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| Philadephia Freedom | | Date Created: Jun 13, 2005, 01:28 PM |
We made a weekend trip into the city of Philadelphia last week, mostly to celebrate Jen's birthday, but also just to get away for a bit.
On the way there we'd heard an Elton John song that said, "Been to Philadelphia the day it was closed", and wondered what that meant. We were soon to find out.
I've been to the City of Brotherly Love a couple of previous times in my life. Once on a class trip during Bicentennial Year, and once again with some friends a few decades hence. I always loved visiting the site of the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall, where our Declaration of Independence was ratified and signed. As fans of the movie "1776", we had always discussed making a trip there to see the actual room in person and visit some of the historical sites.
Well, we enjoyed the city. We arrived on a slightly rainy day, but the city was nice and we walked through for a good meal, and enjoyed being away in a place that (for once) really had nothing to do with Walt's Famous Mouse. We looked forward to taking in the historical sites on Saturday.
After a great brunch at the inappropriately named restaurant, "Continental", which had a swingly modern decor and some great food, we made our way over to the Old City, anxious to visit Independence Hall, only to find... That you could only get INSIDE with a PASS, and that all passes had been given out that day. In other words, we went to Philadelphia the day it was closed. (Not really, but sure felt like it). The influx of tourist is probably due to packages based upon the Nicholas Cage movie, "National Treasure", which was a big hit last year and featured the city into its plot. Haven't seen that one yet, but I'm sure I'll enjoy spotting the familiar sites.
We did get to see the Liberty Bell up close. Got to get to the other Government buildings, but once we found we couldn't see what we'd wanted to see, whch was the interior of Independence Hall, the house of Congress, the main set piece for "1776", then a lot of the lustre fell. We simply ambled through the city and instead enjoyed some resplendent amenities of the property we stayed at.
Still, the trip was fun for the sake of getting away. That weekend felt like a whole week, especially that Saturday, that thankfully never seemed to end.
We wrapped things up with an exquisite (i.e. expensive) dinner at the "Fountainview Restaurant", rated the best in Philadelphia, and ultimately enjoyed our getaway.
But see, this "closed" thing is the reason we choose Disney for our trips. At least you know what you're getting ahead of time.
(Below: Independence Hall. Open all Year. Except when we got there. At least they let you get close enough to it and visit the buildings beside it.) |
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 The Liberty Bell, still a striking symbol of Freedom, but ironically it's enlosed in a glass structure that one can only enter after enduring Airport-tight security (including X-ray machines). Indeed, the Liberty Bell is no longer free itself. I remember as a boy being able to see it in a different location, as we had made a class trip up to it, and it was not yet encased in glass.
Ever wonder what it truly stands for?
Well, the Liberty Bell is a symbol of American Liberty, perhaps the best known one after the Statue of Liberty. Cracked upon it's first ringing, the bell was also rung on July 8, 1776, to summon the public to the presentation of the Declaration of Independence, the historic document that formed this nation.
I understand there is an exact replica of it in the Magic Kingdom. Can you believe in all of my trips there, I've never realized this? I'll have to hunt it down next trip. |
| One of the interesting things we found about Philadelphia was it's architecture. Historic, archaic buildings resided alongside fashionable skyscrapers that rival those of any city. Most intersting to me was this one, which gleamed like a newer, all glass version of the Empire State Building. |
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