Day Four … Washington to Philadelphia (Part 1 for this day)

Today was time to say farewell to Washington after two wonderful days filled with experiences I could never imagine. We were up early (alarm set … no sleeping in today!) so that we could catch a train from Farragut North Station on the Metro Line to Union Station Washington where would join our Amtrak train to Philly. Union Station, as is the case with most stations in the well-established older cities, is a very grand building.

Our transfer was nice and smooth and we boarded our train, found some seats (so comfy, wide, with a table tray and plenty of leg room) and settled in for our 2 hr trip heading north. It was fun to watch the world go by outside the window (a little dirty but hey what can you do). As we travelled north it was exciting to see that the autumn leaves were beginning to turn so I am feeling they will be wonderful by the time we get to New England. 

Arriving in at William. H. Gray Station we managed to get off the train without any serious issues … actually no issues at all … and headed up to find the Baggage Storage where we paid for our bags to be looked after while we headed out to explore Philly. We only had a small window … just over 4 hrs but Ian had mapped it out minute by minute to maximise our time there. For those of you who know Ian … this would be no surprise at all 🤣.

Having dropped our bags we headed to catch a metro train into the centre of old Philadelphia to begin our exploring. We had a map of some of the key historic sites to visit, as well as an Ad Lab that would take us to some more quirky spots as well. The train deposited us at the Independence Visitor Centre where we grabbed a few extra maps, a quick toilet stop and then off we went.

Our trail took us past … Declaration House, the Dream Garden Mosaic (in the Curtis Centre Lobby) which was made up of exquisite small pieces of glass,  the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the portrait gallery in the old Second Bank of the US, Benjamin Franklin House, Elfreth’s Alley, Christ Church Burial Ground, and back to the visitor centre. This was the first part of our journey … so we stopped to find some lunch … the long awaited Philly Cheese Steak that Ian had wanted to have. We found a lovely street vendor who cooked it fresh and then we sat and ate whist watching the world go by and being blown away (it was very windy in Philly today).

After lunch we walked from Old Philly back towards the Philadelphia Museum of Art, meandering along the streets, sometimes on the Main Street and sometimes detouring off to look at some pieces of art or some other notable feature. We paused at the Chinatown Friendship Arch, happened upon a street market and one of the busiest indoor food halls I’ve seen in a long time, then back out to see a whole series of bronze statues before stopping at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul where by chance we came upon a wedding …. Congratulations Katherine and Hank (we stumbled on them again later when they were posing for photos in front of a fountain).

We wandered up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway again pausing at various memorials, fountains and parks. Philly is filled with so many different architectural styles so gothic or classical buildings like the City Town Hall, the Franklin Institute and the Free Library of Philadelphia stand side by side with art deco and concrete edifices such as the Masonic Lodge. We loved the Rodin statue of the Thinker (one of only 27 authorised replicas that exist in the world) at the Rodin Museum which had beautiful gardens and a stunning entrance gate. (Hello to our second wedding of the day).

We ended our walk by pausing at the Rocky statue located at the base of the Museum of Art and for Ian to do his best impersonation of Rocky Balboa training on the steps out the front. We then headed back to the station along the river front following a meandering path lined with trees and garden beds. Arriving back at the station (another gob-smacking edifice) we completed a quick Ad Lab located inside the station before grabbing a chocolate thick shake/frozen ice cream and some fries from Wendy’s before collecting our luggage and boarding our next train that would transfer us to New York.

And here is where I will end this part of today’s adventure. The day is not over by any stretch of the imagination but after we leave this train (yes I’m typing as we travel) we will get ourselves to our hotel/home for the next 4 nights and then get glammed up to head out to the theatre. Yes folks … this little chicken and her beau are off to see Wicked on Broadway! So by the time we get back tonight it will be too late for me to blog so I will catch you all up in my second instalment tomorrow sometime.

The tally thus far …

Photos - 478

Steps - 21,112

Kms walked - 16.16

Ad Labs completed - 2