2019-05-01+The+Australian+Womens+Weekly

188 The Australian Women’s Weekly | MAY 2019

GETTY IMAGES. BERNARD O’SHEA.

THE WRITER WAS A GUEST OF

THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU.

buttheydoeatPhillyCheesesteaks–
thinlyslicedbeefwithlotsofmelted
cheesein a breadroll,basically,butwith
otheringredientsin themoreexotic
varieties.I samplethemat Campo’son
MarketStreet(a localinstitution)and
at thelivelyReadingTerminalMarket,
whichdatesbackto 1893andwhereall
sortsofenticingfoodsareonofferfrom
80-plusoutlets,includingsomerunby
Pennsylvania’sAmishcommunity.Later,
at theDiBrunoBrosgourmetdelion
ChestnutStreet,I droolovera ballof
Provolonecheesealmostthesizeofthe
LibertyBellandwonderif myluggage
allowancehastheappetiteforit.

Rockinguptothemuseum
Thetourofthecitybeginsin earnest
in MuseumMileaswegatherround
theRockystatuenearthebaseof

thestepsleadinguptothe

PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt.

“Thanksforwearingthat

T-Shirt,”saysourguide,

Kimberly,beaming.I nodin

puzzledacknowledgementthenpeer

downat myshirt,wonderingwhaton

earthshe’stalkingabout.I’dbought

it withoutpayingmuchattention

(i.e.withoutmyglasses),thinkingit

saidROCKandhada guitariston

anoutdoorstageraisinghisfistin

triumph.I wearit toconcertsto

emphasisemyrockcredentials.But

nowI seethere’sa Y at theendand

it’sSylvesterStalloneposingat the

topofthesteps.OMG,I’vebeen

masqueradingasaRockyfan!

Inthemovie,Rockyranupthesteps

in triumph,andnowit’sthedonething

fortouriststoo.I’mnotkeen(I don’t

do steps, I do escalators) but I have

Philly Cheesesteak kilos to shed, so

I line up at the base with my phone

camera at the ready to record my feat

for Facebook, even though it’s bound

to turn into a ‘tripped on his feet and

fell flat on his face-book post’. Get set,

go! It’s tricky jogging up stairs staring

at your phone to keep both your

cheesy grin and city views in the

frame, but my camera work is nifty,

my footwork is too, and I scale the

72 steps without a tumble. At the

summit, which overlooks Benjamin

Franklin Parkway (Philadelphia’s

equivalent of the Champs-Élysées),

The Philadelphia Museum

of Art and, beneath it, the

historic Fairmount Waterworks

on the Schuylkill River.

Left: Part of the Benjamin

Franklin Parkway.

Below: The writer goes from

rock fan to Rocky fan.

Boathouse Row ... the rowing

clubhouses are more than 100

years old. Below: The British-

themed Dandelion restaurant.