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PAID CONTENT FOR VI S IT THE USA
convenience store. Like a charmingly chaotic souk, the walls are stacked with towers of crisp packets and household mops, while at the lunch counter, hulking slabs of meat compete for space with Latin American licuados (milk-based smoothies). We order monstrously large hoagies — a traditional Italian-American sandwich that can trace its roots to the early immigrants that worked the nearby shipyards. It’s made by piling a bread roll high with fi nely sliced meat, cheese and salad. As we navigate each protein-packed bite, a spirited soundtrack of Mexican ranchera music pumps through the store’s speakers. “Many Mexican immigrants started as
dishwashers in the Italian restaurants here and worked their way up to become chefs. The outcome has been a crossover in the dishes, with restaurants like Franco Fusion serving tacos with Italian fi llings, or Italian pasta stuff ed with spicy Mexican ingredients,” Jacqueline says, as we head back out into the sunshine. We pass windows where diners slurp steaming bowls of pho, before emerging back onto the main street under a rainbow fl utter of Mexican fi esta bunting.
A CULTURAL KALEIDOSCOPE The following day brings the opportunity to take the city’s creative pulse. Considered one of the fi nest destinations for free public art in the USA, Philadelphia is home to countless sculptures and around 4,000 vibrant murals, with colourful sweeps of the city operating much like an outdoor gallery. On a walk towards the South Street neighbourhood, I pass artworks including Robert Indiana’s iconic Love sculpture, Claes Oldenburg’s supersized Clothespin sculpture and a dazzling mural of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air himself, West Philadelphia born-and-raised Will Smith. It’s early on a Sunday, but Philadelphia’s
South Street district, spanning roughly 14 blocks, is already limbering up for the day. I wander past beatnik coff ee houses bustling with dog-owning locals, hole-in-the-wall pizza joints and a labyrinth of secondhand clothing emporiums stuff ed with quirky goods. My destination is the Magic Gardens, a former abandoned lot that’s been reimagined as a folk-art masterpiece by Isaiah Zagar, a local resident now in his 80s. It’s a staggering sight to behold — every inch
THREE MORE CITY TOURS
1
FOR CINEMA LOVERS
The popular Yo, Philly! Rocky Film Tour is led by heavyweight guide Mike Kunda, the city’s most devoted Rocky impersonator. The three- hour tour takes in various filming highlights and has even been endorsed by Sylvester Stallone himself.
theyophillyfilmtour.com
2
FOR HISTORY BUFFS
Take a deep dive into Philadelphia’s storied past as the birthplace of the USA with this 75-minute Constitutional Walking Tour. Covering just over a mile, the tour takes in over 20 significant sites, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
theconstitutional.com
FOR A NEW PERSPECTIVE Built on the meeting point of two large rivers, the Schuylkill and the Delaware, Philadelphia has a rich maritime history. See the bright lights of the city from a different angle with a one-hour sunset cruise on the Delaware River, sailing under the magnificent Ben Franklin Bridge and soaking up the city’s industrial waterfronts.
phillybyboat.com
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