Raw, honest travel blog.
I spent one weekend in Philadelphia, in November 2017.
I fell in love with Philadelphia. (Fast realising I fall in love with places very easily — but not New York. Agh, New York. A different story for a different day.)
Philadelphia had an old-timey feel. I visited Amish Country, met an authentic Amish family, dined with them — they made us dinner — and visited their local stores.
I loved everything about Amish Country. I had only ever seen their lifestyle in movies, or read about them in books. To think that there are people out there who are so untouched by the world’s influences — untouched by hate and greed, anger and stress — just living their days with each other, for each other — in love and peace. It was beautiful.
While in Amish Country, I saw a young couple going on a date. She wore her long, flared dress — decorated with plain patterns and dull, pale colours — along with a bonnet. He wore a smart almost-suit. They must have been around sixteen years old. They were chaperoned by an adult, who sat upfront the small carriage, and directed the horse that pulled them. I got to step back in time in Amish Country. There was no electricity and everything was farmed by the locals themselves, no products available in that town were from factories.
We toured into the city of Philadelphia. There was a veterans parade going on, with old-school cars driving through the streets — with Springsteen and me screaming out ‘Born in The USA’ maybe a little too loudly. Okay, no, Bruce wasn’t there, and we ‘technically’ weren’t singing ‘together’, but this is my story, so… We got married. Okay, too far. Too mushy. Too everything. Back to travel.
I loved Philadelphia. Everything about it. 10/10. Well done, Philly.