Penny For The / A Thought

OK, while I am bored reading about hospital ratings on https://data.medicare.gov/ I thought I’d post the rest of my pictures from the Philadelphia excursion. Here is the Basilica Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. I think it was built in the 1850s?

The white silo-like structure in the middle Is where I stayed—the Embassy All Suites. I think most of their rooms are suites. The address is 1776 Benjamin Franklin Parkway and this is not a fake address like “1 Twins Way”. The hotel is at the corner of 18th street and the Parkway making the 1776 legit.

Here is Benjamin Franklin’s grave. Tradition is that tourists avoid paying the $2 Christ Church Cemetery entrance fee and instead whip pennies at Ben through the fence. A penny saved used to be a penny earned.

Gravesites above and below ground

Like I said, most stones were not readable. 220-some years brings a lot of wind and rain and erosion.

 

I don’t remember seeing Francis Hopkinson’s signature on the Declaration of Independence.

 

In the background is the Comcast Center described as looking like a “giant USB memory stick” by the Philadelphia Enquirer.

George Washington worshiped here at Christ Church. I sat down in his pew box. Remember, the US capital (and capitol) was in Philadelphia for the first ten years of our country’s existence. There was a Boy Scout group getting shout-lectured by a loud docent behind the pillar. I didn’t want him to shout-lecture me about taking pictures.

Christ Church

This is Ben Franklin’s printing office that still has working printers and free tours. I met some tourists from Austria watching the printing press demonstration.

Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed by our founding fathers. Fiction tourists will want to watch The National Treasure starring Nicolas Cage to see some great footage in and around Independence Hall and Philadelphia. It’s probably playing on TBS or another basic cable channel tonight.

Here is the courtyard of the Barnes Foundation Art Museum. This collection moved from somewhere in the suburbs to the central city in 2012. This is where I saw more Renoir and Cezanne paintings—more paintings of girls and fruit bowls than I’ve ever seen in one spot.

The Thinker or rather A Thinker by Rodin out front of the Rodin museum. I changed the “the” to an “a” because Rodin did so many versions of The Thinker in so many sizes and materials that we must think of this as just another thinker. I should have made that rhyme and incorporated it into a rap song.

Only one of the two wings of the Philly Art Museum had a painted frieze featuring some nudity. I should have zoomed in with the camera a little more.

I will have to rent Rocky to see Stallone run up these steps and raise his hands in victory. I hope the steps were at the end of a longer run because there really aren’t that many steps. The old tall building in the center is the historic city hall which sits smack dab in the middle of the city.

 

Back to looking at government websites and writing about things. . .