Today we went into Philadelphia. In the words of James Rolf: Philadelphia is referred to as the birthplace of America, but I went there because Rocky jumped a park bench! For those who don't know the works of James Rolf please watch the following videos:
Part 1
Part 2
To get into the city we used the New Jersey Transit trains, which worked pretty well, even had free parking for the day. It dropped us off right in the centre of town perfect for our day of wandering. We first headed to the tourist info centre, which had a penny machine but was full of school children. The gift shop was horrific, so many children, so much noise,
The history of the place is pretty cool but it is a haven for school trips so It was nice to hit the Rocky trail and get away from the children. Our first hit was Penn’s Landing; the historic site where the founder of Pennsylvania William Penn docked in the city. This is also the waterfront where Rocky sprints in the training montage. From Penn’s Landing we went back into town to the urban district and found the Italian market where Rocky gets thrown the orange in the training montage. It’s a cool place, full of energy and very down to earth as it is not a real tourist area. Just south of the market there is the crossroads which claims to be the birthplace of the Philli cheesesteak. There are two cheesesteak joints, one on either side of the crossroads: Gino’s Steaks and Pat’s Steaks. Despite Gino’s being more famous and glitzy, we ate at Pat’s as that’s where Rocky eats. If you were wondering, a Philli cheesesteak is a sub sized sandwich packed with steak and melted American cheese slopped on top. I will do a review when I get a moment. Cheesesteak is a really big deal in Philli and all sorts were gathered at the crossroads enjoying their sandwiches when we were there.
Following the culinary delights of cheesesteak we went back to the centre of town, to City Hall. The Hall is a fantastic and imposing structure right at the heart of the city and is featured in a Rocky film, but I do not know which one, check James Rolf’s video for that. En route we also passed the conference centre from one of the Rocky films. Beyond City Hall is Benjamin Franklin Parkway; an impressive mile long boulevard that leads from the Hall over to the Museum of Art. It has roundabouts with huge fountains and all sorts of statues. It actually reminds me of the Champs Elysees in Paris but with an American style. Along the boulevard is the Rodin Museum, which has an original “The Thinker” statue sitting out at the front. The boulevard leads right up to the steps leading to the Museum of Art; the Rocky steps. At the end of the training montage rocky runs the length of the boulevard and up to the top of the steps. This scene signifies the main theme of the film; the underdog story, where a normal guy from the bad areas of town can reach the top and become someone special through hard work, heart and determination. In one of the later Rocky films a statue is dedicated to rocky and placed at the top of these steps, but in reality it is down at the bottom off to the side as it is not “real art” and even this was a long time coming. After seeing the statue and getting a couple of pictures I joined the other tourists and did my run to the top of the Rocky steps and turned to see the amazing cityscape that is Philadelphia. On our way back we stopped off at the gardens behind Constitution Hall, where Rocky jumped a park bench. A nice spot, a few too many tourists but still not too busy. I didn’t have a clue which bench was the actual Rocky bench, so I jumped over a random one before heading out.
I have to say that after seeing documentaries on Philli about its terrible gun and knife crime I had reservations about the city, but it is a remarkable place where much of the early history of this great nation occurred. I also think that more cities should embrace the film industry as a form of tourism. I had a great time going round the Rocky sights in Philli just as I loved tracking down the Mulholland Drive places in LA. Does anyone know of any good films that are set in London? I can’t think of any off the top of my head. I think it would be fun to do a film tour of London too.
Our day ended just outside the Brunswick area of New Jersey where we grabbed a bit of internet at a Starbucks and dined in style at a Chipotle’s. South Park has it all wrong though, Chipotle’s isn’t all that spicy and you don’t need Chipotleway afterwards either.
Cube out
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