Philadelphia, PA. Home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Betsy Ross. The city where the declaration of independence was signed... sounds boring huh? Well, that’s not all this awesome city has to offer. Philly, as the locals call it, is a pretty clean city, with lots of artsy people. There are many boring museums about the revolution, but don’t get me wrong, I had a blast when my grandparents took me for a weekend. It wasn’t my first time there. I only live an hour away. I had done the historic stuff in 3rd grade, but now we went to explore some other places.

We stayed at the Rittenhouse Hotel, a fancy resort in a nicer part of town. There are tons, and I mean tons, of places to stay in Philly with all different prices. Marathon Grille, a famous restaurant in Philadelphia, is where we ate. The menu ranges from fish to salad, and the atmosphere is very casual. I had a great lunch.

Next we headed over to the College of Physicians, where we visited the Mutter Museum. This is a really cool place with tons of medical things. There were real brains, tumors, and other body parts. There was so much to learn. This is an amazing destination that I totally recommend if you are in the city. After that, we stopped by the Museum of Art. It was really nice. The building is art itself. Tons of original paintings by many different artists (Van Goh, O’Keeffe, Wyeth, Warhol – just to name a few) hang on the walls. It is a must-see. Smith & Wollensky was our dinner place. There are many of these steakhouses throughout the country. We had a decent dinner, and hit the sack in our beautiful room.

The next day we went to the Franklin Institute. I had been there many times, but we were mainly there to see the exhibit on animation. It was really cool. One of the reasons why I love this museum is because there are many hands-on things to do. The other exhibit we went to was the Sports Challenge, where you do different things to experiment on how you get the best results. Rock climbing, tennis, soccer, and jumping are a few challenges. It was time to go home after that, but here are a few suggestions for you if you ever go to Philly!

• The Duck Tours – a bus, that turns into a boat to also give you a look at the river!
• Independence Hall – see where the Declaration of Independence was signed.
• Betsy Ross House – where this famous woman of the revolution lived.
• The Liberty Museum – a cool museum about interesting topics.
• Ben Franklin’s House – the name explains it.
• LOVE sculpture – in a park near a fountain.