The City of Brotherly Love

Day 10 

Philadelphia 

Today we spent the day exploring Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We decided to take our time to get ready this morning so we didn't head out until 9:30. We are staying in New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia. Instead of driving to Philly, trying to find a parking spot, and then paying for parking, we decided to take the train. We took the PATCO line into Philadelphia. For a roundtrip ticket it only cost $5.20 and parking was free if you arrived after 10 am. It worked out GREAT! The train took us to 8th and Market street and the Independence Visitor Center is at 6th and Market. 

At the visitor center we picked up our ticket for the free tour of Independence Hall and then we purchased tickets for a hop on hop off bus tour of the city. We had about an hour and a half before our Independence Hall tour so we decided to take the bus all around the city to get our barring and figure out what we wanted to visit. It was awesome! We got seats on the top and cruised around town. We passed by Chinatown and saw this beautiful gate. 

City Hall is beautiful! 

There are a lot of murals around the city. They had a problem with graffiti around the town so they asked for them to do murals or go to jail. They decided to make the murals. They are really beautiful. 

According to the tour guide this statue is George Washington. It used to be a German soldier but someone important was coming into town and there was no statue of George Washington. So, to solve that problem, they took the head off of an existing statue and replaced it with George Washington. It might be true!

This statue is supposed to be Joan of Arc. The story they told us of this statue is that the girl that they used as a model was born on the same day as Joan of Arc, burned to death, and died on the same day as Joan of Arc. So, it is considered to be haunted! Lots of things are haunted in Philadelphia.

This is the Penitentiary. They would put the prisoners in solitary confinement. 

This is the old Mason Temple. There are no steal beams holding this church up. 

William Penn is on top of city hall. 

I just liked the name of this place! Paddy Whacks! 

Inside Independence Hall. This is the old courtroom. 

Standing where history was made! The most historical and patriotic square mile in the United States!

George Washington sat in that middle chair for the Declaration of Independence!!! The Constitution was also signed in this room!!

This was our quirky tour guide. He was so sarcastic!

Enjoying history!

The liberty bell

Now to the BEST part of our day. Carmen's Cheesesteaks in Reading Station. We were told on our tour not to go to Gino's or Pats because they are only famous because of their rivalry. We were told to go to Carmen's instead. We go up to the counter to order and were immediately at ease with how to order because the man behind the counter walked us through it. The customer service was amazing and the food even better! At the end of our meal we got a picture with Carmen himself and were even able to go behind the counter to "cook" a Cheesesteak.

Game pieces!! 

Rocky Steps! 

It was a great day in Philadelphia!!