Philly

I arrived in philly in the afternoon, the bus stop was across town from the hostel I was staying at. I chose to walk across, it was a nice day and it gave me a chance to see the town as well. This was my first experience at a hostel so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The hostel however was very nice, and the employees very friendly. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, and there were also some different event nights happening. After I settled in, I walked to South St which is a bustling street full of bars, restaurants and shops. On the way there I passed by different streets, walking inbetween the housing. It was cool to see these uniform brick houses that are very different to New York. I walked east on South St towards the river, and saw the destroyer/battleship and there were also some very nice riverfront apartments. I then walked further down and stumbled across a little Vietnam, totally out of the random. I walked around looking at the shop lots and the different restaurants. I then decided to eat Pho and Spring Rolls at the most populated restaurant, which was good and cheap.

After this I headed back to the hostel and was going to sleep but I started talking to one of the other travellers and we ended up going for a beer. It was awesome because he was also a different kind of traveller, he’d been going back and forward between different cities for sports.

Today it snowed overnight a very decent amount, that there was actually snow between my foot and the ground at every step. It was so fun, I really enjoyed just the simple fact that every step I would feel that snow under foot. My first thing to do was to see the Liberty Bell since it was so close. Whilst I’m still slightly unsure of the whole history of the Liberty Bell but it was still cool to learn its history. After this I walked south to the 9^th st Italian Markets. I assume that it was a combination of me being fairly early (10.30am) and the snow but the markets weren’t as bustling as I expected. There were a few shop fronts open but not that many. I could imagine though what to expect in the summer, with all the hustle and bustle of an outdoor market. I ended up walking down so far south I ended up at the famous crossroads of Pat and Genos Cheesesteaks. Now I thought that Pats was closed, but later found out from other people it was just not as brightly lit as Genos. So I ended up eating my first philly cheesesteak at Genos under the famous walkway with all the photos of the celebrities that have ate there. 

After I ate I sauntered up the streets all the way to I made it to the Reading Terminal Market. This place is massive and full of so many different kinds of foods. There were sweet stuff, cookies, diner food, seafood, chinese, bbq, cheese, food market, almish foods and dinics pork rolls. I walked around and ended up eating at dinics for their famous pork roll with sharp provolone and broccalirabe. Firstly I started eating this like an hour and half after the cheesesteak so I had no chance in finishing the monster roll. Secondly it turns out I don’t like sharp provolone, so I ruined the sandwich for me. Other than that the broccalirabe was something different, and the pork was tender. 

After my stupid decision, I was so full I could barely walk, but I stumbled around the market buying a cupcake, cookie and doughnut for later on. I somehow made it to the visitor centre where I stayed for a little bit to warm up and check out a little movie on the Philadelphia history. I then went to the Independance Hall, where they signed the declaration of independence and the other famous stuff. Again not 100% on the history but was cool to go there and see all the old rooms and learn from the people talking. After this I chilled at the hostel and sorted some stuff out for my future travels, then went to eat another cheesesteak at Jims that night. Now Jims minces their meat, whereas the Geno steak I had earlier had big thin slices. Both were good in their own way, I think I like it inbetween sliced but smaller pieces (how I make my cheesesteaks). After that I went to the $2 ghost tour that the hostel offered, which was alright but nothing that great. Free beer after which was good and finished watching hangover 3.

My last day in Philly, so I decided to walk around the rest of the city. I had no particular focus just to walk to the Rocky Steps. I made my way up to the north, walking through China Town. Not as big as New York but still a decent size, and looked very chinese in the sense that it was a bit dirty and the shops looked scruffy and not all nice and clean. Walking the north part of the city you see some of the now common transformation of warehouses into loft apartments. I then walked across and through the town towards the big square with the Library and Science center. This is where all the flags of the nations are as well, just alongside the road. I made a pit stop at the library cause I was freezing from negative degree temperatures. From here I proceeded up the road towards the rocky steps. Saw the rocky statue at the front, a guy doing the rocky steps as excerise and pretty much every tourist running up to the top and jumping up like in the movie. Its funny to note that this is actually an art museum but no one seems to go there for the art. The other great thing about that location is that you get a great view of the town. 

From this I walked down town, I was after some food, so ended up following some office people around hoping they would lead me somewhere. They didn’t so I ended up finding a place for a burger on Yelp. It was good but nothing to rave about, but it was my second choice behind another place that looked great but wasn’t open yet. I then walked through the lower part of the city in and around the streets. I saw the mix of shops, offices and housing in the city. Later that night I went to eat a traditional meatball sub at Primos Hoagies (a recommendation from a guy I met at Standings). It was awesome, the meatballs were massive but so moist and the sauce was really good. 

Later that night I met up with Stephen the friend I had met at the airport. He was doing the same trip but the other direction, so it was good to catch up with him and get some suggestions for some of the cities he had already been to. Id catch up with him again later on in DC as well.