Hello, Philadelphia!

Last weekend Jarrod and I went to Philadelphia. Jarrod had to go for work on Saturday so he just extended his trip by two days and I tagged along. I had our little getaway all planned out -- particularly what I was going to do to occupy myself on Saturday when Jarrod was away -- but Mother Nature had other ideas and decided to dump non-stop rain on the city all weekend.

I don't normally mind rain, but let me tell you: Philadelphia is NOT a city meant to be seen in the rain. And also: walking around in the blowing, pouring rain is miserable and exhausting! Thirdly: even more miserable is wearing leaky boots while walking around in the blowing, pouring rain.

Still, we got to visit some historical attractions, compare cheesesteaks and explore the food vendors at Reading Terminal Market (soft pretzel dog... yum!). I also had my first taxi ride and checked out a cute little yarn shop. And we stopped at Hershey's Chocolate World on the way home.

Many of my pictures are marred by raindrops on the camera lens, but here are a few decent ones that sum up our trip:

 While wandering around in the rain on Saturday, I stumbled into a Macy's seeking refuge and warmth. And I found this Secret Garden display -- a stunning set-up of live flowers inside Macy's. It was gorgeous. (Excuse the poor cell phone photos.)

 

 The grand old building housing the Macy's was beautiful too!

 

 Saturday night we pitted Pat's against Geno's in the great Philly cheesesteak rivalry. We got two "whiz wits" (Cheese Whiz and onions) -- the authentic style, apparently -- and split them in half. While I liked the softness of the bread and the amount of meat on Pat's sandwich, Jarrod and I both chose Geno's as the winner. The next day we tried Sonny's Famous Cheesesteaks (we got provolone and onions) and both liked our sandwiches there even better than Pat's and Geno's.

 

 Day 2: The Liberty Bell and its famous crack.

 

 Jarrod in front of Independence Hall.

 

 An original copy of the Declaration of Independence.

 

 Inside Independence Hall: The room where the Declaration was debated and signed.

 

 The first Senate chamber. Some of that furniture is original!

 

Beautiful old building, though damned if I remember what it was!

 

 Cobblestone street (watch your ankles!).

 

 Day 3: Sun (and wind) -- no rain!!! City Hall (topped off by a huge statue of William Penn) with Liberty One off to the right.

 

 Taking a picture with the famous LOVE sign was high up on my to-do list. In non-winter months, there's a fountain behind the sign, but I like seeing all the cool buildings in the background.

 

 Buildings lining Rittenhouse Square. I thought the tiny four-story building sandwiched between structures twice its size was hilarious and sort of adorable!

 

 We headed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art after lunch, which it very sadly turns out is CLOSED on Mondays! I was devastated (and rather appalled that Ms. Ultimate Planner forgot to check the museum hours!), but we still got to take pictures with the Rocky Steps (the steps of the art museum that Rocky trains on in the movie) and a statue of Rocky (where a homeless man will take your picture together for a small tip).

 

 The roofline of the art museum. Absolutely stunning. So sad we didn't get to explore the inside!

 

Hershey, Pennsylvania, is not far off the interstate so we stopped in on our way home. It's not an actual tour of the factory but there's a fun ride that explains the chocolate-making process. We also created our own candy bars and got to watch them make their way downa mini assembly line. It was a fun little diversion!