Welcome to Philly...

"Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! we return." G. K. Chesterton

Spirit and body have survived the 14-hour + train trip to Philadelphia! We arrived just before midnight on Thursday. I look forward to seeing Philly's 30th Street Station again on Tuesday when we leave; I was just too tired to take in its architectural glory last night.

We got an unexpected treat in Montreal on Thursday morning. Due to a change in the Amtrak schedule, we had to go to Montreal the night before in order to be sure to catch our train. As a result of that, I was able to connect with my cousin Sylvia who lives in New Brunswick and was arriving in Montreal for a conference. We only saw each other for a few minutes, like passing trains, but it was enough to get a hug and quickly catch up. It wouldn't have been possible without the change in Amtrak schedule - sometimes, the reason for things is not immediately revealed to us. :-)

The trip from Montreal to NYC went by pretty quickly actually. We were stopped at the Canada/US border for about 90 minutes though. The US border patrol guys came on board and basically took over the train until every single person's ID had been confirmed and intentions cleared. It was quite interesting to watch them do their work. The guy who questioned us didn't crack a smile once! I know they have to remain serious, but even when his words appeared to be tinged with humour, his facial expressions remained deadpan.

If, for whatever reason, they wanted to question you more, you were sent to the Dining Car for further "inquisition" (my word, not theirs). I felt bad for a woman travelling with two small children. English was not her first languange and, from what I could gather, she didn't have proper ID for her children. Before leaving Montreal, information was given to us clearly stating that it was up to us to ensure our documentation was in order. If not, we risked being let off the train at the border. All I know is that the woman was sent to the Dining Car, then came back to retrieve all her luggage. Oy. I said a silent prayer for her...

The trip was quite uneventful. We'd get up every now & then and walk around or stretch. The views were beautiful sometimes and unspectacular much of the time. It was a true November day: grey... wet... with bare trees etch-a-sketched against a cold sky.

Our train leaving Penn Station in NYC was delayed by about 10 minutes. Interestingly, there is no seating in the waiting areas, so we sat on the floor or stood around - like everybody else. Finally, our train arrived. By then, my body was expressing its disagreement with sitting yet again. I was so fidgetty and restless and sleepy during this last leg of the journey... I was thrilled to arrive in Philly.

Our hotel is perfectly located in the downtown core, just across the street from City Hall. Our room is great - like a little apartment really. Reading Terminal Market is just a couple of blocks away, so I've already stocked up on veggies, yogourt & humus. (BTW, I'm SUPER impressed with this market. I'll no doubt have more to say later. In the meantime, see a short video here.)

Today, we went to the Race Expo to pick up our race bibs and a few souvenirs. We're both beat so Hubby is napping on the couch and I'm here, blogging. I'll add pics to the blog post when I get back. Unfortunately, I forgot the cable required to do that. Tonite, we're just going to relax in our little "apartment" and get to bed early. Race day begins before the sun rises, so we need to ensure we get plenty of rest between now and then.
View from our bedroom window - 21 floors up!
So, for now, I'll bid you farewell from Philly!
Pace e bene,