My normal weekends just include working. Due to my injury I’m not racing on the weekends either. Working and not racing generally means my weekends are boring and nothing to write home (or a blog post) about. Last weekend my brother stopped by on his way back to college. Matt and I are extremely close so it is always great to see him. Due to the nature of his schooling, he has been out at sea for the last 8 months so it was great to finally hang out again. Matt and one of his classmates stopped by for a few days and we all just hung out.
We decided to explore downtown Philadelphia. I’m not an expert in Philadelphia (by any means) but we had a great time just walking around the city and see the sights.
I’m lucky enough to live within a mile of a train station that will take me right into downtown Philadelphia so I never have to drive there again. Philadelphia is notorious for giving out parking tickets. You can guarantee if you are 5 minutes over your allotted time, you will get fined. I once drove around Philly for 90 minutes looking for parking.
The train is new favorite thing to do and I don’t think I will ever drive into Philly again.
Nope, never. My brother is incredible savvy with trains so he led us in. None of us had been to Philadelphia so it was a good experience for all of us.
First, we checked out the Liberty Bell. Honestly I had never been before and didn’t know what to expect. We stood in line and went through security. There was lots of information and then finally the Bell.
Matt and I somehow got this photo with no one else around (that isn’t the reality). I guess the other tourists knew I had a blog photo to take and needed a nice photo to send mom.
Then we went to Pat’s Philly Cheese Steak’s in Downtown Philadelphia. To be honest, I’m not a big Philly Cheesesteak person but when in Rome…I tried it anyways. It’s like going to Italy and saying you don’t like Pasta. I could recognize it was still ten times better than a “normal” Philly Cheese steak and something you need to do when in the city.
We also visited Reading Terminal Market. I love the Amish donuts as well as the fresh seafood. It’s a fun and unique little place to visit.After that we just walked around the city.
We went up to art museum and river and walked back to the train station.
After walking around the city for 5 hours, we were exhausted. I’m embarrassed to say I’m pretty sore two days later!
Philadelphia is such a fun little city that I’m happy it’s in my backyard.
Questions for you:
Have you ever been to Philadelphia?
What are fun touristy things to do in your backyard?
I would love to go to Philly but I’ve never been! That’s a great picture of you guys with the Liberty Bell! I actually don’t think I’ve EVER had a cheesesteak! They just don’t even look good to me.
Phila is hands down one of my favorite cities! We lived in West Chester for about six years and loved going into the city. I miss it and am jealous you have it so near. I have DC and Baltimore now, which are pretty cool, too, but Phila has my heart!
Jeptoo cookie, haha!
Randomly walking all over a city is one of my favorite leisure activities; you get to see so much, including stuff you wouldn’t normally seek out. Bonus for not having to go feed a parking meter.
I was born & raised in the Philly area, and lived here or in the PA or Jersey ‘burbs all my life, except for 6 years in the DC area. Places to check are too numerous to mention. Reading Terminal Market & a lot of the Italian Market … Rodin Museum … the Magic Gardens on South Street …
Like Victoria, I also like walking around, usually starting from Center City to the Delaware, or through South Philly, or up through University City.
The River Drives are awesome to run along, as is the Schuylkill River trail … amazing views + people out there doing the same thing … running, walking, cycling, inline skating …
We actually wondered what the “magic gardens” were. We walked by them and had no idea!
oooh we visited philly awhile ago and I loved it!! We definitely battled through that crazy liberty bell line… I was kinda bummed when we finally got up close to it, it seemed a little small? haha. and out pics definitely have tons of people in the background, you got super lucky!!
It was actually bigger than I expected! I seriously thought it would be the size of a normal bell!
Ah see I went to Italy several times and never had pasta because I really am not a fan. PIZZA however is a different story!!
I love walking around a city having a mosey about. Such a great way to see the sights.
Yep, I’ve been to Philadelphia. And some of the fun, touristy things to do in my backyard are, say, see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Love sculpture, tour Reading Terminal, walk around the campus of the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1740)… 😉 Hehe. I’d totally be down to be tourists together sometime!
I would love too! We need to hang out again soon 🙂
I’ll be back in Philadelphia for the marathon in a week and a half! I was there for the race 2 years ago and also went visiting a few years back when my sister was looking at colleges. Its a nice city!
It looks like you and Matt had a lot of fun, and I’m glad you got to spend time with him since he’s at sea so much. Plus, taking the train always beats driving in any city!
I went to Philly in college and we saw the Liberty Bell. I have a pic by it with all the Honors Program students who went. It was so long ago that the picture was taken with a film camera (I feel so old now!). I didn’t eat cheese steak when I was there but I definitely had some tasty pizza. It was a fun city!
We walked around DC so much a few weeks ago when we went- I was extremely sore from all the walking and standing on my feet.
Do not revoke my South Jersey card but I actually prefer Chicago pizza over Philadelphia!
I’ve only been to Philadelphia once and honestly didn’t love it, but it looks like you had a much better time than I did! i’m glad you got to spend some time with Matt!
Awe I am sorry to hear that Brenda! It happens I think, everywhere cannot be for everyone.
I would love to go to Philadelphia. I need to travel more. The only places close to my current town are Yakima and Cle Elum. Others take longer drives.
I’ve never been to Philly, but it looks gorgeous! Here in Indy we have a few good museums (The Art Museum of Indianapolis, the Children’s Museum) and some great restaurants. We also have an awesome Zoo and the White River Gardens. And of course shopping! But this is a sports town, so the best things to do are go to a Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium or to a Pacers Game 🙂
Looks like you had a fun weekend!
Thank you and we did. I have heard Indy is absolutely gorgeous!
Funsies! I went to Philly a few years ago to run the half in November (side note: Huge mistake if you have a sinus infection). There’s so much to do there…wonderful place!
The tourists come to my town for wine…and then never leave. It’s that great!
My extended family is from the Philly suburbs, so I love the city! My favorite is Reading Terminal Market. I love all the cool things you can find in there and tons of people watching 🙂
I miss Philly, it’s been so long. They have great food like I saw from all the pictures! I like going to Toronto for the same.
I’ve never actually BEEN to Philly. It’s on my list of places to go, though. Maybe in the spring when the weather warms back up!
Definitely a “when in Rome” situation–I don’t think I’ve had a Philly cheese steak before! My friends have already pinpointed a few options for after our race this weekend.