The night before we caught a cheap Chinatown bus from DC to Philly, it was hot, crowded and late; luckily the hostel was one of the better ones so far when we arrived at around 10pm.
Of course the whole objective of visiting Philly is to see the birthplace of America, when they declared their independence from the Poms.
This is symbolized by the Liberty Bell (which has a famous big crack in it) and Independence Hall (where the declaration was signed). There are also many other landmarks being Philosophical Hall (where Philly’s famous son Benjamin Franklin was a member of), the US Mint (1 of 6 around the country), Benjamin Franklin’s final resting place, Philly’s famous LOVE sign near the JFK plaza and last but not least the infamous steps up to the Philly Art Museum (which we also entered), site of THAT Rocky scene and which now has a statue of Rocky nearby too.
There is also the National Constitution Center which we didn’t enter as many school tours were (as in DC) taking place. Later that night we visited the steps to the art museum again for a look at the city skyline.
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| Philly |
16/05
Today the plan was to visit USA’s most decorated warship, the battleship New Jersey also called the “Big J”. We didn’t even know it was in the nearby Delaware River if not for a tourist card in the hostel. This battleship had served in WWII, Korean, Vietnam and the first Gulf war, hence the decorations achieved. We had to catch a ferry from Penns Landing with views of Benjamin Franklin bridge across the river to Delaware state where the ship was berthed.
Being the warship geek I am and also Sig (who had already gone on its sister ship in Hawaii), we pretty much spent a few rushed hours (the ship is that big) there as we had another Chinatown bus to catch to New York later that day. Not before earlier that morning visiting the namesake house where the first American flag was designed and created by Betty Ross.
There was much confusion when we arrived in New York that evening as I had misinterpreted my Great Uncle’s instructions (my Chinese is nowhere near to what it should be), and so we ended up by accident taking the longest way possible to his house in Brooklyn…
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| Battleship New Jersey |
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