Philadelphia — Freedom, Food and the Arts! — To whoever is not listening to the sea

We took a quick trip into Philly on the train while staying with Curt's parents in Central PA. Here's some of what we saw...

We walked from 30th St station to Independence Hall, which, in case memory is not serving you at the moment, is where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were signed. (Tickets are free, but are timed and offered on a first come, first served basis).

We also stopped by to visit the Liberty Bell, (no tickets necessary), which was given its current name in 1835, about 80 years after it was forged. Abolitionists took it up as a symbol, noting its inscription was not yet a reality in our young nation: "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof." Suffragists and the civil rights movement also used the Liberty Bell as a symbol.

Next, we headed to the Reading Terminal Market for some lunch, passing Chinatown along the way (which also provided many options for lunch!)

Then we headed up Ben Franklin Parkway, which is chock full of things to do and see — parks, libraries, museums and more.

The famous LOVE sculpture is being refurbished — so we settled for Amor!

Map room at the Philadelphia Central Library.

The Philadelphia Central Library opened in 1927 and the building is absolutely worth a look inside — it's huge! Plus, they give free tours on most days!

The Rodin Museum has the largest collection of Auguste Rodin's work outside of Paris. (Your entrance fee into the Philadelphia Museum of Art is good for two-days and will also get you into this museum.)

Mike Nicholas — the Sequoia National Park

We also visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is the third largest art museum in the country! On exhibit were the photographs of Mike Nichols, a photographer who specializes in capturing wild places in a truly unique way. For a peek at his work see here.

Rocky with the art museum in the background. It's a popular, but frankly not very attractive, sculpture.

If you exit through the back of the museum you'll come upon some sculptures, but also a pathway down to the Fairmont Water Works, which is on the National Register of Historic places. Depending on the time of day, you may see crew teams on the water of the Schuylkill River.

View of the Water Works with the art museum in background.

We took the walking and bike path from the Water Works along the river back to 30th St Station (about 1 mile) to catch our train back to Central PA.

Oh, and one more thing — Philadelphia has a renowned mural arts program. It's amazing! Many are in residential areas, but we caught two in the largely commercial districts we walked through. Mural Arts Philadelphia offer tours regularly — which we highly recommend!