Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
DAY 10: UNFINISHED PHILLY BUSINESS
The only downer I had from our last holiday was the weather cancelling our Rocky tour. So when we started planning this getaway, a return visit to Philadelphia just had to be on the itinerary.
We rose early to catch an 8am train out of New York for the 90min trip. Our tour guide and local Rocky impersonator Mike Kunda was there to collect us from the train station.
The pre-arranged meeting spot wasn't necessary - as soon as we came up the escalators Mike was easily spotted. Dressed all in black, complete with fedora hat and bouncing a squash ball, the "Yo, Tony!" greeting that boomed across the entrance hall in that familiar voice completed the introduction.
Josh was instantly mesmerised. If Nic thought I was a Rocky tragic, she soon realised Mike took it to another level!
Mike has met most of the films' cast (including Sly himself 'about a dozen times') and been given access on set during the last two films - so every location we went to had a story.
The tour went for just under four hours, covering sites in various neighbourhoods across all the films. There was one notable exception though. The Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is usually the finale to Mike's tour. As luck(!) would have it, there was a marathon in the city today and all the streets leading in and around the museum were closed to traffic. Good thing we got a late flight to Nashville tomorrow!
Mike dropped us off at our hotel at the end of the tour. Our hotel overlooks Independence Hall and is nestled in the heart of Philly's historic district. After we checked in, we took the opportunity to take a stroll around the 'old city' neighbourhood.
For dinner, we made a return visit to the Victor Cafe. Italian and live opera work well together - Josh even got his own personal table side version of 'happy birthday' when they brought out dessert It's early we know, but hey, why not milk it for what it's worth? Josh certainly didn't seem to mind.
It capped off a great day!
- comments