Philadelphia: Paris on the Delaware, or, How to Visit Friends for Free Simply by Controlling the Weather

In a fortuitous turn of events, for my very first venture across the Atlantic – and only second across any international border (hooray for hand jobs in Montreal!) – my connecting flight between Pittsburgh and Paris was delayed. As a result, I missed my flight to Paris and got to spend the night in historic Philadelphia, America’s window to Europe. This turned out to be quite a nice surprise, in fact, as I got to spend the evening drinking Coors Original, eating a cheese steak and playing Rock Band with some old college chums.

I then spent the following afternoon tooling around Philly (which is gritty, beautiful and exceptionally walkable), seeing a few sites of interest and enjoying a second cheese steak. And I got to see the Liberty Bell, which, frankly, is little more than a large example of shoddy iron workmanship. But it made for a nice photo op.

Next stop, Paris town!

A note on the Liberty Bell:

The Liberty Bell, or “Le Ding Dong du Liberte,” was originally a gift to America from France, given in the late 1600s. The bell was used to alert the townsfolk of Wiccan activity, hangings, and attacks from Native Americans, who at that time were called “Mexicans.” The bell was bestowed upon the fledgling nation by Napoleon II as part of the first and less well-known Louisiana Purchase, a transaction through which the French acquired a large portion of North America in exchange for a poorly constructed bell. The territory was later reclaimed by the U.S. in the second, more famous Louisiana Purchase for the sum of several shiny beads.

This lesson in history brought to you by Wikipedia.*

*Historical accuracy not guaranteed.

Special thanks to Rainbow, Russell and Spada for their hospitality and their Coors Original.

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