50 Hours in Philadelphia
Art, dining, family, friends and Rocky!
There is far more than its canonical status in American history that recommends Philly. The city’s architectural gems span an array of styles, and its broad boulevard winding through the City of Brotherly Love’s cultural institutions definitely feels very European. It should. The Benjamin Franklin Parkway was designed by French landscape architect Jacques Gréber, who modeled it after the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
We went to visit a very dear, longstanding family friend, one of my mom’s sorority sisters—and the bonus was seeing her daughters, whom I haven’t seen since they were tweens who came to help me pack up for college.
We really liked how some of the no-longer-used municipal buildings around City Hall have been turned into luxury hotels. Our visit was before Thanksgiving, so the city was in the process of setting up and opening various holiday markets, which further lent a European flair. There was even a double-decker merry-go-round being assembled.
The dining scene in Philly is great, although we didn’t really take any food photos this time. You’ll just have to take our word for it; you can eat well!
We’ll be doing separate posts about some of the amazing art that we saw, but just know that the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which runs from City Hall to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is lined with numerous museums including the Barnes Foundation, the Calder Gardens, and the Rodin Museum. There is also the Institute of Contemporary Art on U Penn’s campus.
One of the biggest draws at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is the Rocky statue—or rather, the Rocky statues. When we were there last month, there were actually two. There is one before you ascend the stairs, which is permanent. And at the top of the stairs, where Rocky (in the original 1976 movie) ends a triumphant early morning training run, is another Rocky statue that is apparently owned by Sylvester Stallone himself. Both were very popular for tourists to take photos with, but we demurred.
Don’t you demur, though. Go visit Philadelphia! There is so much to recommend it. You can even do your own early morning training run up the art museum steps—if you want to.