First of all.......I have fallen deeply in love with this delightful and infectious city of Philadelphia!!!! With each hour more that we are here, I become almost as one with this amazing city. Oh yeah.....I can just hear you now from around the world as you say....."Howser, you are always saying that about the places you are visiting!" BUT...(and, there is always a "but").......this place has captured my heart and soul as no place else has done. And.....it is really difficult to discuss why this feeling has captured me so tightly......
First of all.....it is delightfully clean city center!!!! It is soooo easy to go from one area of the center of the city to another: by subway as we did this morning, by shuttle trolley as we did yesterday, by taxis as have done for the past three days, and by foot as we have done each day, but at great lengths today! It has such wonderful shops and stores; it has such fun-filled restaurants and bars; it has absolutely the most incredible food that I have found in any city; it has wonderful sections of town and neighborhoods to explore; it has such a fascinating history which parallels our country's history; it has sooooooo many historical sights to visit and enjoy and to learn about; and it soooo friendly and sooooo much fun to walk from one block to the next and to discover little plaques and signs and monuments and buildings which all play such an important part in the history of our country. And.....from what I just wrote I know that it does not begin to do justice to this great city of America!!!!
This morning the 1st Lady and I had breakfast in the hotel's breakfast room.....all free and all very good and filling.....a great way to begin the day. We then left the hotel on foot, walked about a block and there we enjoyed strolling through Elfreth's Alley......one of the oldest residential streets in our country with about 30 brick homes all attached together on a very, very narrow street. Such fun to stroll up the street enjoying these beautiful narrow brick houses, along with their tiny gardens and well-kept buildings.....such fun!!!!
From there we went to Christ's Church.....the place where George Washington and Ben Franklin both worshipped; we went inside and enjoyed sitting in the very same pews where they had sat a very long time ago. And....then, from there through the church's grounds to the subway. This was our first trip on the Philly subway and we were both impressed and arrived VERY quickly 15 blocks west of where we started.....a very short ride!!!
We then wandered down the "Avenue of the Arts" enjoying seeing the many theaters, concert halls, and beautiful new facilities for the performing arts here in Philadelphia.....just gorgeous!!!!
Returning to the main shopping area, we spent an hour wandering about inside the "West Elm" store......a place that we have purchased home decorating items from online.....and it was sooo exciting to visit the store in person. We picked out a few items we wanted....particularly a small end table.....and we will pick it up tomorrow afternoon when I get the car out of the parking lot.
From there, we went to the park in front of the beautiful apt. building where Jeremy and Anne-marie live. On Saturdays their is always an open market set up in the park.....mostly by the Amish from Lancaster County here in PA.....and it was great fun to browse through the colorful flowers, baked goods, and tons and tons of fresh fruits and veggies that were all for sale!!! Jeremy joined us soon after we arrived there, as he had had to work this morning.....and Anne-marie had taken the train up to NYC for the day to visit with a friend.
From there the three of us walked for about an hour to south Philly to the Little Italy neighborhood.......OMG, what an incredible experience(s) we had looking and smelling and tasting the various fruits and veggies and cheeses and meats which were for sale there!!!! Absolutely amazing!!!!!!
We went to the corner where there are two famous Philly Cheese Steak sandwich shops and were stunned by the LONG, LONG lines of people waiting to get their Cheese Steaks!!!!!! We purchased ours from Pat's......the original place for this Philadelphia tradition. It took us quite a bit of time to get to the window, but in less than 20 seconds we had our sandwiches and drinks......they really push you through there.....if you don't know what you want when you get to the window, then you are rather rudely told to move on and get in the back of the line to begin again!!! HAHA......what a unique and delicious place this is!!!! The second place is Geno's, but Jeremy had eaten there and said that Pat's was the best......and, HE WAS CORRECT WITH THAT!!!! Hmmmm.....soooooo damn good!!!!
We began our stroll back to the north to the city center, but decided to pause as we came upon an empty corner lot....where people were gathering for a live performance. Well.......it was a 40 minute opera performance in costume and with five incredibly talented opera singers!!!!!!! We sat down on the pavement in the shade and enjoyed this performance which was comedic and romantic and all in Italian, but such an outstanding performance. At the conclusion, there was an immediate standing ovation and cheers of "Bravo!!!!" from the several hundred spectators!!!!! What a surprise!!!!!! What a delight!!!!! What a way to spend time in Little Italy here in Philadelphia!!!!!!!
After that, we went into a neighborhood bar and had a couple of drinks.......a very pleasant way to end the afternoon!!! From there we walked back to the historic district......where we all three went into the Continental Restaurant......and, OMG....we had the best tapas and cocktails of any place we have been in the past three days!!!!!! Korean tacos, wisps of 1/8 inch thick french fries that had been drizzled with vinegar and some strange mustard, and then some steamed Edamame with sea salt sprinkled over them......WOW!!!!!!!!! Just can't believe how wonderful these three small dishes of food were!!!!!! OMG.....WOW...WOW...WOW...WOW!!!!! Don't fail to go to this restaurant when you are in Philly!!!!!!!!
Onwards one more block and we stopped at the long line in front of Franklin Fountain.....an old-fashioned ice cream shop where we each had some wonderful ice cream, after waiting in line for about 35 minutes to reach the door so we could get inside to place our order!!! Can't beat this place, either!!!! WHEW.......I am going to weigh a ton....may have to install some heavy duty shocks in the car before we begin the trip back to Misery!!!!!
And soooo, a quick walk to our hotel, Jeremy took the subway to his section of town about 19 blocks west of here, and the day has ended!!! Anne-marie will return from NYC on one of the morning trains down here from that great city........and the day will then be our last one here.
However.........this place will always be with us....in our minds, our hearts, and our souls!!!! And, as always........
LIFE IS JUST REALLY AMAZINGLY GREAT!!!!!!!!......And, I sure hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
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