Arriving in Philadelphia I was immediately confronted by a man spreading cream cheese on a bagel. This couldn't have gone better if I'd tried.
First stop on the tourist trail was the Art Museum, notable for its appearance in Rocky (the montage in which he studies the impressionist movement to suitably stirring trumpets), a fact commemorated by a suitably grotesque statue of a triumphant Balboa just outside.
Next up the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Thankfully they put the bell on display from the street, saving the queues and security searches associated with all major tourist sites so far. I picked up tickets for the Independence Hall tour the following day which were certainly worth the free admission price.
Moving on to the Magic Garden, a mosaiced interpretation of a man's obsessions, which disturbed as much as it delighted. Rather like Gilbert and George he had a somewhat lavatorial obsession and interspersed this with rambling notes of little sense... Until you've read enough of them that they started to fit together and you doubt your own sanity as much as his.
The following day we were expecting showers but instead got the most incredibly humid and hot day during which I ate a Cheese Steak (tasty but rather greasy), trekked to bad town in the form of 10th and Wolf (curse you and your stupid podcast and its frankly insane and unnecessary challenges, Derek and Duncan). In the afternoon we strolled around West Philadelphia hoping for a glimpse of the Fresh Prince, but the area seems to have been rather gentrified and prettily painted since the early 90s and the University campus was rather lush.
All in all it was a nice change of pace from New York, far more relaxed and less of an oppressive presence. Now on to Washington before hitting the road.