Philadelphia is a lovely city, not too tall, and the architecture is superb. We travelled down from Boston  .  The morning was pretty wet but we were travelling along a highway, so little impact on us. We are amazed at the number of freight trucks sitting idle in parking lots.  Maybe the recession has impacted on this.  The weather cleared by lunch and we were able to see Manhattan in the distance as we passed by New York.(in the far distance). We watched a video as we came in to Philly. It starred Nicholas Cage, National Treasure. It was an introduction to buildings we were to see in Philly. On arrival in Philly we went around the city. Saw the “Love” statue and the fountain behind was purple, not sure why. We drove past, but were not able to run up the “Rocky” steps. That building is actually the Arts Museum. There is a statue of Rocky at the base of the steps , but again we missed the photo. Ah well …we saw it! City hall is super impressive, even though Americans voted it the ugliest in America. This city is very historic indeed. This is where “America” began .  We did a walking tour of the old town and saw all the places where Adams, Jefferson, Washington and of course Ben Franklin discussed, signed, lived etc. Very, very  interesting  indeed. The local guide we had , Neil, was brilliant, very articulate, and knowledgeable. At the end of our walking tour we had dinner in the old city tavern, (just listening to the news….unemployment on the rise here!) We had traditional Philly food from the years of Ben, George, John and Thomas, and ate from pewter dishes. Wayne had the traditional ale – porter (more like an old). After dinner we walked back to the hotel. LA Galaxy staying here too, David  Beckham on the 8^th and we are on the 12^th. We were originally on the 7^th but the room smelt of smoke so we requested a change. I think I REALLY like this city and could easily spend more time here. Over to Mr Right for his views.   L orraine XXXX

She Who Must Be Obeyed left out a few things. The biggest attraction in this town is the Liberty Bell, originally it was in the bell tower, but it was replaced by the Centenary Bell and moved down to a museum. We watched a short video about it and then took a few photos.  The room we’re in overlooks the Delaware River and we have a fantastic view. One of the bronze statues we saw last night depicted the Irish leaving their home country and emigrating to America, it’s a very powerful image and one we’re going back to now (8.15am) to take more photos. We didn’t logon last night as we have free wireless in the bus J Ooroo!

PS I purposely left the Liberty bell for himself to report on as he is the “ding-a-ling!!! L XXX