March 27, 2018

Visiting Philadelphia: A Guide Pt. 1

We love to take long weekend trips. I think 4 days is just the right amount of time to balance budget and enough time to experience a new city. On our last trip to Philadelphia we planned it for a Saturday to Tuesday. I had been to Philly before, but I was young and I don’t remember much of the trip. When I was growing up we went to Pennsylvania yearly in the summer, but it was to visit my Great Grandfather in Bedford which about 3 hours west of Philly.

Once we made it to Philly  we had a not so friendly welcome to the Air bnb we booked, so we had to find alternate lodging. Once we figured all that out we headed out to find a place for dinner and we ended up at this small Irish Pub. It was a nice little restaurant, but it was very dark inside and they they put at this very dark table in the corner away from the very few patrons that were actually there. The chairs were uncomfortable and it was hard to see, and the food wasn’t even that good. It was a disappointment, but luckily it was the only disappointing meal of the trip.

Our fist plan of exploration was to head to the Independence National Historical Park. We started our adventure at the Liberty Bell and hoped the line wasn’t too long. We lucked out and it only took about 20 min to get through the line. The Liberty bell is displayed inside a brick building in front of a wall of glass windows. It’s not a terribly exciting exhibit, but it’s cool to see in person the items that shaped our history.

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Next we walked across the courtyard to go visit Independence Hall to see where the Declaration on Independence was signed. Here’s a tip we didn’t know before hand it’s free to tour the Hall, however you can’t just walk in, you have to go to the Visitors Center and get a free ticket for a designated time. The visitor center was back by the Liberty Bell, after a short walk around the park we had our tickets and were off on our tour.
The building houses much more than just the room where the Declaration was signed, there’s also the first courtroom. It’s interesting to see how the legal system has changed over the years. There is a cage in the center of the room where the defendant would be locked in during the hearing, while the lawyers sat at a round table in the front of the room and argued. The highlight of the tour is the room where both the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were signed.
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After our tour we walked through Washington Square, a beautiful 6.4 acre park that was one of the original five squares of the city design. The park houses the “Tomb of the the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier,” a monument to honor all the soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War. The tomb does include remains that were found in the park when it was a burial ground during the war. It’s unknown if they are Colonial or British. They’re are still tons or remains buried in the park and it’s said from time to time some are uncovered during construction projects.
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One notable thing that is also found in the National Historical Park is the building that was the First Bank of the United States. It was one of the three major financial innovation proposed in 1791. The idea was supported by the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. The establishment  of the first bank helped establish financial order, credit, and resolve the issue of currency in the United States.
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Our walking tour then took us down towards the river to find the Betsy Ross House. It’s located right in the middle of the historic district at 239 Arch St. This is said to be the place where good Ol’ Betsy sewed the stars onto the first American Flag. It’s also where she is buried along with her husband. The house is a tiny little house tucked in between the new building of a growing city. It’s It was this tiny little house and kind of looked out of place in the middle of the big city buildings. It’s $5-$7 to tour the house depending on whether you choose self guided or audio tour. It’s worth to learn a little more about the history of our country.
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We passed Christ Church on the way. A pretty little church that is one of the oldest in the US, dating back to 1695.
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 Adjacent to the church is the Christ Church Cemetery.  The oldest grave in this cemetery dates back to 1721. This is where five of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were laid to rest. Most notably is the grave of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin’s grave is in the North East corner of the cemetery along with the rest of his family. You can find it by the opening in the brick fence that was replaced with an iron gate at the request of his descendants. They wanted visitors to be able to view his grave at all times regardless of whether the cemetery was open or closed. The grave is covered in pennies that visitors have left as a sign of remembrance. I thought this was interesting since Lincoln is on the penny. I did a little research and found that it is because on of Benjamin Franklin’s famous sayings is, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
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This was the end of the first day of Philadelphia adventures. We headed back to our hotel and made a stop at Franklin square Franklin Square. The tour app I downloaded said it was a “must see.” I’m not sure why because all that was there was this pretty fountain below, a putt putt golf course, and a carousel.
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On our walk back to our hotel we stopped by the Love statue. You can’t visit The City of Brotherly Love and not get your picture taken in this iconic spot. The It’s right in the middle of the city and outside City hall. It finds it’s home in the John F. Kennedy Plaza, better known as “Love Park.”
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That brigs me to the end of our first listing of things to do in Philadelphia. Make sure to come back for the second listing of things next time. We love Philadelphia because there’s so much to do and so much history to experience. I can’t wait to share day 2 with you!!
If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss the next stop in our list of travel tips and ideas be sure to join our e-mail list over there on the right side. We love making new friends and sharing our travels with you. If you enjoyed reading about our travels do us a favor and share our blog with your friends and family!
Looking for more ideas? Check out some of our other trips: New Orleans, Williamsburg, Singapore, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Till next time!
Philadelphia

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