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scrivi al direttoreTravels in America di James Weaver
Philadelphia: history and fun
Da oggi James Weaver, famoso giornalista americano, curerà una rubrica in inglese su “il reporter” per raccontare con arguzia e ironia gli Stati Uniti. Inizia da Philadelphia, sua città natale.
Philadelphia is big on history and millions of visitors come to the city each year to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the new National Constitution Center, and several dozen more historic attractions. But, many visitors are discovering there’s a lot more to the “City of Brotherly Love” than they had realized. When they come to town they’re spending an additional day or two to see and do some other things.
It’s a great sports town, home to the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies (baseball), and the always serious contender Philadelphia Eagles (American football). Plus there’s the Sixers and Flyers (basketball and ice hockey) and the new Philadelphia Union, professional soccer (football) team.
College basketball is big here to with the legendary Big Five (Temple, LaSalle, Penn, St. Joe, and Villanova). Other major sporting events include the annual Penn Relays, Dad Vail Regatta, and the Devon Horse Show that attract the nation’s top competitors in track, rowing, and dressage. Philadelphia’s annual Pro Cycling Tour event (now in its 25th year) draws the best riders from around the world and tens of thousands of spectators.
It’s an arts town too. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the nation’s largest museums. Here visitors from around the world can explore its renowned collections and acclaimed special exhibitions. The Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (the oldest art school in America) is another gem for those interested in historic and contemporary fine art. There’s also the Barnes Foundation (impressionist and post impressionists), Brandywine River Museum (Wyeth family), and Woodmere Art Museum (the best of Philadelphia regional artists).
If performance art is your thing. The Philadelphia Orchestra, a world class symphonic ensemble, is one of the nation’s leading orchestras. There is also the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, the Philadelphia Opera Company, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and The Philadelphia Singers (professional chorus). Several of the nation’s leading music schools are located here — Curtis Institute of Music, Academy of Vocal Arts, and Temple University’s Boyer School of Music.
Professional theater is also well represented here. The nation’s oldest theater in continuous operation (200 years in 2009), the Walnut Street Theater offers a full season of great revivals and new works. The Wilma Theater here is at the cutting edge of contemporary drama. There’s also the Adren Theater Company, Suzanne Roberts Theater, Prince Theater, Society Hill Playhouse, and others. Almost any night of the year, you can enjoy a top theater production.
Premiere annual events include the Philadelphia Flower Show, the Philadelphia Antiques Show, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show (each acclaimed the nation’s best), and the Philadelphia Dog Show. Philadelphia is also know for its parades. Every New Years Day, the Mummer’s (carnival) Day Parade attracts thousands of elaborately costumed participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators. Then there are the ethnic heritage parades honoring area residents from Puerto Rico, Ireland, and Germany. There’s also a Chinese New Year’s parade and a nationally televised Thanksgiving Day parade.
With over 9,200 acres, it claims 10% of the land in Philadelphia (City and County). Fairmont Park has been called “one of the largest urban parks in the country” (although other cities are catching on to this great idea and are collecting green space). At last count, there were over 215 miles of scenic, recreation trails in the park. It’s also home to the Mann Center, a summer concert venue. There’s a trail for everyone, from sidewalks, to off-road trails, to paths through the woods to walkways along a creek or river. It’s also a city of with numerous public gardens — Morris Arboretum, Bartram’s Garden, Chanticleer, and many more. The famous Longwood Gardens and Winterthur are nearby.
The city abounds in historic homes from the 18th century and many are open to the public. Elphret’s Alley (near the Betsy Ross House) is the oldest residential street in America. In addition to the city’s numerous art museums, there’s the new Please Touch Museum (for children), the Franklin Institute (science) and Academy of Natural Science and America’s first zoo — The Philadelphia Zoo.
Visitors to the city often want to try local foods. Philadelphia is famous for bread pretzels, hoagies, and cheese steaks (some also mention pepper pot soup and scrapple). You can get all of these delicious treats at the Reading Terminal Market in center city. Best of all, you can get Bryer’s Ice Cream, without question one of the world’s very best. Good restaurants abound in Philadelphia. Regardless of your food preference and budget (from diner to fine dining) the city offers a wide selection of tasty options.
Visitors to the “City of Brotherly Love” should begin their travel planning at www.gophila.com.
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I enjoyed the Phillie blog very much! Jim GREAT JOB! Well done!Can’t wait till the next one!
Regarding the ice cream at the Reading Terminal Market. Breyer’s is not sold there. Breyers is an industrialized ice cream made in large quantities. I believe the3 ice cream you meant is Bassetts, which was founded in 1863 and has been sold in the Reading Terminal Market since it opened in 1892. It is among the best ice creams you can find in the U.S. I particularly like the rum raisin and raspberry truffle flavors.