try one of everything. Above and beyond anything I’d have been to before. 

We settled on some assorted cheese appetizers followed by Thai soups then a monster pastrami rye and donuts/fudge for dessert. I had to go outside and pay for extra parking not once but twice. If you are a foodie, Philly is a place you need to check out. Yum! 




















We wandered around for a bit near the Chinese lantern festival but not so impressive during the daytime. A friend recommended a trip to little Poland for a Kolbasa Cheesesteak and a beer so off we went. No one else wanted anything so I had half for lunch and the rest will be for supper. 









Back to the hotel as 3 of 4 tourists were tired? from doing very little. 🤪

We opted out of the soccer game at $50/pp and watched the 7-0 on tv. 

Early night. Travel to DC tomorrow and tours start at noon. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday April 22 - Day 6

Image
  Tuesday April 22 - Day 6  7am alarm?! We’re on holidays! Sigh. Breakfast 730. Tour at 8. Onto 25 seater powerboats and off to the shoreline. 2 hour hike through the jungle. Amazing guide Arand who’s lived here for 30 years and speaks perfect English. Flora and Fauna galore Reminders from our guide include my personal favourites : ‘Put this in your mouth’ ‘Don’t eat that’ ‘Don’t touch that. That could kill you. ‘ ‘Here, drink this’ ‘Don’t step on that’ lol 2 hours flew by as we traipsed through the rainforest hearing so much information about biodiversity and Amazon life. Back to the ship for lunch and a few hours of pool time and a solid sunburn with our new friends from Colorado. Snacks and then onto the boats again and headed for the riverside and several lakes for a couple hours. Macaw. Parrots. Egret. Tricoloured Heron. Three toed Sloth. Red capped Cardinals. Ducks. Hoatzin bird- Two stomachs. One for poisonous leaves to fart at enemies - the other for digesting food - k...
Read more

Thursday April 17th - Day 1

Image
Thursday April 17th - Day 1  After three busy days of teaching and meetings 430-10pm, a quick 4 hour nap and off to the airport in an Uber bound for Toronto. 5 hours later we arrived to a beautiful 10 degree blue sky and 8 hours to kill. Not one to sit still, I twisted Krista’s arm and onto the train headed for downtown! Got a day pass for $12 so that worked out great! Arrived at Union Station and walked under the CN tower and around downtown for an hour before grabbing lunch at Jack Astors. No Blue Jays game today sadly   but a million Leaf fans downtown for the last regular game of the season against Detroit that they managed to win 4-3 in Overtime. We walked along the waterfront to get some steps in and then grabbed a train back to the airport. An hour wait to get into the lounge, bite to eat and boarded at 930 and gone by 10 in a giant 787 for a monster 10 hour flight to São Paulo, Brazil! Spring break 2025 and 26th Anniversary trip is underway!
Read more

Wednesday April 23 Day 7

  Wednesday April 23 Day 7 After breakfast we loaded up the boats and headed for shore to meet the Kombayba tribe of indigenous people. We walked across wide beaches to their outdoor community centre and were introduced to the beautiful Children’s Choir who performed their National Anthem for us. All the tiny villages and homes for an hour in every direction send their kids to school here. The Government has provided significant funding and numerous fairly modern buildings adorn the campus. Kids can either attend school 7-11am or 1-5pm. 7-10pm is adult classes. Elementary students picked up and returned daily. High school kids come Monday and leave Friday. School holidays revolve around low water level months. Casaba potato and fish diet twice a day. Land is sandy. Can’t grow much food. Times have changed since they got electricity 10 years ago and now with this school they have a teacher and a fully trained nurse. Flat head tribe. Board on head from Birth to make flat head and sho...
Read more