Take a nation's first capital, throw in some century old buildings which were literally the birth place of that nation, add in some dynamic hi-tech industries and skyscrapers (well almost), and finally pepper it with two scenic rivers and you get Philadelphia or "Philly".

As you walk along Market street, from the Delaware to the Schuylkill there is a gradual transition from quaint colonial to hip modern architecture. The city is one of the earliest in America with a grid structure for the streets. The north-south streets are numbered, increasing from Delaware river to the Schuylkill, where as the east-west streets have names. Market and Broad streets divide the city into four quarters, the City Hall being located at their intersection. Unfortunately, I could spend just one day in the city, mainly because of inclement weather. But the one day was pretty interesting.

A circa 2003 militiaman (1) at the tourist information center gave a brief intro to the city and taught me the frontier man's handshake. I will try to put it in words just for the fun of it: lock hands by clasping each other's forearms midway and then twist clockwise and anti-clockwise to check for daggers hidden in wristbands. Along with the rather cliched visit to the Liberty bell (2,3) and Independence hall (4-8), I came across the Irish memorial by accident. The sculpture depicts the tragedy of the Irish potato famine, called "An Gorta Mor". Its located at Penn's landing on the west bank of Delaware river. Going counter-clockwise around the sculpture one can see images of mass deaths and sorrow, the uncertainty émigrés faced, and their hope on arriving in America.

Philadelphia has a large number (around hundred) of mural paintings scattered all over the city. The arrangement is more casual compared to New York. I came across only two, both along Market st., and tried to my best (15-19, 26,27). But they are much more beautiful in real life.

After walking from Independence park to Penn's landing in 2 degree weather I was in dire need of a coffee, specifically a mocha. And what do you know, I couldn't find a Starbucks anywhere near. Well, I tried explaining the espresso + cocoa formula to a cafe waitress but the result wasn't very good. So I had to walk halfway across the city to finally get my favorite triple grande peppermint light whip mocha. And it went pretty well with Salman Rushdie's "East, West". A quaint church (notice that it belongs to the Capuchin order :-) ), some street snaps, and the day was over.

Oops!! almost forgot about the first thing I saw of Philly, its fabulous railroad station (30-32), the 30th street station. The statue (32) is of an angle and is at the 29th street end.  The station was completed in 1933 and is continuously renovated, and some colorful history. Luckily I arrived in the night when it looks most magnificent. The wintry white day light somehow doesn't jell with the golden and colonial wood decor.

The photographs were taken with a Canon PowerShot S200 digital camera.