The Birthplace of USA – Philadelphia

Chris Boothman
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31
The Birthplace of USA – Philadelphia

So when you think about old historical cities you are probably thinking about historical European cities or maybe ancient, Chinese/Indian regions but you are probably not thinking about Philadelphia as being up there with the leading locations around the world. Well, if you have an American background you are probably aware of why ‘Philly’ is such an important location in US history.

In the late 18th Century when America was still under the power of the sovereign British throne, members of the 13 original colonies embarked on a meeting place in Philadelphia and came to the decision that enough was enough and they wanted to have their independence. Cutting all ties in terms of control with the British Empire was going to be a long fought struggle but eventually on July 4, 1776 the United States of America were able to celebrate what is commonly known today as Independence Day.

Entering Philly today, you see a mixture of a remake and originality of the past two centuries of history present here. Here is a quick review of the top landmarks present in Philadelphia, PA, some of which are related to the topic of independence while others are more infamous for movie traits or other domains in society:

Independence Hall

This is where it all started! Independence Hall is the home of where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted.

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Walking around the guided tour which just as a sidenote requires you to get tickets (they are free by the way!) in the morning for an afternoon viewing, is a real treat and the experienced guides have plenty to talk about as they describe the rooms that you set foot in and recall how the likes of Adams, Jefferson and Washington sat in those infamous seats and discussed the nation’s future.

Liberty Bell

The bell tower steeple of Independence Hall was the original home of the Liberty Bell. It has since been moved to the Liberty Bell Center which sits just outside the grounds of Independence Hall. Walking through the location you are given detailed descriptions through wall displays and videos of the history behind the iconic bell. The final part of the self-guided tour of the Center is to actually stand beside the impressive structure.

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Professor Constance M. Greiff, in her book tracing the history of Independence National Historical Park, wrote of the Liberty Bell:

The Liberty Bell is the most venerated object in the park, a national icon. It is not as beautiful as some other things that were in Independence Hall in those momentous days two hundred years ago, and it is irreparably damaged. Perhaps that is part of its almost mystical appeal. Like our democracy it is fragile and imperfect, but it has weathered threats, and it has endured.

Philadelphia City Hall

Located in the heart of downtown Philly, City Hall is the nation’s largest municipal building that serves the Philly government. It is specifically situated in the exact geographical center of William Penn’s original 1682 plans for the city, now known as the intersections of Broad and Market Streets – Center Square.

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This impressive structure is at the pinnacles of the downtown area. With so much traffic moving around this area via public transportation and day to day activities, City Hall certainly does not go unnoticed to passing bystanders.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

You may be wondering how the Philadelphia Museum of Art gets on a list of such iconic landmarks. Well if you are interested in art you would probably know why right? Of course, it’s one of the largest museums of art in USA and it invites visitors from around the world to explore its renowned collections and acclaimed special exhibitions. And that’s the Museum of Art….or is that all it’s famous for??? If you have seen the picture above you may be wondering where you have seen these infamous steps before. Well they are at the heart of one of the most famous movies of all time – Rocky! To honor Rocky’s training regime up the steps, there is a statue of the legend himself at the bottom and this is certainly one of the major tourist attractions in the Philadelphia downtown area.

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As famous as the statue itself are the stairs leading to the East Entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, aka “The Rocky Steps.” Making the iconic trip up the steps is regarded as a symbol of perseverance and determination. So now you probably realize why the Museum of Art is included in this list of Philly landmarks.

Sports Stadiums

If you are a sports fanatic and are in the Philadelphia area, head down the Broad Street (orange) line on the subway and get off at the AT&T station because you will be close to all of Philly’s major league stadiums. If you are interested in MLB, you can catch the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Lincoln Financial Field is home to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and the Wells Fargo Center is home to the 76ers. A great spot to catch some afternoon or evening entertainment because all three are within walking distance of each other.

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Even though I spent almost a week in Philadelphia primarily for a conference at the Pennslyvania Convention Center in downtown Philly, I had sufficient time to investigate all of the above landmarks and each one is definitely very impressive and worth visiting.

Best Western La Tour Notre Dame, Paris – Hotel Review

Chris Boothman
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7
Best Western La Tour Notre Dame, Paris – Hotel Review

One of the major issues when planning a trip to Paris, France is deciding where you want to stay. Fighting the high prices charged by the majority of leading hotels in the Paris region, it is tough to find somewhere that is reasonably priced yet still offers a great location. Well I honestly feel like we can offer this to you with the Best Western La Tour Notre Dame which we stayed at for 3 nights on our recent trip to Paris. Before you start having thoughts about the brand ‘Best Western’, I will openly admit that I voiced my concerns to Heather prior to our trip. However, I can now say that the stereotype that you may associate with Best Western in the United States is certainly not applicable to the Paris equivalent.

Located about 5 minutes from the Notre Dame Cathedral and in close proximity to the Saint Germain des Pres, this hotel offers a perfect spot to get out and enjoy the Parisian surroundings. If you are taking the metro/subway from either the airport or Gare du Nord train station as we did, your best option is to take the Blue line to St. Michel Notre-Dame and then follow the signs for Cluny La Sorbonne which will leave you on Boulevard Saint-Germain and less than a 5 minute walk to the Best Western La Tour Notre Dame.

Entering the hotel we were greeted by a pleasant hostess who was happy to speak in English. She provided information regarding breakfast, free wi-fi internet and indicated that if we had any questions she would be more than happy to help. The first thing you will notice about this hotel which may put you off a little is the size. It feels like a local establishment, almost like a Bed and Breakfast but honestly this is the Paris hotel scene in a nutshell. Paris is the complete opposite to major cities in the United States where everything is doing on a large scale. Paris prefers to have unique, authentic hotels that are not necessarily affiliated with chains (though you will notice the one we chose is a Best Western brand) but have the perfect location and make your stay very memorable.

Our first challenge was getting our bags to our rooms. We initially didn’t notice the small lift located by the reception desk so were forced to use the winding staircase to the third floor. I have to admit this wasn’t the most pleasant experience but at least it was only a one time occurrence. Opening the door we entered a pleasant room, yes it was small especially given what we are used to (the previous two nights we had stayed at a Westin in Chicago and Hilton in London) but very well-kept and ‘cute’. The biggest attraction that we immediately noticed was the windows that opened to a small balcony type structure overlooking the Parisian streets. It’s difficult to explain how this felt but you pretty much knew you were in Paris with this one aspect.

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The bathroom was another interesting part of this hotel. Spotlessly clean with every amenity you would expect, the main problem however was that given we are both tall individuals, the shower was going to cause a slight issue. The next couple of days was really an interesting experience taking the shower as we had to stand pretty much in one spot, with hardly any room to turn around and with our heads ducked down! But you know it’s one of those experiences that we all have to put ourselves in because you adapt without any problems.

I would say that our main issues over the three nights that we spent at this hotel were the room temperature and outside noise. We were constantly switching the thermostat on and off to try and find that perfect temperature. I don’t think it helped that we were still getting over the dreaded jet-lag but whenever we had the gorgeous windows open, we had to deal with the traffic outside which even at 4AM appeared to be as busy as 4PM!

The internet was great though we only used this on a couple of occasions. We didn’t sample the breakfast at this hotel so can’t comment but the pictures we saw indicate that this would have been a worthwhile expense. One added expense that you may not be aware of is the Paris city tax which is only 1 Euro per day, per person but it’s handy to have some change whenever you check out unless you want to potentially experience convenience charges on your credit card.

I would highly recommend the Best Western La Tour Notre Dame to anyone visiting the Paris downtown area. If you are visiting Paris for the first time and are interested in scoping out the ‘main’ tourist attractions, this is the hotel for you. You are within walking distance to pretty much everything including the Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre Museum and even the Eiffel Tower is less than 2 miles away.

Details

Dates: Thursday, December 18, 2013 – Sunday, December 22, 2013 (3 Nights)

Price: $152 per night

Interview – Ashley Hubbard (Wild Hearted)

Chris Boothman
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Interview – Ashley Hubbard (Wild Hearted)

Today we would like to welcome a fellow ‘Southerner’ all the way from Franklin, Tennessee! Ashley Hubbard from Wild Hearted (formerly A Southern Gypsy) has graciously given her time to speak with us and help us learn a little more about her travel inspirations and her website as she prepares to embark on a global journey to South-East Asia at the end of the year!

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and connect with Ashley using her various social media fronts listed below.

We would like to give a special THANK YOU to Ashley for taking time to interview with us!

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Name: Ashley Hubbard

Website: Wild Hearted

Social Media: 

What is your favorite aspect of traveling and if you are a travel blogger, why did you decide to create your website? 

Anyone that knows me, knows I don’t pick favorites well. I love everything about traveling. I love flying, riding on trains, observing locals, trying new local foods, and meeting new people. I stress about a lot at home (yes, I admit, I’m a stresser), but on the road, I feel “at home.” Something can go wrong and I just brush it off and keep going.

I created my website several months ago when I decided that I needed to change my life and started doing the things I love and stop trying to please everyone else. At the end of the day, I’m the one who lives with my decisions. Once I decided, I would be leaving next year to travel full-time, I also decided to go ahead and start my website to document the prepping side of traveling and to get involved in the travel blog community in advance.

How many continents have you visited? 

Three

How many countries have you visited? 

11-20

What is your favorite destination in the world and why? 

I know it’s going ot sound cliche, and for that I’m sorry but…London. I was in love with London before I went there. It was my first international destination. I just simply love it. I could ride the damn tube for hours and be happy (Mind the gap!)

If money/time was no object and you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you travel to and why? 

Since we’re talking about money not being an issue, then Switzerland. It’s not at the very top of my list, but it’s so pricey that it will probably be a while before I get there. It is, however, my mom’s top destination and I want to take her soon. So, if money was no issue, I’d take the both of us to Switzerland.

Which of the following gadgets do you take on your travels? 

Laptop, Phone, Camera and Tablet(iPad,Kindle etc.)

What is your preferred method of transport? 

Train and walking within the city. Train if a long trip. I love trains.

Complete the following, “Everywhere I go, I visit….” 

Food establishments you can’t find anywhere else, the best views of the city, street markets, and anything anyone suggests!

Here is your chance to sell yourself and your website! Tell us some more information about yourself, what your travel philosophies & future plans are and anything else that people may find interesting to read about… 

I’m currently in month three of prepping for long term travel. Next fall, I will be quitting my job and heading off to SE Asia for as long as I choose then who knows where. I will be island-hopping, volunteering with elephants, trying some bizarre foods, attempting to scuba dive, searching komodo dragons, taking a Thai cooking class, and whatever else I find to do. I firmly believe in slow travel (although, that hasn’t always been my option in the past) and I believe in finding quirky, off the beaten path things to do and immersing myself in the local culture as much as possible. You can find me trying just about any adventurous thing possible.

Lombard Street – The Crookedest Street or Not?

Chris Boothman
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51
Lombard Street – The Crookedest Street or Not?

San Francisco really does have everything when it comes to design and architecture. Alcatraz Island is the perfect location for a prison given it’s unique short distance from the San Fran shoreline yet with the current it may as well be a thousand miles.

The Golden Gate Bridge is clearly an iconic image of the area, especially when the fog sets in over the bridge on what appears to be a daily occurrence. The city is filled with cable car networks based on the old Powell & Hyde design cars.

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But you can forget all of these when thinking about overall quirkiness and think about one San Francisco landmark in particular – Lombard Street! Often referred to as the “crookedest street,” San Francisco’s Lombard Street is, in fact, neither the crookedest nor the steepest street in the city, let alone the world!

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Sorry folks, if you were thinking about visiting here and being part of history in seeing a world record location. However, what you will see is a perfect piece of mastery and design in the road that winds in and out of eight tight hairpin turns.

Combine this with the beautiful flowers and well-maintained rock-beds that are littered down the street and this certainly brings out the hoards of tourists to see this. I am sure the locals get tired of the thousands of daily visitors or maybe they see this as a way to increase the value of their property given the popularity of the strip.

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We decided to walk from Union Square to Lombard Street and until you get to the foot of the so-called ‘crookedest street’ you will likely think you are in the middle of nowhere with locals just going about their daily routines. All of sudden you are hit with the intersection which is patrolled by local officers controlling the traffic down Lombard Street and surrounding neighborhoods.

Tourists from all across the world are here to see this – at the end of the day it’s only a street but I have to admit I don’t regret the walk to get here and see this with my own eyes, it’s pretty COOL!

You can walk up either side of Lombard Street, climbing the steps and watching the hundreds of vehicles that are slowly making their way down through the hairpins, many of which probably want to wait at the top and wait for the street to be clear to test their Formula 1 skills but resisting the temptation. The odd bicycle is also seen flying down but what they all have in common is their desire to be part of this experience.

Everyone is taking pictures, videoing cars along the street or simply soaking in how anyone could think about designing a street like this!

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The sight of cars maneuvering down the winding road has become a popular tourist attraction for sure. Some tourists even drive down the street themselves, braving the frequent traffic jams and bumper to bumper traffic but we decided that seeing this on foot was sufficient. If this sounds like fun to you and you also want to feel how it’s like driving down a switchback, make sure you approach Lombard street from Hyde street since this is a one-way street and you may be waiting a while to make the short ‘semi’ roller-coaster ride!

All I can say to summarize Lombard Street is that, it’s quirky, it’s weird, it’s steep, it’s an architectural masterclass and ultimately you just have to see it for yourself to believe that it is true!!

Have you visited Lombard Street?

What other streets around the world are ‘crooked’ or ‘steep’?

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