"photo by Brian Porco, used with permission of the Philadelphia CVB"

That’s how we get your attention in Philly!

Plan now to attend the 2004 Centennial Meeting of the AAG, and experience one of the world’s most fascinating cities in the process.

The conference hotel is in the middle of our very ‘old city,’ and you can reach the Liberty Bell and Franklin Court, with its underground museum, with an easy walk. It would make a very pleasant afternoon to visit Independence Hall, then take in Head House Square, and perhaps a lunch at City Tavern—once called the Merchant’s Coffee House and a place where Paul Revere refreshed himself after a long ride. The servers wear colonial garb and serve authentic colonial fare. George Washington’s beer recipe rivals that of Jefferson for the thirsty, and Martha Washington’s recipe for chocolate mousse pleases every one’s sweet tooth.

For informal dining, you can find lots of choices right next to the hotel at the historic and enchanting Reading Terminal Market. An extraordinary variety of stands sell fruit, cheeses, nuts, pastries, and other snacks you can take to your room, or you can dine there on fare that is Greek, Mexican, Italian, vegetarian, Middle-Eastern, Thai, or Japanese as well as down-home American. One diner boasts Oprah’s ‘best macaroni and cheese’ for 2003! And do have a genuine Philly Cheese Steak while in town, and a slice of scrapple if you wish a good story to tell.

The AAG events will include plenty of enticing programming, but in case you can stray, do know that Philadelphia has a museum for everyone. The Art Museum and Franklin Institute (science) are world class, as are several other large museums and the Philadelphia Zoo—“America’s first zoo!” As for smaller museums, well, where else is there a Pretzel Museum? Others include museums of the Civil War, Norman Rockwell, American Jewish History, the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, and, of course, the Mummers.

What are the Mummers? If you need to ask, then you need to come to Philadelphia! Yo!