USA Trip Day 26 - 29 Sep 2014 - Philly's Benjamin Franklin Parkway

After a light lunch at the Reading Market, we hopped on a bus towards the Benjamin Franklin Parkway - a scenic mile-long boulevard that starts at City Hall, curves around Logan Circle and ends before the Museum of Art. We reached the heart of Philly's cultural centre, comprised of several famous sights around 2pm.  Our plan was to take bus all the way to the Museum and walk back towards City Hall at leisure.

Museum of Art

Address: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 17:00 (everyday except Monday)
Entrance Fees: US$ 20.00 per adult for 2 consecutive days access including entrance to the Rodin Museum 

Brilliant view of Philly 

It would have been so much better if it was a clear blue sky day!

It opens everyday except on Mondays and that's exactly when we visited the Museum. Can you believe it? Argh such a disappointment.  Nonetheless, we still explored what we could.  Without a huge crowd, we could enjoy leisurely stroll.  There were quite many people chilling on a grassy lawn within the museum campus too. How great it would be if all Mondays can be nice and relaxing like that :D 

Anyway, if you plan well, unlike us, here is the highlight of the museum, according to www.philamuseum.org.

• The world’s largest and most important collection of works by Marcel Duchamp
• The greatest collection of sculpture by Constantin Brancusi outside Europe
• The finest public collection of Auguste Rodin’s sculpture in the United States
• Superb Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, including Paul Cézanne’s The Large Bathers, Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and important paintings by Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Edgar Degas
• Exceptional American painting, sculpture, furniture, silver, and ceramics—including the remarkable creations of the Shakers and Pennsylvania Germans—that reflect Philadelphia’s central role in American history
• Extraordinary “period rooms” and architectural ensembles from around the world

Do you know that iconic running scene from the Oscar winning movie Rocky was filmed here? These 72 stone steps gained such a classic status that they were featured again in sequels, Rocky II, III, V and Creed by Sylvester Stallone.

The Washington Monument (1897)

The nation's first President Washington was depicted sitting on his horse. There are 4 fountains to represent 4 rivers - Delaware, Hudson, Potomac, and Mississippi.

As we walked further down the parkway, we stumbled upon the Rodin Museum, which was utterly beautiful, with its French garden and Beaux-Arts architecture.  Even if some of us have never heard of Auguste Rodin, I am sure most are familiar with his fantastic work The Thinker. 

Rodin Museum

Address: 2151 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 17:00 (everyday except Tuesday)
Entrance Fees: Pay what you wish (Suggested rate is US$ 10.00 per adult)

Opened in November 1929, it is home to one of the most comprehensive public collections of Rodin's work outside Paris.

Auguste Rodin's (French, 1840-1917) genius was to express inner truths of the human psyche, and his gaze penetrated beneath the external appearance of the world. Exploring this realm beneath the surface, Rodin developed an agile technique for rendering the extreme physical states that correspond to expressions of inner turmoil or overwhelming joy. He sculpted a universe of great passion and tragedy, a world of imagination that exceeded the mundane reality of everyday existence.

- "www.rodinmuseum.org"

The Thinker is a nude male figure of over life-size sitting on a rock with his chin resting on hand as though in deep thought and is often used as an image to represent Philosophy.  About 28 monumental-sized bronze casts of the sculpture are in museums and in public places. 

The Thinker was originally just a figure in another work - The Gates of Hell.  Rodin Museum has one of the only 3 original bronze casts of The Gates of Hell in the world. 

The Three Shades embody death, sleep and a loss of consciousness. Rodin placed The Three Shades atop The Gates of Hell to draw attention to the scene of damnation unfolding below. Only years later, The Three Shades was enlarged and exhibited as an independent sculpture. 

Although Adam & Eve were meant to frame the  Gates of Hell, Rodin wasn't satisfied with many versions of Eve's figure he created. Hence, they were later sold as separate art pieces.

ADAM displayed the enormous influence of Michelangelo's works on Rodin, especially the celebrated painting of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. 

On a side note, Sistine Chapel was absolutely beautiful when I visited back in the summer of 2016. Sadly, nobody is allowed to take photos, even on our smartphones so I am unable to share those artworks with you guys.  It was impressive artwork, so I think it should go into anyone's bucket list.

 Civil War Soldiers Memorial 

As you can tell from our photos, the weather wasn't exactly conducive for sightseeing. It was too cloudy and gloomy, then got more bleak in the evening with sudden showers!  Without umbrella, we seeked shelter in the patio of a random building along the parkway.  

Opened in 1927, Parkway Central Library formed the heart of the 54 branch free library of Philadelphia system. 

Free daily tours will allow you to explore this stunning Beaux-Arts building, from its unique architecture to its rich history. Scheduled tours begin in the lobby either at 10am or 2pm, depending of the day of the week.

With its grand facade, vaulted dome, ornate main altar, eight side chapels and main sanctuary that comfortably holds 2000 worshippers, the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul makes for a notable sight. Built from 1846-1864, this large brownstone structure is definitely a striking architecture in Philadelphia.

Fortunately for us, the rain turned into slight drizzles after about 30 minutes. So we continued our jaunt back to the market to buy takeaway dinners around 430pm. Now that I am blogging about our trip, I realized we ate too often :D There went all the calories we lost from walking!

After heading back to Double Tree to collect our luggage, we headed out again around 6pm and took train towards the Philadelphia 30th Street Station.  Our Amtrak to Washington DC departed promptly at 7:04 pm.

DC subway station

Unlike most of the subway stations in the United States, the ones in DC were so clean. However, they do have a bit of industrial feel with their steel structure and dim light.

Upon arrival around 9 pm, we took subway to our Days Inn Hotel. The hotel was conveniently located only about 8 minutes walk away from the subway and that's one of the main reasons why we booked it. 

While car rental and gas could be considered affordable, parking was not, especially in the huge metropolitan like Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Thus, we had to rely on public transport, no matter how low the frequency was.

Other than its convenient location, the hotel was clean and has basic amenities. It was by no means a five star experience though.  We checked into our room around 10pm and were so knackered that we turned in almost immediately after shower. 

Stay tuned for our excursion in the nation's capital - DC.

Adios!

xoxo

Miss N