Philadelphia

The train to Philly wasn't a 'long' one but it seemed like it was due to us running late. Its a bit of a pain when you think there may be a chance to get off at some point during the evening but the evening slowly turns to morning and you realise you may as well go to bed and wake up at your new destination. The train run itself wasn't that bad, though admittedly a bit rough. I helped Alice to trim Magic (well I think I helped) which is easier said than done. He is a wriggly little thing. When we were stationary at one point I tried to do my wii fit, but i just as it gets to the test 'stay as still as possible' the train lurches forward, resulting in my age not being far off retirement. We also passed some nice scenery this week, rivers and meadows and a prison. I'm really not sure what prison we past but I expect the crime rate is quite high in that area just because people want to go and stay there; baseball courts, really nice gardens and greenhouse and I'm not 100% sure but I guess the inmates have more space than most people on this train. For quite a while we ran along side the Hudson River and there where some amazing views and interesting stuff to see.



We caught the circus bus to the building on the first day here and found it was right next to the subway which was a major bonus when you are trying to work out which bus to catch and from which side of the road. We didn't do much once we got in to town, just got a feel for the city and also met up with Fanny (from La Fanfare) who just happened to be in town to see an Art exhibition. Considering she lives in Paris it was a great coincidence and great to spend time with her.

I'm so pleased we were here for more than one week and that Tweed had time off so we got to do more stuff all together. On our first day here Willow saw some of the duck tours and was adamant that she wanted to go on one of them. It was quite good fun and you got to here quite a bit about the history of Philadelphia. How did Benjamin Franklin fit everything he did into his life time? The water part of the tour on the Delaware River was more of a token gesture though, it was over very quick and we went very slow but fun all the same. Of course the favourite part of it for Willow was the duck bill whistle, called a 'wacky quacker' and quacking at everyone, we even got her a special edition bill in pink. The bills are great for the tour, but seriously a few days later (actually a few hours later) the novelty had worn off!



One of the streets the duck went down was South Street, which I suppose you would describe as the hip and happening part of town. We went there a few times, does that mean I'm hip and happening, hmm maybe not. Still it was full of great shops and bars and also one of my favourite stumble upon of all time, 'Isaiah Zagar's Magic Garden'. I'm sure lots of people don't get it but I thought it was great and Willow just kept saying amazing over and over, so I think she liked it also.




We visited China Town.
We went to Ikea, more than once.
We posed with the iconic Love sculpture.
We played with giant Monopoly and ludo pieces and sat on giant dominoes.
We said “Hi” to Rocky, Tweedy ran up the steps and did the pose at the top, I stayed at the bottom to take the picture (like I'm fit enough to run up there)
We had a Philly cheesesteak but wasn't that impressed, maybe we had a bad one.
We saw the Liberty Bell.
We splashed in fountains, Willows favourite was Logan Circle it had a turtle.
We went to a couple of parties.
We did so much.



And apart from the circus bus to the arena and the train from the arena to down town we did it all on foot, ya for a pedestrian city, thank you Philadelphia. I really liked Philly and it seemed a more livable city than New York and not just because of the cost.