Out and About in Nashville

The Nashville Farmers Market was not very interesting, but we did like the wide range of pumpkins on display.

There are dozens of party vehicles cruising around downtown Nashville. Many of them are full of young women having long weekend hens' parties.

There is constant loud noise near Broadway - not good country music as it is all jumbled together. Last night we listened to some blues music for a change of pace at the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar.

Tonight we ventured further afield to the Lipstick Lounge. The air conditioning was set so low we had to leave because it was freezing.

Day 21 - Labor Day in Nashville

To beat the heat we walked early in the morning before the crowds descended on Broadway. We crossed the Cumberland River on one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world. It was originally built for vehicles in 1909 but the concrete trusses needed repeated repair so it was closed in 1998. Instead of demolishing the bridge it was refurbished for pedestrian and cycle traffic. From the bridge we looked down on the people marching in the Labor Day Parade.

Our next stop was the Frist Art Museum to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition. There were some fabulous reproductions of clothing worn by Frida.

 

The museum is in the former Nashville US Post Office which was built in 1934 with some fine Art Deco features.

Day 20 - Philadelphia to Nashville

Today we flew from Philadelphia to Nashville. Long distance trains no longer travel to Nashville. Flights are at risk of being impacted by lots of people travelling on the Labor Day Weekend, and by the hurricane threatening Florida as the airlines juggle their schedules to make sure no planes are in the high risk zone. Fortunately we booked a fairly early flight and only had minor delays.

It is very warm walking along Broadway with the temperature here at 33°. We had to check out the shops to cool down in air conditioning. Lots of these shops sell boots, but this one consisted of two adjoining shops plus an upstairs collection.

There are some aspects of the United States mentality we can't understand. Parents can buy their kids bullet proof backpacks as part of their return to school gear. They will stop a 9mm round but not the bullets favoured by mass shooters.

New school buildings are being designed with curved corridors so shooters get limited views of their targets. At least the mood has changed and people are dobbing in potential killers.

Day 19 - Final Day in Philadelphia

We walked to the Perelman Building near the Arts Museum. It is described as Art Deco but inside there is very little left of the original features of the building. The windows are still original.

On our way we passed the impressive gilded bronze statue of Joan of Arc.

We visited the Rodin Museum but the bronze statues are not to our taste, especially the Gates of Hell.  Flags of about 120 countries are flown along Ben Franklin Parkway, including the Australian flag.

For the rest of the day we wandered around shops and admired features of some of Philly's buildings. I stood in the centre of the courtyard at City Hall to take this photo of the 548 feet tall tower topped by the largest statue in the world that sits on top of a building.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Today we walked 3kms each way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There is a great collection in this museum, but it is probably most famous for the scene in the film Rocky thanks to Sylvester Stallone running up the 72 steps out the front of the museum. The steps are now known as the Rocky Steps.

I was expected to repeat the Rocky scene and run up all those steps, but was saved from inevitable failure by a lot of temporary stages, fencing and portaloos being installed for the Labor Day Weekend. Phew! Instead we posed for Rocky photos, with our feet firmly planted exactly where Rocky stood.

 

A bronze statue of Rocky was placed at the top of the steps for the filming of Rocky III. It is now based in the garden at the side of the museum.

And now for some real Art! There have been some exceedingly wealthy Philadelphians who have made generous donations to this museum. Van Gogh painted several pictures of sunflowers, including five still life paintings of sunflowers in a vase, one of which is here in Philly.

Eleanor Widener and her first husband had a collection of furniture and art works in their New York townhouse, which is now in the museum. Her husband and son died when the Titanic sank, but Eleanor and her maid survived. Her second husband was an explorer and she accompanied him on many adventurous expeditions.

There is a small bronze statue of William Penn that was a model for the 32 foot statue on City Hall. The model is only about 2 feet tall.

One of my favourite pieces is this French cabinet carved from ebony. The picture on the right show some detail.

 

Day 18 - Philadelphia - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Walking around we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly sides of Philadelphia. This morning's alley scene comes in at ugly.

The "model" in the window of a tattoo shop takes the cake for bad, or at least bad taste. The alarming number of homeless people on the streets is the most obvious bad side of Philadelphia.



There are a lot of good sides to Philadelphia. It has a good record on LGBT issues. This mural portrays Gloria Casarez who was a very effective activist, instrumental in Philadelphia adopting the broadest LGBT rights protections in the nation.

The city has a good public transport system which provides free travel for resident seniors aged 65 and over. This program is funded by lotteries.

The other good thing about Philadelphia is its architecture. Skyscrapers were not built in this city until 1987 because of the "gentleman's agreement" restricting the height of buildings to below the top of William Penn's statue on top of City Hall - 548 feet. There are now 10 buildings taller than City Hall. Here is the contrast between the old and the new and some examples of good historic architecture.

Day 17 - Historic Philadelphia

This morning we headed for the Reading Terminal Market. On the way we passed the Hard Rock Caffé located in this lovely old building.

The market sells a wide variety of fresh, preserved and cooked foods, some of which looked very tempting.

We passed the site where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Ironically as Jefferson wrote "All men are created equal", he had all of his needs taken care of by his enslaved servant, Bob Hemmings.




We wandered through the historic district to see the Liberty Bell, reputedly rung before the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. The Liberty Bell was adopted as a symbol by abolitionists.

Continuing past Liberty Bell for a few blocks we visited Elfreth's Alley, one of the longest continually occupied residential areas dating back to the early 1700s.

The Betsy Ross flag in the foreground was first upholstered by Betsy in 1777. Given Philadelphia's history based on independence and liberty, it is not surprising the majority of the population votes Democrat.

Day 16 - Baltimore to Philadelphia

Our train to Philadelphia was crowded but we were able to find seats. Penn Station Baltimore and 30th Street Station Philadelphia are both magnificent structures. Unfortunately Penn Station is seriously in need of attention. Amtrak plans to spend $90 million upgrading the station. The veranda is made of cast iron and glass. The bottom photo is 30th Street Station.

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel we booked is in Gaybrohood - this was not intentional but it is a great neighbourhood. From our 25th floor room we have views through corner windows to the south and the east, with the Walt Whitman Bridge in the background.

There is so much wonderful architecture here in Philly, both historic and modern. We walked to Philadelphia City Hall, built between 1871 and 1901. It is topped by an 11 metre statue of William Penn, the founder of the city. Until 1908 it was the tallest building in the world.

This is a photo of the statue on the ground. It was cast in 14 pieces to allow it to be lifted to the top of the tower.