Philly Trip

Last week, Josh, Steve (Josh's roommate), and I went on a day trip to Philly.  It took us a little over three hours to get there because of traffic.  We began our trip with lunch at DiNic's in Reading Terminal.  I had the best roast beef sandwich!  We decided to go to DiNic's when Josh saw it on the Food Network show Man vs. Food.

After lunch we began our tour of Philly.  First we walked to the house of Edgar A. Poe.  It was a long walk from Reading Terminal, but definitely worth it!  Poe lived in this house for about a year and wrote a couple of his most famous works here: "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" were among those works.  Also, while living here, his wife fell ill with tuberculosis, from which she later died.  She was his inspiration for the poem "Annabel Lee."  The house is still in great condition and definitely worth a quick visit if you get the chance.  You might just here the beating of the old man's heart!

The picture above is of a painting of Poe on a building just a block down from Poe's house.  There were other wall paintings like this throughout the city.  Pretty cool!!!!

Next we went to the Liberty Bell and then we went to Independence Hall, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and signed.  After that, we went to the First Bank of the United States.  We didn't get to go in because it was closed, but being there and seeing it was just as impressive! 

If you look closely at the picture above, you can see Josh and Steve sitting on the steps!  After a quick rest at the bank, we headed to the harbor to see the USS Olympia.  We did not get to go on the ship because it was closed, so the next time we go back that it the first thing we are going to do.  Some facts about the USS Olympia: it served the United States Navy from 1895 to 1922.  It was the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.  The ship served until WWI as a training ship for naval cadets.  Also, it carried the remains of the First World War's Unknown Soldier from France to Washington, DC.

After our walk around the waterfront, we headed to the Franklin Fountain, an ice cream parlour.  We decided to have dessert first since it was close to the waterfront, and we had a long walk back to the car before going to dinner.  The Franklin Fountain was opened a few years ago in 2004, and the shop used to be a candy store that sold "eroticakes"-- "evocative lollipops and biologically inspired baked goods" (http://www.franklinfountain.com/index.php).  Hahahahaha.

After having an ice cream sundae, we walked back to our car and then drove over to Pat's for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches.  Pat's sits directly across from Geno's, its Philly cheesesteak competitor.  The rivalry has been going on for many years and was featured on Food Feuds, a Food Network series.  However, Pat's claims to have invented the Philly steak sandwich in 1933 and Geno's did not open until the 1966.  Geno's capture a lot of attention with it's flashy colors and casino lighting, but do its cheesesteak's compare to the Pat's?  I don't know.  I only ate a sandwich from Pat's because Josh and Steve said it is better than Geno's.  Josh tested this a few months ago when he had a sandwich from Geno's and then had a sandwich from Pat's.  The next time I go to Philly I will have to have a sandwich from Geno's so I can make my own verdict.  My cheesesteak from Pat's was delicious and we did not have to wait in a long line, which was amazing! 

After dinner, we headed home to Virginia.  Philly is a fun city to visit and there are many free attractions and things to do.  I definitely recommend tasting all the food it has to offer, especially the Philly cheesesteak!