My Quick Trip to Philly

I traveled to Philadelphia this week for a work-related conference.  I had never been to Philly before, so I was happy for the opportunity and hoped I'd get to see a few sites, even though my free-time was going to be very limited.

Only in town for 2 days (plus the 2 days of travel), I had to really be purposeful in squeezing the sight-seeing into my free time.  Especially since most of the historical places are only open till 5:00.

Well, day 1, the workshop ended at 3:45, so I immediately high-tailed it (on foot) straight to the historic district from the conference center - about 10 blocks - and saw three hours-worth of sites in just one hour's time.

...and back to my hotel before dark (since I was walking) with an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. :-)  This is the view of colorful Philadelphia from my 20th story room looking to the left (above)...

... and looking to the right (above)... (This was the sunrise the following morning.)

It was a beautiful walk to the conference center and just before I ducked in for another long day of seminars, I took a couple of shots of downtown.  This is of city hall. (below)

By day's end, it was raining pretty hard, so I was pleased to discover that the awesome indoor farmers market, Reading Terminal Market, was just steps away from where the conference was being held.

I meandered the entire place (one city block).

Then sat down in this cozy winery and enjoy a glass of cab sav...

...while I gazed out the window at the rainy afternoon.

Then, I made my final purchases (some raw cheese, milk, cider and a salad) and trekked back to my hotel in the rain.  I got awfully wet, but didn't mind too much... just part of the adventure.

It was a quick trip, but enjoyable.