The Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia

From childhood, I knew there was a Reading Railroad because our Monopoly game said so, but I had no idea where it might be.  I now know that one of the Reading Railroad's terminals is in downtown Philadelphia, on Market Street.  Under the railroad's enormous "train shed", and at ground level, is the city's celebrated magnificent farmers' market sometimes called "The Market Place".  The city's founder, William Penn, intended the broad street to be a gathering place for commerce and markets of all kinds, and the tradition is still thriving.  I visited this market on December 27th, 2013 and enjoyed watching locals, merchants and tourists enjoying the relative warmth of the market on that cold winter day.

I have been collecting ceramics created by Gimper in France.  This vendor's stall had a nice supply.  She expressed the fear that the company may cease operations again unless another buyer is found.  Meanwhile, I picked up one more item which could fit into our carry-on baggage.

The pickled and canned fruits and vegetables are out of the ordinary, recalling the homemade tastes of my youth, when Mother used to can every summer for our growing family.

The Market is a great place to eat lunch, get a snack on the run, meet friends, work on the laptop, or have a drink.

Can't fill you in on when or where.

An elaborate model train fascinated children.

After walking through the entire Market, we took the Septa (underground, in this case) to the local shipyard.  I liked the highly polished walls of metal and glass in this clean station.

So did Mark!