Philadelphia Dining Round-Up

The Reading Terminal Market was located very close to our hotel, which we didn't realize until the day before we left town.  Our visit visit here was pretty close to closing time and there may have been some Hangry feelings from Wifey.  

I was hungry - no crepe photo taken

Our second visit to the market was in the morning and we purchased several donuts and Hubby some Pad Thai for 'lunch'.  

Another morning we visited Federal Donuts which was located in the first floor lobby of our hotel.  The donuts were good, but not spectacular and definitely overpriced.

Near the Philly Cheesesteak restaurants was a cute cannoli joint.  Cannoli King also served gelato as well as individual tiramisu.  The creativity and diversity of their cannoli options was impressive.

Reese's Cannoli and Chocolate Gelato

Our first day in Philadelphia we hadn't learned the area very well and Wifey ended up Hangry come nighttime.  Its hard to tell from this photo, but our hotel room literally looks down on a nearby Shake Shack so she may have enjoyed a burger and shake for dinner.  Hypothetically.  Sometimes travel is just about getting in the calories to explore another day more than the best local experiences.  

 

Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Rocky Steps

For Hubby's actual birthday (though we're posting this out of sync) we were pretty tired and spent the day mostly chilling about the city.  Hubby woke up with a bit of a headache.

We took the subway over to Independence Park where the Liberty Bell is on display.  It was rough.

We first went to see the Liberty Bell! Visiting the Liberty bell is free and no ticket is required, just the patience to make it through security.  

After viewing the liberty bell and some colocated exhibits about its history we walked over to the visitors center ISO a restroom.  Success!  

painted on the wall in the visitors center

While at the visitors center we chatted with a very helpful park ranger (they're the best!) who explained the protocol for visiting Independence Hall.  Online and in the nearby signage it indicates that tickets are required to visit and these must be obtained at recreation.gov.  When wifey tried to obtain tickets, however, they were unavailable. 

Apparently tickets are only required on holiday weekends and during the busy season (spring-fall).  In the winter you can just walk up, go through security, and visit!  Luckily by this time Hubby's headache had ameliorated and we were up for the visit.  

Legislature

Courtroom

Independence Hall was the Pennsylvania center of government and is where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and adopted by the US Founding Fathers.  Every 30 minutes a ranger guided tour was offered and we greatly enjoyed learning from our energetic tour guide.  

After Independence Hall we went south via Subway for a Philly Cheesesteak.  Wifey had a bagel she had bought before leaving the hotel and stashed in our backpack!

 

Post lunch we figured out the city bus system and headed up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to find te Rocky Statue and run the famous 72 steps from the movie Rocky!

view from the top of the steps

Several of the shops we've visited require cash payment or charge a fee for using a CC.  We made a quick stop at a local ATM to replenish our cash reserves.  The experience was interesting as the ATM itself was located inside essentially the bank lobby which was locked.  You could, however, access the lobby and thus the ATM by scanning your ATM card at the lobby door.  

Wifey didn't make official plans for a Birthday Dinner which probably turned out to be a mistake as we called several decent restaurants last minute and all were not accepting walk-ins.  We ended up at a fast-food build your own pasta place near our hotel.  The food was good and we were tired!  

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Canopy by Hilton - Philadelphia

Our home in Philadelphia was the Canopy by Hilton.  We booked it directly using Chase cc points.  One of the selling points for this location were the Canopy Bikes!  We had access to urban bikes once before at an AirBNB in Hiroshima and really enjoyed them.  

The service we received at the Canopy was excellent.  We were allowed to check in upon arrival just before noon and took the following photos of our very stylish room!

The wall-mounted TV even welcomed us by name into our temporary home.  

One bummer of booking via the Chase portal is that though our stay was eventually added to our Hilton account, we didn't get all the perks that typically accompany our Hilton status ... specifically a daily food/drink credit that can be used in the hotel restaurant.  Bummer, but fair I guess?  

We had a brief miscommunication regarding the Canopy bikes - apparently they are put away each winter which was a huge disappointment.  Later, however, the staff called and let us know this was incorrect and they can still be used, they are just stored indoors instead of outside in the weather all winter.  This is certainly fair.  Our visit to NY and Philly happened during a rather freak warm streak in February and temperatures reached the high 60s. 

Just the cutest phone ever!

Philly Cheese Steaks

The one constant on Hubby's bucket list is to travel to Philadelphia and experience authentic Philly Cheesesteaks!  Wifey planned this trip with the express goal of making that happen and here is the story of our experiences doing so:

Over our time in Philadelphia, Hubby tried 4 different Philly Cheese Steaks!  Wifey tried exactly 0.  Research told us the main competitors for Cheese Steaks were Genos and Pats.  We started our adventure randomly with Geno's Steaks within a couple hours of arrival in Philly!  (stop one was of course to attempt (and succeed! at early check in at our hotel).

For this first visit, we had not yet learned to navigate the Philadelphia city bus system despite having a 3 day transit pass so we walked.  It was about a mile and a half south from our hotel, which sounded easier than it was.  Along the way we got to see a bit of south Philly including a walk through the Italian Market.  At long last we arrived, and began reading the signage to figure out how and where to order!  

Cheesesteaks are ordered at one window (and paid for in cash only).  A bit further down the building, you can order drinks and fries (also cash only).  We ordered a Philly Cheesesteak wit onions and cheese whiz and a cup of cheese fries.  

Our food came out relative promptly, we found a seat in the sun (it was a bit cool) and dug in!  Hubby to the cheesesteak and Wifey to the cheese fries.  

Don't we look happy and full!?

Our next Philly Cheesesteak experience was Pat's King of Steaks which is literally across the (diagonal) street from Genos.  We talked to our hotel and procured access to their Canopy Bikes! This made the trip to Pat's much easier!  Also a quick note - google maps has bicycle directions available now which were clutch in a town that actually has quite a few bicycle lanes!

Pat's is slightly more expensive than Genos (about $1 more per steak) but per Hubby includes more meat and is thus worth it.  From here we visited Pat's exclusively with Hubby trying each of their Philly Cheesesteak versions (with mushrooms and without) (with relish and without) (with onions and without) etc.  The one thing they all had in common?  Cheese Whiz! 

Team Relish for the Win!

View of Geno's from Pats.

View of Pat's from Geno's

Benjamin Franklin Museum

Years ago, pre-covid, we visited Italy.  While there with a bit of time to kill we stumbled upon a Leonardo Di Vinci museum. Hubby greatly enjoyed it.  Wifey ... not so much.  Regardless, it was essentially a mecca of engineering and innovation and included display after painfully detailed display regarding Di Vinci's attempts to create a perpetual motion machine.   

While researching things to do and see in Philadelphia ... afterall we knew we couldn't eat Philly Cheesesteaks ALL day every day; Wifey came across the Benjamin Franklin museum that looked similar to that of Leonardo Di Vinci and knew we had to fit it into our visit.  

We ended up walking literally around an extra block to find the entrance to the museum which is co-located with the site of Benjamin Franklin's house ruins. Per the sign, we followed the cobblestone until we reached the entrance.  

The Benjamin Franklin museum is part of the NPS Liberty Park area but does include a fee to visit of $5 per person.  Your America The Beautiful Pass will not get you in.  $10 later we (mostly Wifey) made a quick bathroom stop and began our exploration of the museum.  The museum is divided into 5 character traits displayed by Franklin, specifically: ardent and dutiful, ambitious and rebellious, motivated to improve, curious and full of wonder, and strategic and persuasive.   

Full of interactive exhibits (many with motion sensors that seem to automatically interact with the visitor as you approach) the museum did not disappoint.  Wifey liked it better than the Di Vinci museum, and Hubby a bit less, but was still pleased.  

Did you know Benjamin Franklin invented his own musical instrument!? It is called the armonica or glass harmonica and is made of a series of glass bowls that you rub to create tones.  

He also invented several vocabulary words!  WHATT!  Can you imagine that before the mid 1700's none of the below words existed?  

Franklin enjoyed a type of early Sudoku where numbers were entered to each add up to 15 in all directions.  See below the interactive opportunity to try your skills at this game.  Wifey successfully reset the game to not add up to 15 in preparation for Hubby's arrival at the display.  He solved the puzzle and seemed to enjoy the challenge.  

Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals!  You can even see him wearing this invention in some of his later official portraits.  

10/10 would recommend visiting the Benjamin Franklin Museum if you're ever in Philadelphia.  It's near the Liberty Bell and good for kids and adults alike!