History is main course for a visit to the City of Brotherly Love

Philly cheese steak sandwiches, Ben Franklin and Rocky.

Throw in a few Amish people, and you have the Philadelphia story. A vacation to the City of Brotherly Love offers tastes for every palate. But history is the main course.

While wandering through old buildings in Philadelphia — the first Supreme Court meeting rooms and places where our most cherished documents were created — a bizarre feeling crept over me. First, I felt honor, awe, pride and admiration — the bizarreness occurred when I realized that the workings of those bodies today are similar in structure, but some of the purposes seem to have gone out the window.

Of course, the purpose of breaking away from the mother country is one major difference that doesn't exist today.

Great symbols abound in this city. The Liberty Bell is perhaps the most visited and the most important. A huge building houses just this one attraction.

The statue of Rocky may compete with the Liberty Bell in popularity. (That ought to tell you something about the differences between back then and now. And yes, I know, they didn't have movies back then.)

Donated by Sylvester Stallone in 1982, the statue has a far wider appeal than merely a movie scene on the Art Museum front steps and a popular worldwide movie. It has come to signify that Rocky's ascent to the top of the steps is symbolic of Philadelphia, a city where an underdog can become a champion through hard work, determination and hustle.

Overseas tourists especially flock to visit this monument for a photo op.

And Benjamin Franklin's grave was deluged with coinage. According to our guide, it is swept every two hours and earns about $4,000 a month to help offset upkeep costs. The guide had at least one story that contributed to generous offerings. He said it was custom for honeymooners to toss a coin on Ben's tombstone, and if it landed head's up, the couple would enjoy a long, happy marriage. If the coin came up tails, well, best two out of three, etc.

Independence Hall requires a ticket to get in. It's free, but on the day we were there, tickets were gone by noon. Tickets are necessary for crowd control due to small spaces. They can be arranged for online, which helps you avoid the line. There is a small fee for the online convenience.

We visited Philadelphia on a Saturday, and crowds were heavy, so a weekday would be better time to visit.