On with the planning, but first a mini trip report around Phila....
Yesterday, my mom, cousins (32, 16, and 14) and I had a girls' day! We went to Philadelphia and as my cousin told me "Disney did us well" because I had a tour plan for the entire day...
First, we headed to the Cleopatra exhibit at the Franklin Institute. It was wonderful, but quite overwhelming as far as information goes. I really want to get a book about Cleopatra now.
Cleopatra and Caesar's son: Caesarion
After Cleopatra and some exploration around Franklin Institute, we went to Reading Terminal Market for lunch. Of course, I had to ensure that I had food porn. (I can't remember what everything was though!)
My lunch: Chix Caprese - mediterranean
My cousin's lunch: Middle Eastern - hummus, etc.
I found a hidden Mickey...
We then, briskly walked to the Comcast Center for their Christmas Show. It is a "movie" on the wall in their lobby. It begins with light bulbs dancing to the music. People pop up on the screen who look real throughout the change of the scenes. At one point, it was like Soarin through Phila. We went through a snow scene from the perspective that we were in a sleigh. It was amazing technology. Throughout the day, I was switching between my coolpix and using my dad's iphone (it is my mom's now, but she only uses it to play words with friends...). I am hoping that Verizon releases the iPhone in Jan like rumored for years! I had practice with it most of the day, but at the Comcast Center, I just wanted to enjoy the experience. No pictures.
After this, we headed to the restroom and saw a jewelry store that had a Pandora display. My mom decided to buy each of us a charm to celebrate the day.(My mom paid for the entire day for us already. She is a wonderful mom and aunt.) We picked the sleigh (Christmas time and because of our next adventure.)
All of us with our bracelets; my mom wasn't wearing hers, so we had her hold the display cupcake!
After putting our charms on our bracelets, I received the call that our shuttle would arrive in 3 to 5 minutes. We walked out and met Kevin, our driver, and he took us to our horse drawn carriage in front of the Liberty Bell. We headed out for our one hour tour of the city. (It was quite cold, but interesting enough to not mind the cold.)
Independence Hall - Did they get this idea from Disney?
The signer...but with American Idol popularity affectionately known as the singer...
I didn't take too many pictures...it was cold...my theme was to take shots of some watering holes to take my beer snob DH to.
I can't recommend this company highly enough. The reservation included the shuttle to and from different locations in the city, and for five people for an hour, it was $120. It would have been $100 if we didn't reserve a time. Philly Trolley Works:
http://www.phillytour.com/
After our ride, we visited the Liberty Bell (to stay warm while waiting for our shuttle). We'd all visited it multiple times throughout our lives except my one cousin, so it was good for her to see it.
Next stop was Macy's for the Light Show and the Dickens Village. We sat in front of the railing on the third floor and waited 30 minutes. People stood behind us, and we hoped they'd be able to see when we stood up. It made me consider the parade dilemma. We couldn't stay seated at the rail because the spindles blocked our view, and we were waiting there much longer than the others.
After a few minutes, my cousin and I decided we would rather see the Dickens Village before the crowd moved there. The light show was cool, but pretty low tech. We couldn't hear the music or narration well, which was probably the biggest reason we only watched part of the show. Still, I would recommend it, but sit on the red carpet on the first floor.
Dicken's Village was cool. It was The Christmas Carol brought to life. It was well done with attention to detail just like in Disney rides.
After Macy's we headed back to Reading terminal to pick up some desserts before heading home.
We headed home and watched Knight and Day. My cousins all stayed at my mom's house, and I headed home.
It was a great day!