#24 Boston - Just like Rocky Balboa - November 19 05
Yes, my friends, that is exactly what I did - I ran up the stairs of the Art Museum in Philadelphia just like Silvester Stallone in Rocky, and let me emphasize to you that there are very many of those steps. I tried to not look too ridiculous and throw my hands up in the air Sly-style, but decided to content myself with a big grin instead. The hard part is to get the darn stupid music out of your head for the next few days any time any one mentions the word Art Museum, but there you go..... (http://www.jellesen.dk/webcrea/places/america/web/pam.html).
This was the first of many highlights of my trip to the City of Brotherly Love, which I have to say, surprised me in more ways than one - Philadelphia is a perfect combination of Boston and New York City - the historical, traditional bit on the Boston side, and the cosmopolitan, gourmet-food, jazz-club avant-garde style of the Big Apple. Elfreth's Alley to start with: a cute quaint, cobblestone street, reminiscent of Boston's Beacon Hill - it has the claim to be the nation's oldest residential street (http://www.elfrethsalley.org/) and is cozily nestled in Philly's historical Old City neighborhood. Jeremiah Elfreth, a blacksmith, built his first house here in 1713. He eventually became the largest property owner in the area, and rented many of the homes to sea captains, shipwrights and Colonial artisans, including pewter smiths and furniture makers. Other must-sees in the Old City neighborhood include the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall (http://www.nps.gov/inde/home.htm), where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were created. The Liberty Bell (http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_bell.htm) was originally designed to be the bell of choice for the Pennsylvania State House, and cast in London, UK at the White Chapel Foundry. As most of you know, the bell cracked pretty much the minute it arrived in Philadelphia. A new bell was cast in 1753 by local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow using the metal from the English bell. Almost a hundred years later this second bell started to develop a crack which affected its sound (not in a good way), and since George Washington's Birthday was coming up, and the bell needed to be in top shape for the celebrations, repairs were made, but you know how it is - a few hours into the whole shindig, the bell really cracked and that was the end of that. It has not been rung since. With a weight of 2080 pounds the bell is quite impressive in its physical appearance, but even more so as it has been a symbol for the power of liberty over the past 200 years. Its inscription reads "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All The Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof". In 1776 the bell announced the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. It has also been a symbol for the suffragists movement (http://www.suffragist.com/), the anti-slavery and civil rights movements, and has inspired authors, poets, musicians and politicians alike (http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/quotes.html), most notably HRH Moore's sonnet: "Ring loud that hallowed Bell! Ring it long, ring it long; Through the wide world let it tell ;That Freedom's strong..... Ring it, till the slave be free, Wherever chained, wherever chained; Till Universal Liberty, For aye be gained..........". For those of you who are not into the history kinda stuff, how about "If I had a hammer" by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger? "If I had a bell - I'd ring it in the morning- I'd ring it in the evening ... all over this land, - I'd ring out danger -I'd ring out a warning -I'd ring out love between all of my brothers and my sisters - All over this land.... It's a bell of freedom......."
Heading over to the Christ Church Burying Ground http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_christb.htm. one can visit the grave of Benjamin Franklin and his wife Deborah. Franklin was the quintessential Jack of all Trades, not just one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, but also a printer, author, scientist, postmaster, inventor, and diplomat. He was quite revered by his fellow Philadelphians and apparently more than 20,000 mourners attended his funeral. He not only loved his wife, but also was very fond of beer (he is the author of the quote: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy"), so he send a beer mug to good old Deborah with the following inscription: "I fell in love with it at first sight for I thought it look'd like a fat jolly dame, clean and tidy, with a neat blue and white calico gown on, good natur'd and lovely, and put me in mind of - Somebody". That my friends, is dating, Benjamin Franklin style!
Enough history!! Philadelphia offers many modern day distractions, fabulous museums, art, sculptures everywhere including the famous Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture in John F Kennedy Plaza -http://www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2004-09-indiana-LOVE.html.
The food is fantastic in this town! And I am not just talking the Philly Cheese Steaks (http://philadelphia.about.com/library/howto/htmakeacheesesteak.htm) and (the very delectable) Philadelphia Soft Pretzels (http://www.bg-map.com/foods.html). Restaurant highlights included Ly Michael's on North 11th Street, with spectacular Asian Fusion Cuisine, and Zanzibar Blue on Broad Street - a lovely upscale Jazz Bar with gourmet soul food, that will knock your socks off (http://www.zanzibarblue.com/).
The most amazing experience in Philadelphia was a visit to the BodyWorlds exhibit at the Franklin Institute Science Museum - by far the most stunning exhibit I have ever seen (http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/ausstellung_usa.asp). A very controversial show when it first premiered in Europe, this exhibit features real human bodies to " reveal the complexities and individuality of the body that simply can't be shown on conventional models." I now it might sound strange or morbid to imagine that you see real human bodies, but through a process called plastination it is tastefully and aesthetically done, and shows the human body in stunning beauty and perfect function. You must see this!!
Just like Boston, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania definitely have a flair for adorning restaurants and businesses with strange names - best finds were: "Rotten Ralph's" on Chestnut Street, the "Funk-O-Mart" on Market Street, and the "Dosie Dough" Bakery in Lancaster, PA. While we're at it, let's move on to rural Pennsylvania, home of the famous Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located right between Blue Ball and Paradise. (http://www.800padutch.com/intercs.shtml). Also in the area is "Bird in Hand" (I am not making this up!!) (http://www.padutch.com/bih.shtml) and Smoketown.
I had spent the weekend in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit my mom's cousin Louise and her husband Carl. Located in Amish Country or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, this is a lovely area, and with prime fall foliage in full swing, it was a wonderful time to visit. Carl and I started the weekend off with a very gratifying 5-mile run in Lancaster County Park (http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/parks/site/default.asp) along the Conestoga River, up some very substantial hills, through one of the county's many covered bridges, and past beautiful Rockford Plantation http://www.rockfordplantation.org/), which was built in 1794. A visit to Lancaster's fabulous Central Market at Penn Square was next(http://www.lancasterpa.net/photo_tour/historic_buildings/central_market.htm) - the country's oldest publicly-owned, continuously-operated farmers market, followed by a delicious meal at the Walnut Street Grille of the Lancaster Brewing Company (http://www.lancasterbrewing.com/home.html). Located in a former tobacco factory, this was a mighty cool place, with some very good brews (Amish Four Grain, Milk Stout and Hop Hog IPA) and very nice pub grub. A drive across Amish country revealed beautiful landscapes and open farmlands, and maybe a brief glimpse of Amish culture. http://www.800padutch.com/.
After a so-far quite unexpectedly warm November, the East Coast has now officially declared winter - starting out with balmy 70 degree temperatures earlier this week, Philadelphia turned into Chilly Philly over night, with a drop to 30 degrees and Boston of course has followed suit and forced everyone to get their winter wear out of the closets. The sun is out, but don't let that fool you, it is nippy!
My friends, I hope this email finds you all well, and you are enjoying a lovely weekend. I will leave you with a quote about Philadelphia (which is not known to be the safest city around) from former police chief and mayor Frank Rizzo: "The streets are safe in Philadelphia. It's only the people who make them unsafe."
Until then!
pet:)
This was the first of many highlights of my trip to the City of Brotherly Love, which I have to say, surprised me in more ways than one - Philadelphia is a perfect combination of Boston and New York City - the historical, traditional bit on the Boston side, and the cosmopolitan, gourmet-food, jazz-club avant-garde style of the Big Apple. Elfreth's Alley to start with: a cute quaint, cobblestone street, reminiscent of Boston's Beacon Hill - it has the claim to be the nation's oldest residential street (http://www.elfrethsalley.org/) and is cozily nestled in Philly's historical Old City neighborhood. Jeremiah Elfreth, a blacksmith, built his first house here in 1713. He eventually became the largest property owner in the area, and rented many of the homes to sea captains, shipwrights and Colonial artisans, including pewter smiths and furniture makers. Other must-sees in the Old City neighborhood include the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall (http://www.nps.gov/inde/home.htm), where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were created. The Liberty Bell (http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_bell.htm) was originally designed to be the bell of choice for the Pennsylvania State House, and cast in London, UK at the White Chapel Foundry. As most of you know, the bell cracked pretty much the minute it arrived in Philadelphia. A new bell was cast in 1753 by local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow using the metal from the English bell. Almost a hundred years later this second bell started to develop a crack which affected its sound (not in a good way), and since George Washington's Birthday was coming up, and the bell needed to be in top shape for the celebrations, repairs were made, but you know how it is - a few hours into the whole shindig, the bell really cracked and that was the end of that. It has not been rung since. With a weight of 2080 pounds the bell is quite impressive in its physical appearance, but even more so as it has been a symbol for the power of liberty over the past 200 years. Its inscription reads "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All The Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof". In 1776 the bell announced the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. It has also been a symbol for the suffragists movement (http://www.suffragist.com/), the anti-slavery and civil rights movements, and has inspired authors, poets, musicians and politicians alike (http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/quotes.html), most notably HRH Moore's sonnet: "Ring loud that hallowed Bell! Ring it long, ring it long; Through the wide world let it tell ;That Freedom's strong..... Ring it, till the slave be free, Wherever chained, wherever chained; Till Universal Liberty, For aye be gained..........". For those of you who are not into the history kinda stuff, how about "If I had a hammer" by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger? "If I had a bell - I'd ring it in the morning- I'd ring it in the evening ... all over this land, - I'd ring out danger -I'd ring out a warning -I'd ring out love between all of my brothers and my sisters - All over this land.... It's a bell of freedom......."
Heading over to the Christ Church Burying Ground http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_christb.htm. one can visit the grave of Benjamin Franklin and his wife Deborah. Franklin was the quintessential Jack of all Trades, not just one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, but also a printer, author, scientist, postmaster, inventor, and diplomat. He was quite revered by his fellow Philadelphians and apparently more than 20,000 mourners attended his funeral. He not only loved his wife, but also was very fond of beer (he is the author of the quote: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy"), so he send a beer mug to good old Deborah with the following inscription: "I fell in love with it at first sight for I thought it look'd like a fat jolly dame, clean and tidy, with a neat blue and white calico gown on, good natur'd and lovely, and put me in mind of - Somebody". That my friends, is dating, Benjamin Franklin style!
Enough history!! Philadelphia offers many modern day distractions, fabulous museums, art, sculptures everywhere including the famous Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture in John F Kennedy Plaza -http://www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2004-09-indiana-LOVE.html.
The food is fantastic in this town! And I am not just talking the Philly Cheese Steaks (http://philadelphia.about.com/library/howto/htmakeacheesesteak.htm) and (the very delectable) Philadelphia Soft Pretzels (http://www.bg-map.com/foods.html). Restaurant highlights included Ly Michael's on North 11th Street, with spectacular Asian Fusion Cuisine, and Zanzibar Blue on Broad Street - a lovely upscale Jazz Bar with gourmet soul food, that will knock your socks off (http://www.zanzibarblue.com/).
The most amazing experience in Philadelphia was a visit to the BodyWorlds exhibit at the Franklin Institute Science Museum - by far the most stunning exhibit I have ever seen (http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/ausstellung_usa.asp). A very controversial show when it first premiered in Europe, this exhibit features real human bodies to " reveal the complexities and individuality of the body that simply can't be shown on conventional models." I now it might sound strange or morbid to imagine that you see real human bodies, but through a process called plastination it is tastefully and aesthetically done, and shows the human body in stunning beauty and perfect function. You must see this!!
Just like Boston, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania definitely have a flair for adorning restaurants and businesses with strange names - best finds were: "Rotten Ralph's" on Chestnut Street, the "Funk-O-Mart" on Market Street, and the "Dosie Dough" Bakery in Lancaster, PA. While we're at it, let's move on to rural Pennsylvania, home of the famous Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located right between Blue Ball and Paradise. (http://www.800padutch.com/intercs.shtml). Also in the area is "Bird in Hand" (I am not making this up!!) (http://www.padutch.com/bih.shtml) and Smoketown.
I had spent the weekend in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit my mom's cousin Louise and her husband Carl. Located in Amish Country or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, this is a lovely area, and with prime fall foliage in full swing, it was a wonderful time to visit. Carl and I started the weekend off with a very gratifying 5-mile run in Lancaster County Park (http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/parks/site/default.asp) along the Conestoga River, up some very substantial hills, through one of the county's many covered bridges, and past beautiful Rockford Plantation http://www.rockfordplantation.org/), which was built in 1794. A visit to Lancaster's fabulous Central Market at Penn Square was next(http://www.lancasterpa.net/photo_tour/historic_buildings/central_market.htm) - the country's oldest publicly-owned, continuously-operated farmers market, followed by a delicious meal at the Walnut Street Grille of the Lancaster Brewing Company (http://www.lancasterbrewing.com/home.html). Located in a former tobacco factory, this was a mighty cool place, with some very good brews (Amish Four Grain, Milk Stout and Hop Hog IPA) and very nice pub grub. A drive across Amish country revealed beautiful landscapes and open farmlands, and maybe a brief glimpse of Amish culture. http://www.800padutch.com/.
After a so-far quite unexpectedly warm November, the East Coast has now officially declared winter - starting out with balmy 70 degree temperatures earlier this week, Philadelphia turned into Chilly Philly over night, with a drop to 30 degrees and Boston of course has followed suit and forced everyone to get their winter wear out of the closets. The sun is out, but don't let that fool you, it is nippy!
My friends, I hope this email finds you all well, and you are enjoying a lovely weekend. I will leave you with a quote about Philadelphia (which is not known to be the safest city around) from former police chief and mayor Frank Rizzo: "The streets are safe in Philadelphia. It's only the people who make them unsafe."
Until then!
pet:)
posted by My Boston at
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