Phila Philadelphia

Last weekend, I took a day trip with my friend Olivia to one of the oldest cities in America, Philadelphia!  It was great to get out of the city for a day and see some new scenery!  This city is filled with history, and i'll tell you a little about what we saw.

1) Independence Hall:  This is where our founding fathers drafted & signed the Declaration of Independence as well as signed the Constitution. Some of the most famous historical moments in our nation's history began here!! Philadelphia also served as our nation's capital until Washington, DC was built after 1800.  So for 10 years, Congress, the President (then Washington) and the Supreme court all functioned in buildings in and around Independence hall.

2)  The Liberty Bell: not much to say about this, other than it is in this building dedicated to the bell (to shelter it from weather) It was mostly interesting to learn about the history of the bell, such as how it got its crack and when it was taken down from its perch, in the tower of Independence Hall.

3) South Street : a cool, eccentric strip of boutiques, stores, and restaurants on the south end of the city.  We spent a lot of time walking around, window shopping, and eating my first Philly Cheesesteak! it was pretty good :)

4) Other things we saw included the Declaration House (the house Jefferson stayed in while in Philadelphia that he drafted the Declaration in), Christ Church (where founding fathers including Benjamin Franklin are buried), and LOVE Park in downtown.  --->

It was a great day! the city was cute with all their row houses and everything, and it was actually strange to be in a city where the buildings are taller than 10-15 stories! In DC, it is law that no building can be taller than the Capitol. The streets were cobblestone for the most part. and it was hot (as usual) and a bit humid because of drizzling but we missed most of it while we were inside touring things!  It is 3 hours from Philadelphia, and after around 9pm we headed for the long bus ride home!

I had one full week left in DC to look forward to!