We've had lots of snow in Philly, but it's been a really great time catching up with my Grandparents here. We have stayed at their place not far outside the city in Bryn Mawr. On Monday Miki and I headed off into the city where we spent most of the day absorbed at the National Constitution Center. It was a great interactive museum that taught us lots both about the Constitution and American history and really put the culture we are encountering into context. It was a freezing day so nice to be indoors! We also went to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch, which is full of lots of great eateries. That night my Grandparents took us for dinner at a fabulous Chinese place (one of the best in the country) yum!!

On Tuesday we drove out to the Brandywine River Museum with my Grandma. My driving was drastically better than in Providence, should be fine by the time we get going in California. The Museum is full of art by the Wyeth family whom lived in the area. There was a display of N.C Wyeth's Civil War paintings, but the highlight was his son, Andrew Wyeth's paintings. We had seen one of them at MoMA in New York and had been struck by it, so it was great to learn about him and see more of his work. His paintings are very detailed using tempera technique, yet portray simple and beautiful scenes. The museum gave beautiful views of the Brandywine river and outside was the statue of Helen the Pig, which is infamous in my family! After a hearty American (ie. massive) lunch at a nearby diner we headed back to Bryn Mawr for a nice walk around the neighbourhood. That night Mik and I cooked up some pasta we had brought from Italy.

We woke up on Wednesday to a thick blanket of snow outside and it continued to snow for most of the day, so it was a good chance to have a relax! We went to the movie theatre, but it was closed due to snow, so ended up watching a few movies.

When this morning rolled around 15 inches of snow had been recorded, however the sun was out today and it wasn't too cold, so Mik and I headed into town. They are remarkably efficient at clearing the snow here in US! We had a walk in town, wandering around the museum area and seeing the Benjamin Franklin Memorial before getting lunch again at the Reading Terminal. I sampled the Philly Cheese Steak, a massive roll with steak strips, cheese and onions. Delicious, but you wouldn't want that too often. They had a statue of a pig in the middle of the market, perhaps as a warning to not having too many Cheese Steaks! We then headed down to Independence Mall, where the Liberty Bell is housed as well as the Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and the Constitution written amongst many others of America's most historic landmarks. Unfortunately the interiors were closed due to the snow, but we could peek in at the Liberty Bell from the outside and the old buildings looked beautiful in the snow. So tonights our last night in Philly, we've had a great time and it's gone way too fast!!