The rest of our spare time seems to have been spent walking. I've walked miles, one end of the city to the other, many times. It's a lovely city. Very relaxed, very nice to walk round, lots of squares, parks, fountains, wide streets. There's a boulevard from the centre to the Museum of Art based on the Champs d'Élysées with a great fountain at one end, and the flags of every nation lining it.
Highlights of the stay include: A visit to Elfreth's Alley, a street of terraced houses built in the 1700s which have been continually inhabited. Very pretty and very well conserved. Lots of lovely doors, and as it's nearly Halloween, lots of pumpkins.
The Magic Gardens of Philadelphia. An amazing place created by an artist who has covered whole buildings with mosaics made with everyday things - bottles, cycle wheels, bit of pottery, and has created a grotto in the garden of one of them by digging steps, caves etc. Here's some pictures, but they don't really do it justice - it was amazing.
And my absolute favourite, a trip on a Segway. An hour and a half in the late afternoon sun cruising round Philadelphia's parks, just 3 of us and a tour guide. We even went to the top of the Rocky steps - although not straight up them. Brilliant, I absolutely love them, so easy to ride, and great fun. The sensation of using your balance, and only very slight movements to accelerate, steer and stop them is quite something. I would love one, but they are quite expensive, although the patent runs out in a couple of years so some competition should reduce that, and in the UK you can only use them on private property - so far behind many other places in getting them licensed. Oh well, maybe one day I'll have one!
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