.....And More

      Last blog I told about the SAQA Conference I Philadelphia and mentioned that Andrea and I stayed on for more! That afternoon, we went with Heather, who was staying one more day, we took an Uber to the area where the Edgar Allan Poe house was located. We decided to have lunch first and found this very local cafe where Andrea and I experienced our first Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich!  I highly recommend the cafe!

                

               

     After lunch, we walked the few blocks to the Poe House. It was actually his aunt/ mother-in- law's house where he and his young wife/cousin lived while he wrote. "The Raven" and "The Black Cat" were  two works he penned while here.

          The house is not furnished inside and, although large looking from the outside, it is rather narrow with steep stairways inside, four stories including a basement.

                                      

                                         Andrea and I with the Raven at the Poe House

            Andrea and I then collected our luggage and checked into our new digs, the Holiday Inn Express....a better location for our touristy plans! HIE was located at Penn Landing just off the bridge to New Jersey and within walking distance to the Independence Hall area as well as the beginning of the Tour Bus stops.

         Monday, we began our sightseeing.  Our motel was right on the Delaware River, just below the bridge to New Jersey and a very convenient location...close to restaurants and close enough for the shuttle to pick us up for tours.

      We got a two day "hop on/hop off" tour bus, not far from the Historical District. The buses had people on them talking on them and giving information and history of where we were. The first place we stopped was the Rodin Museum, which happened to be right across the street from the Barnes.

                                                     The Rodin Museum

                                                       The Three Shades

         

                                                       The Burghers of Calais

                                     

                                                                          The Kiss

I took about a jillion pictures there, but won't show them all as I have other things to write about without making this too long! We had planned to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art that same day but it was closed on Mondays. So, as we had a two day pass, we just reversed our plans. We hopped back on the bus and went back to the Historical District. 

     There we saw the Liberty Bell. Independence Hall, Betsy Ross House, Christ Church, etc..

                          

                                                 The Liberty Bell

                                                     Independence Hall

                        

    The pulpit in Christ Church- we sat in George Washington's family pew! People had to pay rent for their pews. The larger they were and the closer to the front, the more expensive they were..a status symbol!

                              

                                                        Betsy Ross House

By then we were getting weary so we decided to hike back to the motel. We stopped to eat dinner on the way back at a Mexican place. Even though it was 'way North of the Red River, it was pretty good. 

                     

          It rained on us all the way back....that was the only time we walked all the way! And I'll stop now so I can write tomorrow about more adventures!