Although the outside & the inside of Philadelphia City Hall were very cool, the absolute best part was riding an old rickety elevator to the top & getting some fabulous views of the Philly skyline from up top.

There is a small walk around up top that was cold & windy in early December, but I we had a beautifully clear day for photos.

I’m still a bit enamored with the “jump drive” building, otherwise known as Comcast, since hubby regularly visits there & does business with them.

Our guide told us that the reciprocating views from City Hall the to the museum down Ben Franklin Avenue are the only ones like it in the world- where each building has a dedicated view of the other. There was some holiday market or festival set up in one of the parks down below, and I found out this road is not original to Penn’s city plan.

Downtown Philly seems so small & intimate & walk-able, but getting this view reminds me that it’s really a big city that goes on for miles.

On the ground, you don’t realize how many square block the Convention center takes up, but it looks huge from above. Reading Terminal Market is right beside it & we also had a great view of Ben Franklin bridge from up top.  Also, you can just take the elevator to the top without having to take the whole tour of the inside & outside if you are in a hurry.

One more shot of the beautiful building from ground level & a few blocks away.  The building is so big that it’s challenging to get a great shot of it directly in front of it unless you want to stand in the middle of one of the main roads leading towards it.  So glad I finally got to do a proper tour & take time to appreciate all the fascinating & gorgeous details of this great piece of history.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed home today & very excited to wrap up this year and prepare for the next one.

My tour was awesome- only me & 1 Canadian kid.  We walked the outside of city hall & then headed inside up these gorgeous stairs.

I loved all the old-fashioned gates, including this one on the mayor’s floor.  We got to peek into his meeting room where they were setting up for a press conference.

All the details- from the ceiling to the mantle to the gorgeous chandelier were incredible- so opulent and beautiful.

There were so many meeting rooms and various large open spaces around city hall.  This room was originally twice as tall, but they had to put in a ceiling and extra reinforcements.  It was still enormous and stately room for meetings and it was the original entrance to the city hall for visitors up the front stairs.

This is just an ‘ordinary’ council meeting room, where they conduct regular meetings.  But this room was anything but ordinary- it was stunning!

Check out the amazing ceiling!  I love that government business is conducted in such a place of beauty- hopefully it inspires politicians to live up the importance of their job.

One of the other stops on our interior tour was the council room. Seeing all their desks & the viewing gallery that is packed when contentious issues arise before the city council was very cool.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Going island hopping today!

Although this was my 4th trip to the city of brotherly love, I had yet to tour the incredible city hall.  The outside is so stunning & the architecture is so detailed, that I couldn’t wait to see the inside and what gorgeous things adorned it.

I have a slight obsession with clocks & can’t pass one up without taking a photo.  It’s very rare to see a true clock tower these days with a clock facing each direction.

This has got to be the most beautiful city hall in the country & is even more impressive than many state capitols that I have seen.  The sheer size of the building (larger in square footage than the US Capitol building) and the incredible amount of ornate details are stunning.

Until now, I had no idea that you could actually walk through the building.  I’d always  just gone around & avoided crossing the roads & traffic.  Each entrance way has  a different theme and decorations are  focused on a different continent.

They really don’t make buildings like this anymore! So incredible & so stately.  Apparently, it’s been undergoing renovations for the last 30+ years & this is the first time in ages that there is no scaffolding around the building where they are cleaning & repairing decades worth of damage.

Part of the original plan was always that you could walk through the building so it wouldn’t impede traffic flow.  I had no idea there was an enormous courtyard in the center & even a subway station!

I loved all of the different stones- textures and colors, in each of the grand entry ways.  These areas were massive- with huge & beautifully decorated ceilings.

Philadelphia has such an interesting history- some much of the US history is wrapped up in the city & so much religious history is formed here.  I especially like how influential all the Quakers & pacifists were in influencing much of the architecture.

One interesting thing about the city hall is that it still has a functional court & all those open-air stairs lead up into the courtroom.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Going to check out some caverns today!

A few weeks ago, work took me to Philly again & I was able to fly in a few days early to spend with my best friend Stephanie.  She worked on Monday, so I spent the day exploring and doing some sightseeing.

Just around the corner from my hotel was Reading Terminal Market & was the perfect spot for a little lunch after my morning run & before my tour of city hall.

I’ve actually been here on almost all of my previous trips, but it is usually so crowded & I am so hungry that I get out of there ASAP.  This time, I was able to take in all the amazing delis, shops, stores and restaurants inside.

I’d love to have so much fresh seafood, just baked breads and organic produce within walking distance from my house.

Some of the shops & restaurants are only open on weekends, but there is just about anything & everything for sale here- from candy, pastries, flowers, candles, spices, books, toys, all sorts of ethnic specialty foods & more.

They even had an adorable little train display out for Christmas that the kids were loving.

The place smells amazing with all of the foods & it was difficult to decide where to have lunch!  Many places offer some limited seating at an old-fashioned counter, but lots of people just grab their food to go.

Something about the chaos and randomness of all the booths lined up beside each other, but everybody seems to know where they were going & what they wanted to buy from each shop.

There was a small food court in the middle with tables & I was treated to a lunchtime piano performance of the Christmas classics while I ate.

Just being around all the amazing looking fruits, veggies & meats inspired me to want to cook more in the new year.

For lunch, I decided on Dinic’s beef sandwich, which was delicious.  Sort of reminded me of beef brisket BBQ sandwich, but with more of a pot roast flavor.

Yes, please!  Love the amazing selection and variety of cheeses for sale.  Around lunchtime, the place started getting packed, so I was glad I was there early enough to avoid the hungry crowds.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Just another day at the beach- hopefully on the south coast this afternoon.