Summer Trip Part 7 - Philadelphia

After New York, we drove to Philadelphia. Our first stop was the Rocky steps. The Rocky steps lead up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We did watch Rocky a couple of weeks before the trip. Although our children did enjoy some of the training scenes and the final boxing match, most of it was pretty boring to them. There was also some swearing and a few inappropriate themes, so it is not a movie I would recommend, especially for children.  

Then we walked to the Philadelphia temple. This is in the downtown area, like New York's temple, but a much different style. We liked how it matched some of the revolutionary period buildings in the city.

Our last stop in Philadelphia for the day was the Reading Terminal Market. We got some donuts that were amazing. I also got a pretzel that was filled with cheesesteak. I got this the last time I went to Philadelphia and it was just as good as I had remembered over the years.

The next morning we got breakfast from another donut shop that was highly recommend. It was just a block a way from the Airbnb that we were staying in. They were okay, but not nearly as good as the donuts we got at the Reading Terminal Market. Our Airbnb was pretty nice - definitely nicer than the only other Airbnb we stayed in on the trip (outside of Niagara Falls). 

The rest of the day we spent sightseeing some of the more historic sites of the city. We started by seeing the outside of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

This is Benjamin Franklin's grave.

Betsy Ross's house.

Elfreth's alley - the oldest inhabited street in America.

Christ Church - where George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and others attended church.

This was the building where the First Congress was held. It was here that the colonies got together and wrote up a draft of expectations that were sent to the King of England. They threatened revolution if the demands were not met.

We were told that these chairs were actually present and used during that first congress. All of the children wanted to have their turns sitting in them.

Ethan and Rebecca enjoying their stroll.

The second U.S. bank. They had an art museum inside with portraits of early leaders of the country. We walked by the first U.S. bank too, but it was closed for renovations.

Inside Independence Hall. We had to get our tickets well in advance due to COVID-19. I am glad we did though. Many of our children really like the movie National Treasure, so visiting Independence Hall was a big highlight. We didn't get to climb on the roof to find Benjamin Franklin's glasses though.

Inside the senate and house meeting hall right next to Independence Hall. The tour guide told us some interesting stories, like about a fist fight that broke out between two of the senators during the early years of our country.

That evening we got some Philly Cheesesteaks. They were delicious. We got there just in time to order their last ones for the day - they ran out of buns on our order.

Philadelphia was a lot of walking, but still a lot of fun. We enjoyed all of the history sites that we got to see.