MAY 2019 | The Australian Women’s Weekly 189
Travel
I realise this is my greatest athletic
achievement. But when I go to load it
up on Facebook, there’s nothing there- I didn’t hit ‘record’! #Ooops #Fail
#VeryRedFaced. Inspired by another
famous statue nearby – The Thinker
outside the Rodin Museum – I ponder
going back down and running up
again. #Nah #OnceIsEnough.
The art scene in Philadelphia is
amazing and its Museum of Art is one
of the best I’ve been to, not just for its
world-renowned collection – all the
big names are there – but for the
presentation; you can wander through
a Japanese ceremonial teahouse and a
reception hall from a Ming Dynasty
Chinese palace that were dismantled
in their home countries, brought over
andreassembled.It will be even more
impressive once famous architect
Frank Gehry’s renovation (adding
8000 square metres) finishes next year.
The museum area on the opposite side
of the “Rocky steps” overlooks one the
city’s most scenic spots, Boathouse Row
and the weir on the city’s other river, the
Schuylkill, which joins the Delaware a
little further south. There are 32km of
nature trails to explore along its banks.
Nearby is the Barnes Foundation,
home to the world’s largest private
collection of early French modern and
post-impressionist paintings, worth
billions (it includes 181 Renoirs!). It
was assembled by Albert Barnes, a
mega-rich doctor who insisted his
paintings and matching objets d’art be
displayed symmetrically. Each wall here
is thus a kind of mosaic, a work of art
in itself. Indeed,
artistic walls are
Philadelphia’s forte:
it has more murals
(about 4000) than
any other city in
the US, and a fun
way to see them
is the two-hour
Segway Mural
Tour, starting at
the Philly Tour
Hub in Arch Street.
Get a foretaste at
muralarts.orgLoving it
Six days in Philly
fly by. Friends said
I should do a day
trip to New York (just over an hour
away by train) but I prefer to stay put.
Philly’s a relaxed city and there’s more
than enough to see and do ... Spruce
Street Harbor Park and the piers on
the Delaware waterfront; LOVE statue
in ‘Love Park’; the views from the
57-storey high One Liberty Observation
Deck. Indeed, I wish I could stay longer.
For despite my rock credentials, it’s
not a Bruce Springsteen song but an
oldie and a goodie by Elton John that
best sums up the trip: “Philadelphia
freedom, I love you, yes I do”. AW WVisit discoverphl.com and visitphilly.
com for more tourist information.S TAYEATVISITWHENTOGOSonesta Hotel for a fun
contemporary vibe; the
Ritz-Carlton or the
Kimpton Hotel Monaco
for historic luxury.The Dandelion (British
gastropub); The Love
(new American); Parc
Brasserie (French fare);
and Buddakan (Asian).Elfreth’s Alley - a quaint,
colourful and partially
cobbled street of
32 houses dating back
300 years.Philadelphia’s annual
International Flower show
(early March) is rated the
nation’s best, and it stages
the largest Fourth of July
celebration in the US.
Where to
Right: The Liberty
Bell was made in- Below: City
Hall viewed from
North Broad Street.