2008 COUNTDOWN
While there were plans for us to go to New York to take part in the countdown to 2008, we decided against it as the weather was too cold and apparently, we would have to stand in the cold from 6pm to get a good spot at Times Square. Hence, we spent 31 Dec 2007 in Philly, as we heard that the celebrations were equally good. On New Year's Eve, we joined the crowd for the countdown to 2008 and the fireworks at Penn's landing. The fireworks was awesome, a full 45-min worth of viewing pleasure. Furthermore, we found a good spot and were able to get a good view of the fireworks which was literally right above our heads. In fact, some soot from the fireworks fell on us! Here's a video clip of what it was like.
NEW YEAR'S DAY-MUMMERS PARADE
On New Year's Day, we went to watch the Mummers Parade which was apparently, one of the oldest and largest parades in US. In fact, the people who were participating in the parade came from all walks of life in Philadelphia, mainly the working class. For them to put up something like this is really commendable, these working adults would have to sacrifice their after-office hours to rehearse for the event. They even made their own costumes which was really funny. The Mummers Parade is a whole day event. Although it should start at 9 am, the actual thing itself did not start until noon due to a slight rain. We managed to catch the comics section of the parade along Broad Street before heading to Chinatown for lunch (which,by the way, is probably where restaurants stay open even during all major holidays in Philadelphia). We love the fun-loving nature of the people who took part in the parade. They would come up to us and joke with us. In the evening, we managed to get a seat among at wooden benches set up at the main judging area(Don't ask us how we did it) and we joined the crowd to watch the string bands. However, we finally succumbed to the cold as it was freezing and we decided to head home to watch the rest of the parade on TV. If I get a chance next year, I would watch the fancy brigades at the Convention Center next time, where it is indoors and and there are comfortable seats. Here are some of the photos taken during the parade, one of which is a funny shot of pigeons which were forced out of their territory and had to watch the parade from a distance.
