Drummer Dan & I went to Philadelphia last Wednesday. A nice woman had volunteered to be our tour guide. Michael dropped us off at the transit center in Norristown and we planned to approache the town in the way I like best: by train. Of course we had to figure out, what train, oh onboard price is x, I don't have change, we've got 45 minutes, where's a bar, oh! Dunkin Donuts, and some attitude adjustment. And on to the train. Where Dan told me stories of marine life. As we trundled into town I got to see the outlying areas: the banlieue, the outskirts of town.

We met our guide at 5th and Market, which is close to the Liberty Bell Center, and after a brief wait and bag search(but not a person search and no metal detector that I recall, saw the Liberty Bell.

Our guide had a place in mind for lunch, but it was closed. It looked like the US version of the European corner cafe. A working person's cafe. Ah, well. Daniel, who had done a mental reconnaissance, via a tourist pamphlet, asked about the City Tavern. Our guide asked if we like to check it out, and said it could be pricey. It was , but all the staff was in period clothing. A pretty waitress with nice smile and guy that seemed a bit more uptight, though he was not unpleasant. Beer from colonial recipes. Roast duck, pork schnitzel, rabbit. After a brief duck-season, rabbit-season dance inside my head, I decided on the duck. It was good. I had another beer: Jefferson Ale. Desert. A glass of madera, which I was told was popular in Colonial times by our waiter. "You'd probably drink a coupe of bottles a day", he said. And well I might have. Hell, I was beginning to feel like Ben Franklin: younger women? Older women? I'll fart proudly. But I digress, and we had sights to see.

We had tickets for Liberty Hall, but we had lingered with lunch, and so had to get new ones. Along the way we stopped at Christ Church, and the oldest street(perhaps) in Philly: Elfreth's Alley. Then Betsy Ross house. It was a warm day, so as we approached the Independence Visitors center, the sprinklers that were watering part of the pathway were wonderfully welcome.

Got the tickets. Went through security to get in to the part of independence square where Independence Hall exists. One used to be able to walk through this part of the a square, sit, have lunch- but no more. Saw the room where the Continental Congress met. Wounder how the founders felt following a feast at mid-day, and some madera. We also took the tour of Congress Hall, where Congress met when Philly was the capital and DC was still a swamp.

We then checked out a department store that has a huge pipe organ. One of the benefits of a good guide. I saw no tourist pamphlets about this organ.

After our guide left to care for her dog(s). We wandered around seeing what various bars were like. Some were smokier than others, but the beer went down well. Saw at least one hottie on a bicycle, but for a landscape that was flat there weren't many bikes. But there was that city zing, and that was good.

An enjoyable day in the city of brotherly love.