Perhaps you were like me. You live in New York. You know Philly exists. You know it's pretty close to New York. You know you should go there and see it. But nothing really seems to pull you there. So you end up taking 5 trips to Boston, 2 to DC, 3 to Indiana, 1 to Long Island, 10 to New Paltz (well, that's just me), etc. Anywhere but Philadelphia.
Why? Maybe it's that people get shot there, right? Don't they? Isn't it the grey city where Rocky lived for 15 movies where people kept getting into fights? (maybe that was just Rocky) Or the place where the Fresh Prince was born and raised? On the playground was where he spent most of his days?
But mostly, for New Yorkers (and many Bostonians), the reason is simply that it's not New York. So why would you go?
Let's just say Philly has polished up it's old image...
That's the world-class art museum where Rocky ended his famous training run. When I went up the steps, there were no throngs of people cheering (except Jerre), but turning around, this is what you see...
Philly is nice! Huh. You can walk almost anywhere. It's got a real old town full of cool streets, a new city where lawyers slave away in well architected glass towers, a river where you can sit and enjoy a coffee (or a pint)...
And alllllll kinds of American history. Like a famous bell with a crack in it. The old Supreme Court (where we learned exactly what passing the bar meant). Lovely parks, bars, restaurants. And this guy! Who broke out into Freebird at our demand! (just kidding)
Anyway, you get the idea. It's not your momma's Philly anymore. The thing I think I liked most about it was that when you were there you didn't feel like it was trying to be NY. They don't want to be that crazy city. They like being Philly. I had a cheesesteak. It was good! And you can see it all on the Philadelphia Segway Tour! Cool!
Go check it out!
Oh, and in serious contrast again to Philly...I'm off to India again at the end of the week! Will keep you up to date...
Cheers,
Dan
