Philadelphia (Day 1 in more Detail)

Here's more on our trip to Philadelphia. 

 

Ready to take on the city.

We started our day at Independence Hall.

Here's the room where the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution were signed. Philadelphia was the nicest city in America in the 1700s, and the Pennsylvania State House was the biggest building in the colonies.

Felix slept through most of the Independence Hall tour. (Go Felix!) Afterward we ate our packed lunch outside.

 

In 1784 Charles Willson Peale opened the country's first museum in the upper room of Independence Hall. You can see a reconstruction of his museum a couple doors down from Independence Hall. Charles Willson Peale painted many portraits of famous contemporaries, and many of these are housed at the Museum Branch, as well.

We also saw the Liberty Bell. It's pretty impressive in person.

Next we took a taxi to the Philadelphia Art Museum. Beckett loved the taxi. He kept telling us: "This is not a car. This is a taxi."

Admiring Benjamin Franklin.

Nate and I were completely enchanted with all the reconstructed rooms and doors. Below are images of a Medieval Cloister, a Hindu Temple, and a Chinese study.

The room below is a reconstruction of a Japanese Tea Room. It is inside the museum, but the lighting and landscaping is such that it looks like it is outdoors. Beckett, took a break from iPading to ask, "Is this the backyard?" He asked a couple of times, and we went back into the room just to hear him say, "backyard" one last time. 

 

 Felix liked the sculpture best.

After hitting the top floor of the museum we were all hungry and the kids were bored, so we left and went for an early dinner. Afterwards, we felt refueled, so we walked back to the museum. On the way back Felix fell asleep in the stroller. Beckett quietly played the iPad while being pushed from room to room. It was almost like a date.

Nate and I were really glad we went back to see the first floor. Look at what we would have missed:

Left to Right: Winslow Homer's The Life Line, Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Annunciation, Charles Willson Peale's The Staircase Group, Cezanne's Mont Sainte Victoire, Degas's The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, Picasso's Man with a Violin, Thomas Eakins's The Agnew Clinic. 

Definitely some gems from American and European art history.

We also enjoyed this Sol LeWitt room.

One of the highlights, was seeing Duchamp's The Large Glass (or Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even) in person.

We also love Brancusi's The Kiss.

 

With that it was time to head back to the hotel. Beckett was thrilled to be leaving. (Although I must sing praises to our double stroller. A trip to a museum like this would not have been possible without the double.) On our way to pick up our coats Beckett stopped two museum guards and told them, "We are going home. We are going back to the hotel!." He also informed the girl at the coat check of our plans. Felix charmed all the museum guards. Good thing, it's a little nerve wracking taking a baby to a museum.