Our friend Emilie and her fiancé Joe were kind enough to let us crash with them for a few days. We started at Bobby's Burger Palace where we met Emilie for lunch.
Patrick had his favorite - the Crunchburger, featuring a mound of potato chips.
I went with the Dallas burger and will consider this my new standby.
Then we jumped right into some sightseeing, starting with the Liberty Bell.
Admittedly, it was a lot smaller than we expected. I guess you could say it was not all it was "cracked" up to be. *awkward laugh*
Admittedly, it was a lot smaller than we expected. I guess you could say it was not all it was "cracked" up to be. *awkward laugh*
Next we went to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed.
We saw a bunch of old buildings...
... like this one where Congress used to meet.
It was indeed very historical.
The buildings also had these convenient boot scrapers.
Allow Patrick to demonstrate.
That night, we met up with our friends at Dmitri's. Because of Philadelphia's weird liquor laws, a lot of the restaurants are BYOB, which is actually really nice because it means you get to drink wine at a decent price.
At our table, the steamed seafood combo was a popular choice.
I got the escarole garlic pasta and had no regrets.
Unfortunately I don't have a picture of our table, but here's a picture of a mural we saw the next day. (Murals are a big Philadalphia thing. You can find them all around the city.)
Speaking of the next day, we started it out with a late breakfast/early lunch at Pat's King of Steaks.
I finally got my authentic Philly Cheesesteak experience, although the people there were really rude and the cheese wasn't even melted.
Next time I'm going to try their competitor, Geno's Steaks, across the street.
Following our nutritious brunch, we headed downtown. We strolled through the Italian Market on our way.
Here they sold the usual...
...and the unusual. Grouse steaks, anyone? Or perhaps some partridge?
Once we were downtown, we made a stop at Reading Terminal Market (pronounced "Reh-Ding" for all you newbies out there). I highly recommend this place.
They sold everything from wines, kitchen utensils, baked goods...
... and chocolate-covered onions.
Though tempted by the chocolate-covered onions, Patrick got himself a soft pretzel instead...
I decided to go for the red velvet whoopie pie. My first whoopie pie ever. Therefore, a momentous occasion.
I thought it was going to be too sweet, but actually it was just the right amount of amazing.
While downtown, we continued with the sightseeing thing. We toured the Masonic Temple,
... saw Benjamin Franklin's House...
... or at least where it once stood,
... and walked along Elfreth's Alley, which is apparently the country's oldest residential street (where people still live today).
While all of that was really exciting, the highlight of the day was meeting up with my college friend Emily who I hadn't seen for a couple years. We met up at Triumph Brewing Company and the four of us ordered every item off the Happy Hour menu.
(Patrick likes to do this thing in which I tell him to smile and then he does the opposite. But only when Justin is around.)
Then we spent the remainder of the night at this Irish Pub. We had our own quiet, secluded corner upstairs. It was great for chatting, but the only problem was there was no music - just a jukebox that you had to pay for... laaame. To remedy the situation, I set my iphone on the table and we listened to the sweet sounds of the 90's like Ace of Base and Hootie and the Blowfish.
As the night progressed, Emily and I proceeded to call some of our college friends, and we were lucky to get a hold of Jessica over at Word & Play who, if I recall correctly, was in the middle of making some toast. As the Avenue Q song laments, "I wish I could go back to college..."
The following day, it was time to head back to D.C. and say goodbye to all of our friends, including Justin who had to return to the land of Northern Ireland. Now it's our turn to pay him a visit, and hopefully this time it won't be another five years!
*****
In other news, look who celebrated her first birthday today...
Hard to believe that our niece Kahlyn is already one year old! But more on her party later.
oo,
HAHA I thought for sure that wouldn't be significant enough! So funny you remember I was eating toast. So wish I was there!
ReplyDeleteHappy 1st b-day, Kahlyn! I like her cute b-day sash. Oh, and excellent Liberty Bell pun, by the way. Always appreciated. :)
ReplyDeletenoo!! Benjamin Franklin's house!!!
ReplyDelete