I arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday (17/5) afternoon and as it was before official check-in my room wasn’t ready so I dropped my bag and headed back to the National Constitutional Centre that I’d passed on my way to the hotel. To kick things off there was a live theatrical performance about how the United States was founded and the creation of the Constitution. Very dramatic and patriotic!  There was also an exhibition of JFK and Jackie O photographs but the main attraction was an original Bill of Rights. All interesting even if I didn’t have the expected level of patriotism. One thing I did learn (and this has been re-inforced at every historical site / museum since) is that these sorts of places are over-flowing with school groups. I suppose it’s good from an educational standpoint but it’s annoying as hell in every other aspect!! This was 3pm on a Sunday afternoon for crying out loud!

After checking in I headed to South St which was about 5 short blocks from my hotel for dinner – a traditional Philly Cheesesteak from Jim’s Steaks. Basically thinly sliced beef with cheese on a a long white bread roll. It was tasty enough but I’m not sure how proud I would be to have it as my celebrated regional dish… It is basically mince after all! I went slightly non-traditional and ordered it without fried onions but I did have it with the traditional Cheez Whiz, which is a super bright orangey coloured cheese sauce that probably has no natural ingredients whatsoever.