I didn't arrive in Philadelphia until 1AM. The curse of the Houston layover - I never get through that airport without either being delayed or missing a connection. While I lazed around for 3.5 hours,
I used this new gadget. You just order what you want and slide your credit card, and
Voila !! Your order is brought to you. Pretty cool, but this cocktail was $20.
I checked into the Embassy Suites at about 1:30 AM. This was the view from the 21st floor.
Embassy Suites gives you a free breakfast and free Happy Hour. I only used this once, because my conference gives you lunch, and there were boozy dinner programs every evening. There were actually several to choose from every evening.
We got a three hour break every day, from 10:30 to 1:30. So on the first day, I went exploring. I went to an upscale consignment shop and passed this Mormon temple.
I will show you the goodies later, as I wear them. I also went to Macy's, because they play the second largest pipe organ in the states twice a day. Here it is:
The next day, I hammed it up at Love Plaza.
City Hall is in the middle of downtown. It's very tall, so if you get lost, you can just look for City Hall and find your way back. Very convenient.
This is the view from Embassy Suites. It's about a mile away from City Hall, but as you can see, it's easy to spot.
There's a statue of William Penn on the top. He was a Quaker, so he was not supposed to honor himself, so he compromised and named the state Pennsylvania - sylvania means forest, and he said the Penn was for his father.
I also walked by the Masonic Temple every day. From the outside, it just looks like an old stone church.
But inside, the ceilings were beautiful !!
These two sphinxes guarded the staircase.
And that lead to the gilded hall. Who knew?
The Convention Center is across the street from Reading Terminal Market. I remembered it from my last visit. There are 100 different stalls, filled with food and other culinary vendors.
The Amish have stalls also, but they leave early.
They even have flowers.
I made a repeat visit to the Mutter Museum - it is a museum of medical oddities. It's not for everyone, but I love it.
It is located in the former College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
Here is the main exhibit hall. They also have temporary exhibits - this time it was all about monsters in fairy tales, and the deformed people that inspired the monsters.
This is the Mutter Giant - he is very tall, about 8 feet.
You aren't allowed to take pictures, except in the lobby. The first case had John Bond's essay on the incubus, or nightmare, published in 1753.
The second had Dr White's Headache Tablets, complete with heroin.
They had a lock of Edward Jenner's hair - he was the father of vaccines. He discovered that if you put a bit of smallpox in a person, but not enough to cause disease, then they had immunity.
Here are some pictures of the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden outside the museum.
It was very pretty and peaceful.
I was unable to visit the Art Museum last time, so that was on my agenda. I did take the HopOn HopOff Bus, as I do in every city that has that choice. This is the Rodin Museum.
The Thinker is a replica, not the original. There are quite a few replicas out there.
This is the Eastern State Penitentiary. I visited it in 2014 - I think it is a must-see, like the Mutter Museum.
This is the top of the Perelman Building, an Art Deco masterpiece. I especially loved the animals on the edge. It began as the Fidelity Mutual Insurance company building.
Each animal represents something - my favorite was the "Squirrel of Frugality".
This statue is a gilded version of Joan of Arc.
They call her "Joanie on her Pony".
This is Boat House Row. Restaurants and bars. I didn't make it over there.
Now for my highly anticipated visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It did not disappoint. I took a guided tour.
These steps are the Rocky steps, because they are the ones that Sylvester Stallone ran up in the movie. There is also a statue of Rocky. It used to be at the top of the steps, but large crowds gather to get their picture taken there, and that disrupts the calm environment, so they moved the statue to a nearby park.
More frescoes along this building.
Nekkid people.
Here is the Philadelphia skyline from outside.
And from inside.
The special exhibit was "Impressionists". They had several famous works. This is Monet's "Japanese Bridge With Waterlillies".
This is Monet's view of the "Zuiderkirk". It looks just like this is real life.
And of course, his view of Paris. Also accurate and filled with fond memories for me.
They had several Van Gogh pieces. My favorite was "Sunflowers".
And Toulouse Lautrec's "Moulin Rouge."
As you enter the museum, a statue of Diana the Huntress greets you.
One of their most famous American works was Hick's "Peaceable Kingdom".
This portrait is John Singleton Copley's rendition of Mr and Mrs Thomas Mifflin, a wealthy Quaker couple. The portrait is unique because Mrs Mifflin is in front of her husband, and he gazes adoringly at her instead of the artist. She is also hand weaving fringe, a symbol of protest against the huge taxes levied by European merchants for goods. So she made her own fringe!!!
They had a reconstructed Egyptian courtyard.
Outside the courtyard were many beautiful far Asian statues.
The first pastel I ever did was of this camel. It wasn't very good.
Lots of Indian Gods and Goddesses, including Shiva.
After that, there was a Roman courtyard. It reminded me of the Shops at Caesar's Forum in Las Vegas - maybe this was their inspiration.
This was a pretty large and ornate crucifix.
And when you left the Roman area, the Angel of Purity was there to remind you what is really important in life.
One thing that I loved was the medieval armor collection.
The horse was fairly well decked out for battle as well.
Here are a couple of horse helmets and leg guards.
From the vast array of spears and jousts, it seems like there were a lot of ways to kill someone back in the day.
This suit of armor was unbelievable - made by hand!!! The typical suit weighed around 60 pounds. This one is from 1250. It was perfect in every way.
Then I saw this eastern European tryptich.
It was unfolded once a year during the church holidays. Viewing it was quite the spectacle for the townsfolk.The story of Jesus Christ is told by viewing the scenes from left to right, top to bottom.
I can't remember who painted this, but it is a magnificent Trompe l'oiel piece. From across the room, the wreath seemed to extend about six inches out from the rest of the picture.
There were also a lot of highly decorative French Renaissance great rooms on display.
Complete with the porcelain figurines that the wealthy families used for daily service.
The colors of this room were so delicate - and the ceiling!!
Many works had accurate representations of animals on them, usually at the bottom.
This is the most famous of Marie-Rosalie Bonheur's animals - her dog.
This was a recreation of a German Kitchen.
It seemed pretty rustic in comparison to the French drawing rooms, but this is how most people lived.
After leaving the Art Museum, I hopped back on the bus. This is the Pennsylvania Hospital. It is in the Society Hill section of town, and is 260 years old.
Of course, the requisite William Penn statue is out front.
This is the Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church. It's yellow and white color is very cheerful.
The attached graveyard is for American veterans. Most graves had flags on them. There is a lot across the street for Europeans.
This is the Vietnam War Memorial near Penn Landing. In 2014, there were vagrants and homeless all over it. It is nice and clean now.
A quick view of Constitution Hall - I went all through that in 2014, so I skipped it this time. I did go to a dinner program in the Liberty Bell Center. The food was delicious.
And going through Chinatown, you pass the Friendship Gate.
My next hop off was at South Street. This is another area that I wanted to see.
It reminds me of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. There are Victorian buildings with counter culture shops on the ground floors. Maybe that's why the tour buses don't go by there.
This is Penn Landing, with the bridge to Camden New Jersey spanning the Delaware River.
This is called the Magic Garden. The bus driver recommended that I see it.
Kind of weird. Too cluttered and trashy looking for my taste, but definitely unusual.
There is a street work by Candy Chang called the Atlas of Tomorrow. You think of a burning question and then spin the wheel.
I got number 19, the Lamp.
This creepy weird building is attached to the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
I asked a police officer what was in it, and he said that as far as he knew, it was a condo project. I wouldn't want to live there, with the gargoyles and the creep factor.
This is the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, the scene of the first Legionella outbreak in 1976.
This is the building for the Union League of Philadelphia. It was built in 1862 as a center to promote the policies of Abraham Lincoln. It was then used as a country club, and is now a tourist attraction and special events venue.
This is the interior of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The nave and altar were beautiful.
I lit a candle for my mom at the statue of the Blessed Virgin.
It's the one in the top row by itself.
I also lit a candle for my mother in law at the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, since Mimi is Mexican.
It's also the one at the top by itself.
Outside the basilica is the Swann Memorial Fountain.
It is supposedly illegal to play in the water, but that didn't bother some people.
And this is the Free Library.
It was like the Art Museum - quiet and dignified inside. I bought two books at the used book sale - I needed something to read on the plane home. But then I ended up watching two movies - Mary Queen of Scots and Bohemian Rhapsody.
This is the Benjamin Franklin Center. I believe it's a Science Museum, but they were having a Marvel Comics Exhibit. Comic Con was going on in the Convention Center after all of us ID folks left.
This is the first all metal biplane.
And a final look up Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards the Art Museum.
Now it's back to the grind - work and working out. I did quite a bit of walking, so this week I will concentrate on body sculpting. I missed Doc and Pandi and the boys, but we are all reunited again.
