Hello Philly!
It's vacation time for Em, Megs and I, and the Birthplace of Independence is our destination! We originally hoped to get a super cheap deal on a trip to Paris but that didn't happen, so instead we head to America's Paris (aka Philadelphia)! We arrive in the city about 10:00 am, check in at the hotel and then it's off to
Amada for lunch. It's the Catalan Express for me, chilled white asparagus soup and a smoked paprika hummus, zucchini and feta sandwich, some shared tapas for Megs and Em and a pitcher of Sangria for us all! After lunch we explored some more of City Centre East including Penn's Landing. Early in the evening we headed over to the
Eastern State Penitentiary for a self guided audio tour of this landmark that sent the standard for penal reform with it's castle-like Gothic architecture and it's Quaker belief that solitary confinement could reform criminals. The tour was voiced by Steve Buscemi - very fitting. This photo is the entrance gate to the medical ward. Famous criminals housed here included Al Capone who's cell you can see in the "Park Avenue" area of the pen. If you are thinking of taking a trip to Philadelphia I definitely recommend the city's
tourism site - it's packed with info and itineraries!
4 Avocados In A Dish, On The Table. After 5 days of exciting Philly shots, I feel it's okay to throw in a still-life like this!
The Streets of Philadelphia After stopping at the Independence Visitor Centre to reserve tickets for a tour of old city hall in the afternoon, the Italian Market in South Philly is our first destination of the day. This market is huge. It runs about 10 city blocks and is one of the largest and oldest open-air markets in the city. Although the market is home to two most famous purveyors of cheesesteaks, Pat's and Geno's who are across the street from each other, our choice for lunch is Paesano's, a restaurant where the chef won a throw down against Bobby Flay. I had the special, turkey with garlic mayo, sharp provolone, arugula, pickles, pepperoncini etc, and it was delicious but HUGE! Megs got the meat sweats from hers, and for the rest of the trip we couldn't mention the name Paesano's without feeling full. Next time we know to just split one! After Paesano's we headed back to the old city via charming neighbourhoods and take in some more sites. Having about 45 minutes before our tour starts we stop in at the City Tavern for some beer before our tour of Independence Hall, the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It seems it was more likely that these two items were debated at the city tavern versus the actual hall. After our tour we walk to Ben Franklin's grave, Betsy Ross's house and Elfreth's Alley, the nation's oldest continually inhabited street. There was a house for rent and open so we were able to tour it. It was three floors and the stairs were crazy steep, I envisioned tumbling. A late night dinner was in order tonight so we headed to Rittenhouse Square to The Village Whiskey, a 30 seat speakeasy, where thankfully because of the long weekend we got a table right away versus the usual 2 hour wait. Shared bar snacks including fried shrimp, local red and golden beets, and duck fat fries accompanied our stiff cocktails. Thanks to the hostess who chased us down two streets after Megs left her scarf. Philadelphians are the nicest!
