Philly

I am spending the weekend in the Philadelphia. I had a great ride down on the Chinatown bus, only $10 and less than two hours to get here. I went to sleep in one Chinatown and woke up in another.

Philly is a strange city, so much of the downtown feels like an outdoor mall, a bit like the Fulton Street Mall near where I live in Brooklyn. I have noticed that the neighborhoods change and blend into one another much faster here. You can be on a street with a few upscale clothing stores and chain restaurants and then the next block is mostly abandoned and then the block after that is a university with well kept buildings.

There are maps almost every corner around Market Square. I don't think NY does this, but as a tourist it is really nice. You don't have to whip out a map or go stand in front of a big one that draws a lot of attention to you. There are small, discrete, easy to use maps quite often, which lets you feel safe and helps you blend in.

photo to come.