Last Sunday we drove to Philadelphia — the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania. Danya and his dad have already been there on more than one occasion, but for Ignat and I this was a new, uncharted on our personal maps territory.

The City of Brotherly Love is the 6th most populous city in the US. We, however, were more interested not in its modern urban developments, but in the historical landmarks, such as the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Carpenters’ Hall.

The Liberty Bell is a prominent symbol of the American war of Independence. It was used to summon people for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. It obviously is not the only bell used for such purpose, but definitely is the most famous one.

We waited in a short line in order to get into the center where the bell hangs now. It was surrounded by happily smiling to their cameras tourists and for a brief moment I felt like I touched history. It would be cool to hear what the bell sounds like!

Independence Hall, which by the way is pictured on the back of $100 bill, is the place where the Liberty Bell originally hang. The building is known as a place where the Declaration of Independence was created and approved. We weren’t fortunate enough to get inside the building, but appreciated this piece of history from a very close distance.

We walked a bit through the “Old City” district of Philadelphia and saw the Irish Memorial, dedicated to the Irish people who fled from famine in Ireland in the middle of the 19th century.

Before living the city, Danya drove us through more modern districts, but I wasn’t really impressed by anything. After all, all large urban areas are somewhat similar (at least in this country).

On our way back we visited Trenton, the capital of New Jersey. We checked out the State Capitol, which is pretty good looking (we didn’t take any pictures though since it was already dark). All in all — it was a good one-day trip and I enjoyed it!