Philadelphia

Went to Philadelphia a week ago. Had last been there in the 1970s on a day trip with my 4th grade class. I liked it then, and I liked it again.

The Museum of Fine Arts is spectacular - a world class collection, especially of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Nude Descending a Staircase? Amazing. Three Musicians? Awesome.

The Franklin Institute still has the giant heart you can walk through travelling the circuit your blood takes through that muscle. My 7 y.o. wanted me to go with her. I can say it is made for the 7 and 8 y.o. set, not their parents.  There's also a Brain Games type exhibit that my daughter enjoyed. (Not to say I didn't -thought it was quite cool.) And a lot of the interactive stuff that computers make possible.

We also visited Betsy Ross' house. Very learnifying. Daughter came away thinking she'd actually met Betsy Ross - why else would the young lady reenactor say she was Betsy Ross?

Down side? Two things. First, plenty of homeless people living on the streets and in the parks. As a New Yawker born and bred, this wasn't a problem, but you'd think Philadelphia would have a plan. Of course, Ben Franklin himself slept on a church pew his first day in Philadelphia and drank water from the river...

Second, my wife and I have figured out the  bus and train systems in NYC, London, Paris, Madrid, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, etc. without a hitch. This time around, we couldn't even find the train, couldn't figure out the buses, and were advised by the front desk people at our hotel to not bother. I wouldn't have thought that from a town that has everything it needs to be a major destination town.

Overall, 4.1 out of 5 stars...