The last day of the trip, we finally spent some time in the heart of Philadelphia. To get the best feel of the city we rode the SEPTA (metro) downtown. Our first stop was the Independence Hall Visitor Center to get tickets for the tour.
Kobe insisted on getting a picture with Phillie Phanatic, the Phillies mascot. We had some time to kill before our tour so we visited the Liberty Bell and walked around a bit.
Independence Hall
Inside
Our tour guide was pretty funny.
Congress Hall, where the transfer of power from the first president of the U.S. to the second, occurred. I remember the tour guide saying that there was a lot of concern as to whether it would happen smoothly or if there would be conflict, however George Washington was more than happy to step down and let John Adams take over.
After our tours, we walked to the U.S. mint only to be turned away for construction :(. We also walked through China town on our way to Reading Terminal. My dad was on the hunt for a Chinese wood box puzzle, but nobody in any shop had ever heard of them. They must be called something else in China!
After our unsuccessful search, we went to Reading Terminal Market for lunch. This has to be one of my favorite things about Philadelphia. I wish I had taken pictures to show the crazy assortment of shops here (it's like a ginormous indoors farmer market), but it really is a cool cultural experience. The best pretzel I've ever tasted came from there.
Philadelphia is an interesting city with a lot of history and culture as well as dirty streets and strange people. It was fun to show my family around, even if we only saw a few things.
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