2 minute tourist

I just spent 48 hours in Philadelphia on a rapid turnaround business trip. It's not exactly a week in St. Lucia, but I always try and experience more than just the meetings and hotels in the cities I visit. With as much insight and credibility as a few hours in the City of Brotherly Love can bring, here are my observations:

• Philly, you stink. At least, the drive from the airport into the city has enough refining and industry to whisk my senses back to childhood gems like Granite City and Decatur, Illinois. Bad first impression.
• But wait Philly, you're hot. Sunny with temps in the 80's ... that wasn't in the forecast? The weather allowed strolls around the Penn/Drexel area, revealing lots of character-laden "older" buildings (being from Austin, old = "more than 50 years old") mixed with some pretty hip (or pseudo-hip) newer developments. Nice. The pretty co-eds walking around in the surprisingly warm sun didn't hurt the atmosphere, either.
• Rocky still rocks. Love of hate Sly Stallone, Rocky is ingrained in our culture, and nowhere more so than Philly. During an afternoon run, I scaled "the Rocky steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I wasn't going to take my sweaty ass inside, but it looks like a decent museum, and it offers a great view of downtown. Arm pumps, optional.
• Fat is flavor. Our chic Cuban dining at Alma de Cuba was good, although the excellent Mojitos and ceviche were somewhat tainted by the uber-fatty pork and rich sauces that stayed with me all night. The same fat levels were achieved at Jim's Steaks (4th and South St.) the following night to immensely more satisfying effect. I know this might be heresy to some, but deep in my heart of hearts I know this native Philly cheesesteak (with wiz) is not as good as Texadelphia.

What a surprise; this is a city I'd like to visit for real. What kind of American am I to never have seen the Liberty Bell or visited Independence Hall? This is as historical as our punk-ass country gets, so enjoy it! And there's always more cheesesteaks to sample ...