Hello, Philadelphia!

The Public Relations Student Society of America holds a National Conference each year where schools across the nation send delegates to engage in the weekend's PR activities. Although I am currently a Finance major, not so long ago I was interested in public relations and marketing. Long story short, I attended the conference in Philly.

Philadelphia is perhaps the only city in the country where one can feel a sense of the nation's true history. One of the biggest reasons I enjoyed Europe was that there was so much culture, so much that made every location so important, so full of life. Flying to Philadelphia by myself really gave me an extra edge to enjoy the city's humbleness and history.

Philadelphia's Town Hall

The architecture is ridiculously classic. Even the hotels are uniquely beautiful! As there are over 2,500 murals in the city, one can always find art on the streets and on the sides of buildings.

Even the Ritz Carlton is beautiful in architecture!

One of over 2,500 murals in Philly

My first stop was of course, the most touristy, but most important part of Philadelphia: the Liberty Bell! The prominent symbol of freedom actually gained its "crack" or "gap" in an attempt to fix a smaller, thin crack. The bell's sound is silenced, but it's symbolism lives on forever.

The Liberty Bell!

The area where the Liberty Bell sits is called "The Historical District" as many historical icons, such as Independence Hall, First Bank of the U.S. and many others reside. I feel lucky to have seen one of the sights off my To-See List: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The flame lit on through the chilly winds and all I could do was sit and listen to the silence.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington Square

Tip: Ride the Ducks!

One of the best things, and yes, touristy things to do is to Ride the Ducks! It consists of a half-car, half-boat that drives around the city and then hits the water for a cruise (it's my first day in Philly, cut me some slack!). Providing whistles that quack, ones blows quacks through the soundtrack and cheesy duck jokes. Haha. Good times!

Elfreth's Alley: The oldest street in Philadelphia

Afterwards, I met up with Miraya Jun and Blake Wu of U. Penn where they took me to a delicious Italian dinner. We then continued our eating fest (it's what we do best!) at Capogiro Gelato, where we sampled pretty much every flavor between the three of us! Then finally, we hit The Naked Chocolate and enjoyed the sweets.





Capogiro Gelato is the "it" place in Philly for gelato. Each spoon represents a sample of one flavor. Go us!




Jen Haughton from USC's PRSSA flew in later that night. Off to the conference tomorrow!