Since we planned a one-day trip, it was essential that we started early, and we sure did as we took a cab at 4.00 am to the Megabus terminal. We arrived at Philly's 30th Street Station early, and perked ourselves up for the long day ahead with a couple of donuts and some coffee from Dunkin Donuts. Then we made the decision to purchase the Philly day-pass (which gives us 8 rides on the bus/subway) and took the subway straight to the heart of Old Philadelphia.
After a little sightseeing along the old structures along the streets, we went to the Independence Visitor Center to get our timed tickets to enter Independence Hall. Now Independence Hall is as historic as our trip can get. What's more -we had an excellent guide who provided us with a wonderful explanation of the significance of the building, as well as a lesson in history. It really is amazing how well these buildings have been preserved, and how fortunate I had been to stand within those four walls.
Our next stop was the Liberty Bell Center, where we saw the actual cracked bell; an international symbol of liberty and freedom.
Unfortunately, the original U.S Mint (which was located in the same area) was closed since it was a Sunday. There was a lot more left though, as yet another mini-adventure of mine led us to Ben Franklin's grave. Now this man is someone I revere as one of the greatest to live, and I have only the utmost admiration for a man of such stature and diverse abilities. His body (along with his wife) though lies in a relatively humble graveyard, alongside a few lesser-known signers of the Declaration of Independence including Benjamin Rush.
After that, we walked westward across some beautiful parks, all the way to Logan Square. Along the way we came across the City Hall, a gothic-style building that exhibits wonderful architectural features.
We then turned back and headed for Elfreth's Alley, one of the earliest residential street that has been preserved almost as it was centuries ago when the city of Philadelphia was first developed by William Penn.
Upon this we went to yet another park (there really were quite a number of them within the city, not too far from one another) in the form of Franklin Square. It was only about 4.00 pm, and since we had pretty much seen the best of what old Philly had to offer, we decided to take a nap on one of the benches facing the fountain as we were 'serenaded' by the repetitious tune of the carousel behind us. After almost two hours, we finally got up to make our way to South Philadelphia aboard a bus so Kwong Hann could taste the best cheesesteak - Philly's trademark food.
We then returned downtown under cloudy night skies for some night shots of the incredible buildings (as well as my dinner at.. you guessed it - Mc Donald's). With no restrictions on tripods in the city, we took shots of the City Hall, LOVE Park as well as Independence Hall before catching one of the last trains back to the 30th Street Station where we waited for our early morning bus back to DC.
Day Six - Botanical Gardens, Arlington Cemetery, Iwo Jima and Departure
Our final day of the trip began with.. well, our departure from Philly to be frank. After a few frenetic moments as doubt was cast in our minds with regards to the actual location of the Megabus terminal, we finally made our 2-hour journey back to DC - this time on a more crowded bus. There were some problems with the arrival at DC though, as a number of roads in downtown Washington DC had been blocked off for the Nuclear Security Summit which began on the same day, and our normal terminal was unfortunately within these high-security areas. Hence, our bus took a detour to another subway station, and by the time we got back to the hostel the sun was already blazing through the morning skies. That translated to no sleep for us, as we reached home, took a bath and checked out so we could make the most of our final hours. What helped us was the fact that the hostel's caretaker, Antonio allowed us to leave our luggage at the hostel till later in the day.
Without further ado, we immediately headed to the National Botanical Gardens, which if you recall was closed by the time we got there on the first day. It wasn't much to shout about, though they did have a varied collection of wild orchids.
Soon we were jettisoning off to Arlington Cemetery - the nation's most sacred burial grounds. The cemetery covers a massive area, and much to our dismay, the tombs of some of America's famed sons were scattered around the place. From US Presidents Kennedy and Taft, to war veterans of the major American wars, to the justices of the US Supreme Court; an aura of greatness engulfs the cemetery. What's more.. there is the historic Arlington House, before which Confederate General Robert E. Lee is buried. The view of DC from the house is simply spectacular..
A short walk away was the iconic Iwo Jima Memorial.. and no, no matter how tired our legs were we could not afford to pass on it.
With that, we were pretty much out of time. We headed back to the hostel for our luggage bags before shooting for the Ronald Reagan International Airport. With that, yet another truly memorable trip drew to a close..
