After a hard day's work and then a hard work out, I cooled off this evening sitting in a park bench at Logan Circle looking down the Ben Franklin Parkway at a beautiful sunset over the Philadelphia Museum of Art (you know, the building with the steps S. Stallone ran up in the movie "Rocky&quot. The air temperature was perfect, there was no wind, and the sparkling waters of Alexander Calder's Swann Memorial Fountain in the circle had me completely mesmerized for a few relaxing minutes. Young couples strolled in the circle and kids played in the fountain. Behind me rose the City Hall topped off by the William Penn statute and the Bell Atlantic Tower, one of my favorite post-modern skyscrapers. I thought this has to be one of the great public spaces in the U.S. and it could give a lot of European cities a run for their money too.

Plus, I had a great dinner last night at Tangerine and earlier this year on other business trips here have had very good to great meals at:

Continental
Susannah Foo
Il Portico
Striped Bass
Los Catrines and Tequila's Bar

not to mention an occasional cheesesteak. And I've barely had any time to scratch the surface of the city's cultural offerings, other than an all too brief visit to the National Constitution Center earlier this year. As far as I'm concerned, Philadelphia can hold its own with New York, Chicago, or Washington as a great city to visit. It's come a long way since the late 1980s and early 1990s and and Philadelphians have a lot to be proud of.

You've posted this on the Europe board-you might want to put it on the US board so those folks can read it.Glad you had a good time.

Brings back good memories of living in and out of Philly for 20 years. I used to world at the library just north of Logan Circle.

T. Jefferson said that Philadelphia was less beautiful than Paris but more beautiful than London. As a former resident, I agree with you and TJ. Incidentally, the Alexander Calder fountain represents one of three generations of Calder sculptures on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Penn statue on City Hall was by the grandfather and the mobile hanging in the grand foyer of the Art Musuem is by the grandson.

sfowler, the Free Library? Me too but for the Foundation. I was going to recommend that MRand check out the Rare Book Room on his next visit as well as the Rodin Museum and its beautiful gardens.

Welcome to Philadelphia!!!! The home of Ben Franklin, Bill Cosby, Patti LaBelle, Thingorjus, and Handmaiden!!

So who's got the best cheesesteak? Pat's or Geno's????????

God Bless Philadelphia

I'll repeat what I said over in US, as there's a link to pix of what is considered to be some of the more "European" elements of Philadelphia:
I do love Philadelphia...but then, I always have. From the time I was a littl'un I was taken to Center City and around to the various museums; I've been in cities in 37 countries, and enjoyed them immensely, but I'm always happy to come home.
(There's some pix here, if anyone would like to see: http://community.webshots.com/user/missalg)

Thanks MRand!
I Philadelphia too!
and Thingorjus and handmaiden

I lived in Manhattan for over 30 years, then a decade on "the Gold Coast" (fairfield County CT)but finally my lifelong dream has come true -- I live in Philadelphia, in a tiny row house on a cobbled street, 500 yards uphill from the Art Museum, sunset over the Schuykill, the Classic Greek-style "waterworks" and unbelievable Fairmount Park. I walk everywhere, to bookshops, restaurants, Free Library events, jazz concerts at the Museum. It's now my hometown, but I can't stop taking photos wherever I go. PLUS I'm a Quaker and there are Meetings galore to choose from! Now when I come back from travels, I look forward to getting to a place I love. Thanks MRand for your tribute to one of USA's most liveable cities!

This thread is making me reconsider my next trip to London in September, maybe I should go to Philly instead.

Who would have thought that Philly was more beautiful than London back in the 1700's? It reminds me of Mark Twain's remark that Lake Tahoe is more beautiful than Lake Como.

Pat's

I visited Philly for the first time over the July 4th weekend. What a fantastic city it is. It's got tons of sights, lots of atmosphere, and so many nice restaurants to choose from. I am hoping to return soon again.

If only we could do something about that accent...

Cimbrone --

Youse got a problem wit the accent?

Fugedaboutit!

Actually, that sounds more Brooklyn than Philly to me and far more refined

Glad to hear you all enjoy my beautiful home town!

MRand: Check out the Rosenbach Museum near Rittenhouse Square. Rare books, manuscripts (including the manuscript of Joyce's ULYSSES), beautiful antiques. This place is a real gem that is not on every tourist's radar.

I hate to prolong this misplaced thread, but someone really needs to copy this into the US section.

You gotta stugats to be makin fun of da way we talk in Philly.

You wanna glass a wooder?

Hey, Tia Marie, your brajool ain't as good as good as Carol Ann's. Howda like dem apples, huh?

Ya takin the Turnpike to Jersey?

Ya goin to the Aca me to get some milk?

The Philadelphia accent seems to be one of the hardest for actors to get a grip on. All too often, when they're striving for that (old) South Philly/Upper Darby/Lower Delaware County/Frank Rizzo accent, what they produce is much more of a Brooklyn accent.
I can only manage a few words in the Philly accent myself, despite years of living there--proovaloon is probably the easiest Philly word to pick up.

Great city, though! If I weren't already a PA native, I would probably want to live there permanently.

How about 'per-shoot' (prosciutto) or a 'small Italian' with ...

I don't like 'Cheese wiz' on my Cheese Steak sandwich; so Pat's and Geno's are both out: at home we use extra sharp shredded Cheddar ...

The Parkway was laid out after the design of Paris' Champs Elysees.

I retired in Philadelphia because of its many benefits for 'Seniors.' We ride SEPTA free (except peak times). There are more Teaching Hospitals here than almost any other U.S. City: Temple, Jefferson, U.Penn, Drexel Hahnemann, etc., etc.

And finally, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to the Jersey shore.