We loved going to the Chinese Lantern Festival last summer so I made a point to buy tickets to see it again this summer (they change out the theme and lanterns every year). We were originally supposed to go for 1-2 nights mid-July but the morning we were set to leave we discovered that smoke from the wildfires in Ontario were engulfing the city. We made the decision to reschedule because we didn't think we'd be able to enjoy the sites while struggling to breathe. We were able to change our dates for the hotel and festival for a night in August.
We arrived at check-in time, 3pm, for our one night at Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia. We dropped our things off, took a quick bathroom break, and then set off!
The location of our hotel was amazing. We were within walking distance to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross House, and of course, the Chinese Lantern Festival. Once we gave our car over to the valet we didn't see it again until the next day when we were ready to leave.
Even though everything was relatively close it was quite humid so we were all pretty sweaty and sticky for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. That was the only downside to walking everywhere.
Our first stop was the Betsy Ross House. On the way we took a peek at Benjamin Franklin's gravesite, which we saw through iron bars because it costs $5 to enter Christ Church Burial Grounds.
I learned a lot about Betsy Ross that I didn't know prior to our visit. For one thing, she was asked to sew the flag by George Washington (and a couple other guys) and secondly, by doing so she endangered her freedom - she could've been charged with treason. I like that the girls got to learn about a strong American woman and her history-making role in the birth of our nation. Not sure they actually absorbed any of that but I did!
This cat fountain was donated to the site but there's no verifiable proof that badass Betsy was also a cat lady.
From there we continued on to Elfreth's Alley which is supposed to be the most continuously inhabited street in our country. People have been living there since 1713 and people live there now. That surprised me. I hope they've done renovations...
One of the things that I love about traveling with the kids (minus the drama) is that they expose you to new things. I've been to Philadelphia many times but I've never visited these sites and I might not have had I not wanted to expose my kids to these significant monuments to American history.
From there we lined up to see the Liberty Bell. We didn't get to absorb much there because the kids were not interested in the facts, they just wanted to see the Bell. From the pictures I was able to see, the Liberty Bell has represented freedom to so many - indigenous tribes, suffragettes, civil rights activists, etc. It's "just a bell" but it symbolizes so more.
By that point it was basically 5pm so we lost our chance to see Independence Hall.
We returned to the hotel to cool off and rehydrate then we set out for the grand finale of the night and the impetus for the trip - the Chinese Lantern Festival!
This statue was in a small park across from our hotel. The Signer represents the men who, via the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, signed our nation into being.
Last year we saw the lanterns, ate, and watched the fountain show all in the span of 90 minutes or so. We were staying outside Philly, in NJ, and so we were more limited for time. On this evening, however, we arrived just after 6pm and left around 10. We certainly made the most of it - the kids rode the carousel three times, we had dinner (SquareBurger again), watched the 30 minute performance of Chinese artists (an illusionist, acrobats, and jugglers), watched the fountain show every chance we got, popped smoke-filled bubbles, had dessert (cotton candy for the kids and milkshakes for the adults) and of course, did the rounds and admired the intricate and beautiful lantern work. Just like last year, this was a core memory for our family. Already planning to go again next summer.
After a crazy night of sugar highs and then crashes we checked out of our room and then left our bags with the bellhop.We had one final stop before our departure - Independence Hall. Between 9 and 9:50 every morning there is an open house, no tickets required. So we got to wander the hallowed halls where our nation was born or more specifically, where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed into law.
There were helpful park rangers at every turn, happy to answer questions and educate the public. I would've liked to have learned more but the kids still aren't quite there with their limited attention spans. I hope we'll return later as they start studying this material in school and it's more relevant to them.
All in all, it was a very full less than 24 hours in Philadelphia. We missed some things I wanted us to do so we might be going back sooner than next summer. Great city, great fun!
