My Perfect Timing to Visit Philadelphia - Day 2

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Hello friends! Welcome back to my another post in continuation of my previous post My Perfect Timing to visit Philadelphia - Day 1

It was the next morning of my Philly trip. I had an extended sleep thanks to Daylight Savings ending! I grabbed a coffee and had a little chit chat with a few of my hostel mates in the Common area. I had plans to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia's Magical Gardens and to see the skyline of the city.


I checked out from my stay at 10 am in the morning and started my second day of the "Perfect" trip! I grabbed a quick Breakfast Bowl at the famous Luna Cafe on Market Street to store some energy for the coming 17 km (10.5 miles) walk! Yeah, I walked 17 km on Sunday!

Breakfast Bowl, Luna Cafe

A morning surprise with "Veterans Day Parade"

Military Veterans are the maker of any nation that stands safe today in front of the world. They fought to their lives in many wars that happened in the past. In the United States, Veteran's Day is celebrated on November 11 of each year. Today was my lucky day to relish one of the huge parades of the city.

The streets were closed for any type of public and private vehicles due to the parade. I checked the map and found the shortest path to the Philadelphia Museum of  Art. I just reached the Northside of the Philadelphia City Hall and couldn't resist myself in listening to the roars of hundreds of motorcycles which was coming from John F Kennedy Blvd. Those were just not the sounds of motorcycles but the heartbeat intensifier that act as a magnet to me. I rushed to the place as soon as possible to be part of the moment. There were motorcycles all over the street with their Veteran owners! I was just in the right place at the right time!! I had goosebumps while seeing all those incredible bikes decorated with the beautiful United States flag!

Veterans Day Parade, Philadelphia

Tune in to music coming out of the bikes in the below video and try not to dance :D

I saved the moments in my heart and captured them on my phone. I spotted many other Tableaus on the way and got to hold the United States flag!

After being a part of a historical event I continued my journey to the destination. I passed by the beautiful blue fountain of Logan Square. 

Logan Square

The Oval

Eakins Oval is a big park in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art featuring a fascinating Washington Monument sparkling the gateway to the museum. The George Washington sculpture riding a horse and Native Americans and animals at the bottom is one of the main attractions in the area.

The Oval

"Rocky Steps"

Steps in front of the museum have become popular from the Rocky movie scene where famous actor Sylvester Stallone takes a run during the training and completes it by climbing these big 72 steps! People often come here to copy the climb from the scene! I did do a climb but not "running" :p 

Rocky Steps, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Free pass to Philadelphia Museum of Art

I am a fan of visiting cities especially when it comes to museums and art (not a specialist but I admire the work). My list of items for "Perfect Timing" was still going on! It was the first Sunday of the month! And the museum doesn't put a fixed charge on the day. You can "Pay what you wish". I just paid $1 to get access to all of the exhibits in the museum which would normally cost me $20 to $25.

I loved the special "Fabulous Fashion" and other exhibits in the museum and learned a lot more about history.

It was "Diwali" in the Museum

It was the time of Diwali preparations and the museum was also a part of it! There was Deepak (oil lamp made of mud) designing going on one side of the floor. A cultural show of Indian Folk Dances had attracted everyone in the museum. The sound of music and cheers were syncing and were creating a new tune! I got to see - Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Dhandia Raas, Bhangra and Free Bollywood Style. All dance performances were perfect and took the breath away from the audience. 

Have a gander at the final steps of the performers and energy of the audience!

I had quick bites for the lunch and came out of the museum to see the sunset at Fairmount Dam on the Schuylkill River.  

"Out of the world" Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

The sun had started to come down when I reached that place. It is an art gallery inspiring creativity and educating people about different art types - folk, mosaic and visionary. I loved the place. It was really "Out of the World". It was my first time to experience these types of arts. If you are planning to visit Philly then you must go there. Make sure you book your tickets online so that you won't return without visiting inside.

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

 Final Part - The City skyline at South Street bridge

It was 6 pm in the evening when I decided to leave the magical world of the gardens and hit to another magical skyline of the city before leaving for New York. I checked in the maps and went to a bus stop. As per the maps, the bus was supposed to come in 15 minutes. Somehow the bus didn't arrive in another 40 minutes. After waiting for so long time, I decided to take an Uber to the Schuylkill River Park. Unintentionally, I messed up my drop point and my Uber driver dropped by the other side of the park. I walked for 5 km (3.1 miles) to reach South Street bridge and went down the Broadwalk to be the eyewitness of that spectacular Sapphire view of the skyline and the river. Being the last point of my Philly's visit, it was the most satisfying moment of the day. I stood there for at least 30 minutes before heading to the bus station.

Philadelphia Skyline view from South Street Bridge

Time had come to say Good Bye to this beautiful city. I headed towards the Rittenhouse Square and grabbed dinner at McD while watching Hum Tum. I took a bus and reached back to New York the same night.

I felt that each place I visited was just waiting for me to make this journey extraordinary than any of my past tours.

You can read about Day 1 here.

Let me know how did you find it and share your experience in the comments.