And so I was back in the United States of America. This would be
my third trip to this amazing country, but second to the North East States.
Arriving in Philadelphia I was met at the airport by a family
friend. Her apartment was in Manayunk, about 8 miles out of the centre of
Philadelphia and located on the Northern Banks of the Schuylkill River. The
town is the site of the first canal begun in The Unite States (though never
completed) and is named from the language of the native Lenape Indians and
their word for river.
Basing myself in my friend’s flat this would be where I would
discover the fifth most populous city in the USA.
This was my second trip to Pennsylvania but my first real time
discovering its biggest city. The obvious first port of call was the Independence
National Historical Park. This national park is where the Independence Hall,
Liberty Bell and historic buildings associated with the American Revolution
reside.
Instantly, after driving through the bedlam of downtown
Philadelphia I noticed how clean these streets of this area are in comparison
with just two blocks over.
Our first port of call would be the iconic Liberty Bell, which
was commissioned by the London based Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1752 but
cracked when first rung in Philadelphia – and was twice recast but then most
famous ringing supposedly came to mark the vote for independence on July 4th
1776. This is supposedly not true but has, over time, become accepted as fact.
The Bell is part of a larger museum, though I was somewhat perplexed
on how so much could be dedicated to just the bell – but thankfully the rest of
museum explained the USA’s journey to independence.
Just across the park is Independence Hall, the location where
the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were
adopted.
Thankfully the day chosen to visit these historic sites, though
cold, were sunny, but after dinner we retired to the flat and prepare for a
night out in Philadelphia. As with any major city there are plenty of clubs and
bars to experience – and experience them we did!
The next day was far from bright, but the need for exploration
outweighed any hangover and we made our way into the city. We stopped at the
Museum of Fine Art. Firstly, the steps. The steps were those run up by Rocky
Balboa in the film Rocky. A statue of the actor Sylvester Stallone as Rocky
stands at the top of those steps.
We visited the museum and it contains some memorable pieces of
art, including Claude Monet’s ‘Japanese Bridge and Water Lilies’, Vincent Van Gogh’s
‘Vase with twelve sunflowers’ and Edouard Manet’s ‘The Battle of The Alabama
and Kearsarge’.
The next port of call was Philadelphia City Hall. It is an
exuberant building (compared to City Halls back in the United Kingdom) and has
an imposing tower that at the top sits a stature of William Penn – the founder
of Philadelphia. With this statue came the cure of William Penn.
For decades an agreement was made that no building in the city
would stand taller than this statue, until 1987 when the skyscraper One Liberty
Place was completed. Until this year the Philadelphia sports teams had
unprecedented success. From that point, for the next twenty years no
Philadelphia based team won a championship, then in 2007 the Comcast Center was
completed and with it the workers placed a small 4 inch figure of Penn on top
of the building. The next year the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World
Series.
We continued to explore Philadelphia, it’s towering skyscrapers,
shops, bars and restaurants. After several days in this wonderful city it
was time to head further into Pennsylvania and to the family home in Dillsburg.
I had been here before for Thanksgiving, and despite this not being a major
holiday but instead Spring Break, it was still a chance to explore ‘real’ America.
Dillsburg is a quiet town with house spread far apart with
massive amounts of land. We undertook the usual every day tasks and ate out at
a different restaurant each night. We took in a ‘local’ bar, which is exactly
what I was expecting – a hick bar is the term commonly used. This was the kind
of place where the English accent went down a treat and I talked a number of
interesting people that night.
We headed out to Harrisburg one day, the State capital, to take
in the capital building. Inside it is simply staggering. The vibrant colours of
the painting and the sculptures and murals are amazing, as are the numerous
stained glass windows. We explored the corridors, the debating chambers
and the offices in which we were allowed before returning home.
After a few days in Dillsburg the weather was becoming brighter
and we decided to take a trip out of the state and to Baltimore in Maryland.
Upon arrival in Baltimore we visited Fort McHenry, the Fort that defended
Baltimore against the British during the war of independence and it was during
this battle that the poem ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was written that would
become the national anthem of the USA.
The visitor centre was quite interesting – despite being on the
end of some ribbing for being British. The flagpole in the centre of the fort
is where the first official 49 and 50 star flags were flown. We witnessed the
changing of the flag in the fort – I was somewhat amused by the American’s
fears of the flag touching the ground.
From here we ventured into Baltimore and around the harbor area.
It is simply gorgeous, full of small boutique shops and restaurants that
overlook the harbor that leads out into the Atlantic Ocean. We wandered the
boardwalks and experienced the small shops selling handmade crafts, whilst
taking in cups of tea to warm us from the cold air whipping in from the sea.
After a dinner of fresh fish bought into the harbor we returned
to Dillsburg, it was my penultimate night in the USA.
The following day was relaxed. We did though visit a local
attraction in Dillsburg, named Dills Tavern – a tavern that was built in 1794
on a sight that belonged to the Dill Family, along with a farm, mill and
distillery. It was impressive how they had rebuilt this piece of American
history and was fascinating to speak to one of the people behind the project –
though it was amusing when she pointed out to me that this was a relatively new
building by British and European standards.
I
guess she was right. I took in a lot of history on this trip to America,
America’s independence and beyond that historic event – plus some more recent
history. In comparison it is relatively new and America is a young country, but
with that there is so much to explore and to learn and I still have so much to
discover, hopefully in the near future.
