(Cool, Creamy) Philadelphia, PA

Got the bus around 10.15 this morning - was a full bus so not too comfy! Arrived in Philadelphia, PA at around 1pm and walked the 10 blocks to the hostel with my gargantuous bags in the sweltering midday heat - hoo hoo! BAD idea! To my ULTIMATE dismay, the hostel was closed until 4.30pm, so I rang the bell in desperation, but to no avail.

Luckily, after about 45mins of praying for someone to come along and let me in, someone came outside for a cigarette and let me put my bags inside - thank gawd!

So then I had nearly 3 hours to kill, so I wandered up the main street to the visitor's centre and got a free ticket to see the Liberty Bell - Philadelphia's "Finest Ornament". It's a bell that was commissioned for the state house, but which cracked soon after. It has since been used / seen as a symbol for liberty and equality - black rights, women's rights etc.

I passed up on seeing the Independence Hall (I'll do that on Saturday) to have a wander around the mall while it was still open. I bought a book ('Chinese Cinderella'), some postcards, a Ben Harper CD (after hearing it in Chris' car - I'm hooked!) and I got my ear pierced from Claires. Then I phoned home and had a conversation with Dad that I'd sooner forget to be honest. Let's just say that when you're in a foreign country and you're on your own it's lonely and scary, and phoning home should always give you a sense of familiarity and comfort.

Then I came back and had some tea (New England Clam Chowder - not so good out of a tin!), had a very nice, long shower and watched Sin City on the TV - movies everynight at 9pm here - I love it!

Supposed to be meeting Afro Myke in NYC tomorrow, we'll see how that pans out...