DAY 23: A TRIAL RUN
While Nic and Josh had a sleep in this morning, I thought I'd go for a stroll to take in some of the local sights (both Rocky and non-Rocky related). It was clear blue skies above, but bloody freezing and god only knows how many degrees below!
A couple of blocks down from us is Rittenhouse Square. From there I made my way back up 19th St, all the way to the Swann Memorial Fountain. Due to the icy conditions it wasn't operating, so it was nowhere near as glorious a sight as what lay in view at the opposite end of Ben Franklin Parkway.
There it was - The Philadelphia Museum of Art (and those iconic 74 steps!).
I almost felt compelled to start sprinting those couple of kilometres down the road, but there was noticeably more traffic on the Parkway than when that other character did it 30-odd years ago.
The question was - since we're doing a Rocky tour tomorrow, do I do the steps today? There is a Kodak moment to end all moments at the top of those steps and weighing on my mind was the wet and heavy weather forecast for tomorrow, versus the uninterrupted blue skies of today.
So I decided to push on up the parkway. I eventually got to the (other) Washington Monument that sits across the street from the bottom of the steps at which point I called to see if Noddy and Sleepy were up. They were and both jumped in a cab to meet me there.
We took advantage of the good weather to take a few happy snaps (which will be heading straight to the pool room when we get home). The view looking back down the Parkway to the city skyline is simply breathtaking.
Josh ran up and down the steps a couple of times, but I think I'll save that experience for tomorrow...