Philadelphia...

It's always nice to get away from campus for a while and get a change of scenery. For a history major studying Colonial American History, Philadelphia is a particularly exciting change of scenery. 

We departed from the CAC at 9:00ish and made the drive of roughly an hour to Philadelphia. We parked up at the visitor centre, so the first thing we did was get tickets for a tour of Independence Hall later in the afternoon and then made our way to the Liberty Bell. The queue wasn't too long and I managed to divert around posing couples and selfies at the bell to get an unobstructed view. 

From the Liberty Bell we set out to find food, having not had any breakfast and needing something to warm ourselves against the cold wind. Stopping at a small diner we had some of the hottest, freshest food we've had since coming to the states - me and Sam going for the iconic Phili Cheesesteak.

After food, we walked around the historic district and shops for a while before heading back to Independence Hall for 2:00pm. Getting there early, I showed my British authority when holding the head of the queue. Swift tutting and evil stares were shown to anyone who dared to attempt to evade  queue etiquette, entering the hall without a ticket, or jumping the line. However, I held strong and was through the doors first - I cannot describe how satisfying that is, silently laughing at everyone else's lack of forward planning and queue prestige. 


Anyway, the hall itself was great to see, but the tour guide could only have been more boring and dry if she'd tried - even I, who has learned the stuff and thinks the history is great found what she had to say dull. But, once the screaming babies were removed from the room following more stares of disapproval, we made quick work of getting into rooms first to take photos and then moving to the back so that we could get a head start on the public. 

Once we had looked around some more, it was time to think about getting dinner, which on a Sunday in Philadelphia is difficult as many places either advertise themselves as bars and therefore are over 21's only, or are closed on a Sunday. After some hunting around, however, we ended up at an Italian that offered great food and surroundings at a good price. We had a relaxing meal, with plenty of time before we had to be back at the car.

Getting back to the car park at around 8:00pm, we headed for home, stopping off for a much needed toilet stop on the way - I think this is becoming a theme with me and longer journeys.