stuff I've done thus far

So, now it's time to get more caught up on the stuff I've in the last couple of weeks. I will try to be on top of posting whilst I'm in Deutschland, but no guarantees. I guarantee to try. I know, I know. Yoda will be disappointed. Too bad.





Anyway, this picture is from May 25th. We went on a short walking tour of Asheville, North Carolina. It's a very pretty little town. A big tourist attraction during the summer, cuz it's up in the mountains and is cooler. I really liked what I saw of it. I like this picture because it makes me laugh. People are funny.




Then, last week on May 28th, we went walking around Philadelphia. What a beautiful city. There is so much history, and at the same time, it's very modern. There are trees EVERYWHERE, which I love.





This is a view of the Delaware River, looking south from the Ben Franklin Bridge. On the left is Camden, which has the highest murder rate in the country (we didn't go there) and on the right is Philly. It was quite the walk, but well worth it.




On the 30th, we went to see the Liberty Bell. It was a super humid day, but thankfully the security line wasn't terribly long and we got through without any trouble. They had a pretty cool display of the history of the bell and the different groups that adopted it as a symbol. It has been the symbol for a lot of causes over the years. Actually seeing the bell was an interesting experience. It looks EXACTLY like it looks in all the pictures you see of it. You know how sometimes you can see a picture of something a million times, but you are never really prepared for what it looks like in real life? Well, not this time. It was just a simple bell, with a crack in it. And at the same time (maybe because of its history, maybe because of the symbolism), seeing it had a powerful effect. It's amazing how so much history and meaning can be wrapped up into one everyday sort of object.

Then on June 2, we went to Independence Hall. It was really neat to see where they set up the constitution. Once the tour moved out of the room, I stood in there for a bit by myself and I could almost FEEL the presence of the founding fathers. I don't normally go for the new-agey, ghost stuff, but there you have it. The room was very still, very quiet. I kept thinking about the line from Les Miserables "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables". I don't really know how to explain the feeling. I really enjoyed the tour and seeing the place where our country was began.


On June 3rd, we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was really fun. I like to go to museums. I got some goo pictures of some of the artwork, but the best thing is this:


Yes, you guessed it. These are the stairs from "Rocky". You know, the ones that he can't get up at the beginning of the movie, but, after the greatest training montage ever, finally manages to run up them as if they were nothing and then stands victorious while the best music in the world blares triumphantly. Yep, these are those stairs. And I was there. Who needs culture?






And, last but not least, today. Today I had my first Philly Cheesesteak. It was good. Really good. We went to Geno's.
I won't go into detail, but there are two big names in Cheesesteak around here. One is Pat's. The other is Geno's. They have a small feud going. They are right across the street from each other. We chose Geno's. I'm not really sure why. I think I'll have to come back and get one from Geno's and one from Pat's and then I can truly decide which is better. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.








So yeah, that's it so far. I leave for Germany tomorrow. Pray for me! I'm a big bundle of nerves right now - nervous and excited all at once. (I don't know how my sister has put up with me for as long as she has.) :-) Boy, I hope I don't get lost.