Philadelphia

We didn’t really know much about Philadelphia, so on our first full day we chose to wander our way to the art gallery and back and just see what we could find along the way. And this is how Philadelphia proved to us that sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

Let me present the evidence.

Exhibit A: The Discoveries

On our walk we stumbled upon: the murals of Philadelphia, the Amor statue, the Rodin Museum, ‘create your own monument’ pedestals, a pop-up dance exhibition by Philadelphia’s premier ballet company, the quirky ‘Your Move’ sculpture of giant board game pieces, a dancing fountain, Philadelphia’s city hall (the largest in the world), and the impressive Washington Monument Fountain.

Exhibit B: The Weather

It was the most beautiful, beautiful day. The colour of the sky was a clear, bright blue, not one cloud anywhere. It wasn’t humid, it wasn’t hot, it was bright and sparkling and beautiful. People were out and about and happy; I like to think because the weather was perfect.

Exhibit C: The Food

A cute little organic bakery with (real) coffee, spicy Cajun at the Reading Terminal markets, sneaky handmade chocolate truffles and a sensational local Greek restaurant.

Exhibit D: The Parade

And the pièce de résistance? As we walked back down Benjamin Franklin Parkway, we saw a marching band. A big, bold, red and white, loud, feathers in their caps, brass blaring, marching band. We stood in the sunshine bouncing along as they marched past. They were followed by a whole parade, including flag twirling rainbow girls, vintage cars, dancers, streetcars and a six banjo double accordion band. Turns out it was Pulaski Day – the annual parade honouring the Polish patriot known as the ‘father of the American Cavalry’.

Philadelphia – right place, right time.

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