Tag Archives: Philadelphia

On the Big Bus tour of Philadelphia

A Day in Philadelphia: Chinatown and a Big-Bus Sightseeing Tour

Last summer I decided to take the double-decker Hop-Off-Hop-On-Big Bus tour of Philadelphia that highlights the important sights and locales of this historic city. I had never taken this tour before and it was on my ‘bucket list’. I also had a sudden craving for sweet, juicy, tropical fruits, something exotic, something different. Why not visit Chinatown while I was in Philadelphia where there are several good grocery stores? I may just find what I was looking for. And after that, I would stop for a delicious lunch. This would be a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. So, one fine sunny morning I set out.

The Chinatown Arch, Philadelphia.
The Chinatown Friendship Gate, Philadelphia.
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With Signers in Signers' Hall

My Educational Trip to the National Constitution Center and Elfreth’s Alley, Philadelphia.

It was mid-March, 2022. Winter was drawing to a close and spring was in the air, the days brighter and warmer. I was restive from being cooped up too long. Cabin fever can sometimes get to me. So I decided to use an unusually warm day for a trip to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. I had missed seeing it during my trip last year to Independence Hall and I was raring to make up.

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Philadelphia Museum of Art.

An often overlooked Gem: The Art Museum, Philadelphia.

The Pergamon, Smithsonian, Louvre and British Museum, I have seen them all. But, nearer to home, in Philadelphia, there is a museum I have often heard about, but never visited. What a shame! So, on an unusually mild day in September, I decided to correct this inadvertent oversight.

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George Washington in a Roman Toga, Portrait Gallery, Philadelphia

The Portrait Gallery and Constitution Center, Independence Hall, (Part 3)

Continued from Court House and Liberty Bell, Part 2

Was that a life-sized statue of President George Washington in a toga? The white, purple edged, flowing robe would have been the apparel of choice in the Roman senate or on the steps of the Roman forum in the days of Julius Caesar about two thousand years ago. But here in the United States of America it seemed a little incongruous! This piqued my curiosity. I entered the Portrait Gallery adjacent to Independence Hall, Philadelphia. 

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The Court House, Independence Hall, Philadelphia

The Court House and Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1

After our tour of the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed, we crossed over to the courthouse directly opposite. This once served as the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The setting was like any present day courtroom with one notable exception, the iron cage. What was that? What was it used for? I was curious to find out.

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