Philadelphia, a place I have been to before for school field trips, hockey and baseball games, as well as a few concerts. However, my trip to Philadelphia was very different this time because rather then having adults tell me where I was going; I was able to tell them what my worry-free day was going to consist of. No schedules, other then to be at my final destination, the Viet Nam Memorial, by 4:22 pm; for those few hours, my partners and I were free to travel and discover a city on our own.
We had planed our trip in advance and we saw and did everything we had wanted to. Our bus driver delivered us to City Hall and as I tried to get my bearings for the city, we tried very hard to find our first stop, the Liberty Bell. After five minutes we knew we made a wrong turn because we were in a bad neighborhood that was completely backed up with traffic. This is where our first real Philadelphia experience happened, a woman walking down the road was arguing very loudly with another woman who was stuck in the congestion of cars. Let’s just say I learned a few new words as we walked past the bickering between the two ladies.
Finally, I found my bearings and we found our way to the Liberty Bell, and although we were excited to see the bell in all of its glory, we were bored after thirty seconds. Of course my partners and I realize that this bell has so much history to it but it is only a bell and we had better things to do with our time.
We left the Liberty Bell and were immediately offered a lovely horse and carriage ride by fifteen different drivers and their horses. We declined, as we told them that we wanted to see Philly on foot and we only had twenty one dollars. With that, we traveled to Franklin Court, one of my favorite places to go in the city, for many reasons. One of these reasons is that you can see where Benjamin Franklin’s house once stood as well as being able to see a real, old-fashioned printing press. Franklin Court also has an underground museum, which is fun for kids; I suppose that is why I like it so much. In this museum, there are many telephones, with a list of the phone numbers for many historical people. I decided to drop in on George Washington and Mark Twain; I’m pleased to report that they are both doing fine. Everything about Franklin Court is remarkable with its cobble stone floors and old brick buildings; I loved every moment of it, However, none of what I mentioned can compare to the best part of Franklin Court: Ben Franklin’s privy pit. Yes, the place where Benjamin Franklin spent many moments of his life “reflecting.” This encounter and fascination actually began on a previous trip to Philadelphia in fifth grade when oddly enough, my goal was to write a travel brochure for Historical Philadelphia. My travel group consisted of myself, my best friend, two icky boys, my father, and my teacher. My best friend and I had made a pact, before the trip, to throw the icky boys down Ben Franklin’s privy pit, but to our dismay, it was covered with glass and our plan failed. Every time I think about Ben Franklin’s privy pit or Philadelphia in general I have to laugh and reminisce about that wonderful journey I had with my class that day. However, I cannot stay in the past forever, and my partners for this trip just looked at me funny when I revealed my fascination with the privy pit.
After our unique experience at Franklin Court, we embarked on our hour-long journey to get the “best cheese steaks in the world”, and they did not disappoint. On our way to Geno’s though, we traveled through the Italian Market where I found exactly what I was looking for, three eggplants for a dollar. Again, while that sounds odd, I had mentioned my previous experience with farmer’s markets to my partners and told them that we could most likely find three eggplants for a dollar. My one partner, Alyssa laughed and doubted me, but when she saw them on the street she could not believe it. Finally we made it through the Italian market, which was surprisingly run by more Spanish speaking people rather then Italians, and we had arrived at Geno’s the best Cheese Steak in Philadelphia and the world.
When we finally found the back of the line, the man in front of us asked us if we were going to try and conquer the line too. We all nodded and asked the man and his wife where they were from, they responded that they came to see the art museums and they were from Rhode Island, and they also knew nothing about Geno’s before that day. We chatted for a while with them as they told us that they are artists who have visited New Jersey for art conventions as well as tattoo conventions. Even though they had a rough exterior and toughness about them, it was obvious that they were genuinely kind people, even before we started speaking to them. On the other hand, the guys behind us were in town for the Philadelphia Flyers game and I knew not to speak to them. In my family, my dad, sister and I are all Washington Capitals’ fans, and my mom is a Flyer’s fan. I have been to a Flyers versus Capitals game before in Philly; I was one of three Capitals’ fans there, my dad and my sister being the other two, and let’s just say that when Flyers Fans travel in packs, its best to avoid them. Listening to their conversation though, they meant business when it came to Geno’s. After all, it is the place they go to before any and all games they go to see in Philadelphia.
At last, we reached the front of the line; it was an American Cheese Steak and Freedom Fries for me. Even though, I wasn’t a huge fan of the fries, the Cheese Steak was to die for. After overindulging in the greatest lunch we began walking back through the Italian Market to South Street, where we went into a no-name deli to get ice cream before arriving at St. Peter’s Church. Just before crossing the street to the church we were cut off yet again by the most annoying tour bus in the world, The Duck Tour. With their annoying quackers and screaming kids I thought I would go insane, but I suppose that is what happens when you tour a historical city. We wandered around the graveyard and talked to a guide who informed us that George Washington had attended church there whenever he came to Philadelphia. As we continued wandering the grounds we found the Orange Trees that Lewis and Clark had brought to the Church.
After marveling at our discoveries, we decided to go to the Viet Nam Memorial and rest before we got picked up. Sitting upon a bench, I sadly was unable to relax due to bumble bee trying to have a staring contest with me. After a long battle, I won and the bee flew away. Katsu, Alyssa, and I then heard very familiar voices and walked over to find our friends from Peddie sitting on opposite sides of the parabola-shaped wall talking into the wall which allowed the people on the other side hear them. It was physics at work, but to them, it was “the magic wall;” we all embraced it and enjoyed our goofy conversations we had using this wall. Suddenly, we spotted our bus, our journey was over, and all that is left is the vivid memories of being an experienced traveler.
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