We set our alarms to wake us up around 8 am, so that we'd be checked out of our room by 11 am. Our plans were to first explore the Reading Terminal Market, then visit the US Mint. and finally visit the Fragments at Franklin Court before going back to our hotel for our bags, then to the 30th Street Station for our train home.
Unlike the past 2 days, RQS and I used Ubers go get around Philly. It didn't cost that much more than it would have if we took the bus, and we were much more comfortable doing so. Our first stop was the Reading Terminal Market, where it felt as it were NYC's Chelsea Market done right. (I've yet to visit Seattle's Pike Place Market, so I can't use this market as a reference.) The food there was overwhelming, and I wish this place was near my suburban New York residence to visit on a regular basis. Both RQS and I had breakfast crepes, and then walked over to our next stop, the US Mint.
Photography is needlessly prohibited inside the US Mint building, and I wanted to ONLY get a picture of the mosaics on the entry wall. But I was told I couldn't even get that. So I had to take a snapshot of one of the artifacts inside their theater as my act of peaceful defiance. With this being said, it was a boring self guided tour, as none of the equipment was in use today. Yes, there were things of mild interest. But not enough to make the long walk inside the mint building worthwhile.
Next, it was off to the Fragments at Franklin Court, where could see the nation's first post office, and other historical buildings. However, we took our time walking over there, as the path we walked had little shade and the sun was beating down on us. Arriving at Franklin Court, we went into the post office (not much to see there) and then found that the rest of the buildings were closed for the day.
Now, it was time to go back to our hotel and rest before taking our train home. After retrieving our bags from the storage locker, we rested for a couple of hours at the hotel before going to the 30th Street Station. And then, we killed 45 minutes before boarding our train. By 7 pm, we were in NYC, and we parted for the night.
It was a nice trip and one I want to do again - as long as we don't have to deal with s shut down city. The loss of Center City due to the presidential debate cost us a chance to visit Independence Hall and to visit the Eastern State Penitentiary (the latter for scheduling reasons). Hopefully, we'll be able to do this again soon - with me presenting as Marian.
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