Sunday (10/21): We arrived at our home away from home around 5 p.m. I found the place through a website called airbnb. It was a very small apartment two blocks away from the area known as Rittenhouse Square. We were shocked at our bill of $30 to park for 24 hours, but decided we'd eat the cost for the night since we'd have to use the car the next day. The place had the necessary things like a bed, dining table, bathroom, kitchen and a place to lounge and watch tv if you wanted. I was looking forward to being able to relax and read my magazines and books, but I didn't even get to do such things! Shortly after we got our things semi-settled, we were out the door to Village Whiskey to meet our old pal Brian Steffy. We met Brian in Raleigh, but he now lives in San Diego so sightings are rare. He happened to be in town for a wedding and was leaving the following day.
 |
| Me, Shaun, Brian and Jerry at Cavanaughs |
Village Whiskey's burgers and fries are absolutely amazing! The place is very, VERY small, but we only had to wait about 20 minutes for our table. I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. After dinner, we travelled to a sports-type bar, Cavanaughs. We cheered on the SF Giants, caught up and drank some quality brews throughout. As we walked back to our place, I thought the night was over and I began to look forward to a bed. As we were about to part ways, Shaun had the bright (post-drinking) idea to head over to the South Street area for a Philly cheesesteak challenge. In the cab and off we go!
Pats vs. Geno's is a classic battle. It was honestly my first time to have Geno's. I've typically been put off by their fancy neon signs. That particular night, Geno's actually won the battle! Shaun stuck with Pat's. How we even ate those cheesesteaks after the burgers we had is still beyond me.
Monday (10/22): Sleeping in feels so good, but it still never seems like enough. I swear I'm just always sleep backlogged. Shaun took a run that morning. I was still sore from the 8K we ran that Saturday so I opted for a shower. We walked to Nook that morning in search of quality tea, coffee and treats. We found them! I paired a chai latte with a pumpkin muffin and it made my morning (errr, afternoon). The employees were friendly, the place was cozy and all of their goods are made with love in house.
Next stop was the Mutter Museum. We giggled when we got out of our cab because it was practically right around the corner from Nook. This museum seemed like the original Bodies exhibit. Skulls from past learning, human book binders, original operating room tools and Chang and Eng surrounded us among other intriguing things. The 19th century cabinet glass that you look through can mess with your eyes as it still has the "wavy" appearance of glass during that time. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.
 |
| The Mutter Museum |
After the museum, we walked aimlessly (which I love) and then went back to the apartment to freshen up for our date with Heather and Fran at Victory. We had such a great time and it was so good to spend time with them before their actual wedding. I was so thankful that we could catch up since I knew we really wouldn't be able to on the big day. Besides having great beer, it turns out that the brewpub actually has amazing food! We don't visit these places for the food, but it's always a bonus if it's good.
Tuesday (10/23): This particular day was all about Shaun. We basically used this entire trip as an anniversary gift, but I had surprises up my sleeve for Tuesday. Shaun loves haunted places, ghost stories, etc. so I planned a day at the Eastern State Penitentiary. It was in the Fairmount area, but we decided to take our time and walk there so that we could see what was also around.
Shaun had been bugging me since Sunday about going to ESP and it didn't help when his high school friend, Chris called him about meeting up to do the haunted prison tour on Thursday night. I kept blowing it off for two days, but I knew eventually it would bother him because it was on the top of his "to-see" list. As we were walking up towards the massive prison, he casually said, "Hey, isn't that the prison?" I got super excited and told him that we would doing the daytime tour, grabbing some dinner and then coming back for the Terror Behind the Walls part. This place was an incredible sight inside and out.
We arrived just in time for the guided tour. I cannot even begin to sum up the history of this place, but the idea of why it started (solitary confinement) and how it all panned out (too many criminals and not enough space) is quite a story. It is an eerie place as most supposedly haunted spots are. If I hadn't been with a group, I probably would have been freaked out a little more...even in the daytime.
 |
| Prison wall (yikes!) |
After the tour, we attempted to get a hold of Chris for some dinner ideas since he lived in the area, but with no response we ended up choosing a place using Yelp. We ended up picking La Calaca Feliz and we were so glad we did! Shortly after we got our drinks, Chris returned our text and wrote that we were at the place he was gonna recommend to us for dinner...a great sign that we did some excellent yelping! I'm not sure how long Philadelphia restaurants stick around, but if you're in the area and this one is still standing, check it out. From the margaritas to the guacamole to the duck breast tacos...two thumbs up!
After dinner, it turned out that Chris lived a few minutes walk from the good eatin'. It was great to see him again, catch up and meet his girlfriend, Kelly, before we travelled back to prison for the haunted house. It was hard to catch up over one brew, so we made plans to meet them after the prison. The haunted part ended up being pretty cool. I think being in the prison only a few short hours before put my brain at ease because I didn't seem to scare as bad as I usually do. Don't get me wrong, I screamed like a little girl, but it honestly wasn't that bad! The costumes and the scenery were very well done. I think we were both glad we got to experience it. We headed back to Chris and Kelly's place afterwards and went to the old place where they both used to work, Rembrant's. Good conversation and good brews on tap, but we were pretty beat from our long day so we made the trek back into the Rittenhouse area.
 |
| Kelly, Me, Chris and Shaun at Rembrant's |
Chris and his crew were fancied up in suits and cooked our special menu right in front of our eyes and noses. The smells were amazing and the food was even better. You savor your pasta a little bit more when you see all of the hard work that goes into making it from scratch. I will never forget this special night nor the pumpkin above our table that Chris carved with love. It was also great to chill in the basement of the restaurant after hours and share some toasts with the crew...and smash the pumpkin on kitchen floor :)
Thursday (10/25): This was our last day to be-bop around the city before leaving for wedding festivities the next day. Our first stop was The Random Tea Room. To one day own a shop like this is my dream. It was cozy, warm, had a shop dog, mismatched furniture and one damn good chai latte. I'm talking Boulder, CO good. I didn't think it was possible to find a chai like I had out there and here it was! The girl that opened the shop was great to talk to and her story was rather simple. It was never a dream of hers to have a tea room, but she decided she wanted to have one and thought she'd figure it all out along the way. She got lucky and met a tea sensei who helped her learn about tea and also taught her how to make tea blends. The rest is history and she has been open for five years strong. Maybe one day I'll get just as lucky. Actually, I don't even care if I open a store like hers and it's just me and my old pals sharing tea and stories! As you can tell, it's a retirement dream of sorts.
 |
| Shop dog at The Random Tea Room |
I could have stayed at the tea room all day, but our hunger forced us to leave and head to the Reading Terminal Market. As if we hadn't eaten enough all week, we ate way too much here. Our first stop was the Travel Channel's pick for Best Sandwich in America, Dinic's. There aren't enough adjectives to describe this sandwich. I wish it were closer to me so that I could have one whenever I wanted. Simply outstanding. You know I took a picture (apologies, vegan friends). I do love food porn.
 |
| Dinic's roast pork |
The place is huge, so we walked some before planting ourselves at the recommended Dutch Eating Place. Chicken and waffles like mom used to make? Yes, please. We totally have room in our stomachs for that! More and more walking to see the sights and we ended with an ice cream treat from Bassetts and continued our meandering around the city to burn some of the calories.
When we felt like we made room for more calories, we decided that our next stop was to check out Yards Brewing. As expected, it's a giant warehouse-type building. We made our way to the bar and passed a photo shoot on our way in. I've never seen a beer photo shoot before and I could not stop watching! The lighting was perfect, the foam was strategically played with, and a lot of beer was poured to get that perfect, sexy shot. I was honestly still too full to thoroughly enjoy my beer so I was happy to have the distraction. We were very impressed with the drinks crafted here. If you make it out to the place or if it's available in your area, the Tavern Spruce Ale is perfect for the fall/winter weather.
We wrapped up the final evening by walking to meet Shaun's nephew, Brandon, for a drink. We hadn't seen Brandon since our wedding so of course there was not enough time to catch up on all things good and bad. We were still glad that we could all find the time to share some laughs and hugs as we don't get to see any of our family members very often.
Friday (10/26): It was time to depart and head to Malvern for Davis/DePiano wedding festivities. We had a final caffeine fix at Nook and made our way out of the expensive parking lot to leave the city behind, but not without an accident. Sigh. Yep, I had my very first accident in Philly...in a parking lot...and I hit a parked car. Really?! Needless to say, I was embarrassed and beyond mad at myself for making such a silly mistake. No excuses, I just should've taken more time pulling out. It's been almost two weeks and a claim has yet to be filed. Maybe they don't care?
Because of the mini-accident, it took us an hour and a half to leave the parking lot. We finally made it to the hotel in time to freshen up for the rehearsal. The church was absolutely beautiful. Built in 1775 (I believe), it was very small inside with brick floors and had pews with doors. The sheep outside kept the grass tidy around the old pre-revolutinary tombstones. Simply stunning. The bride was stunning too, of course! Saturday was Heather's wedding and the day of Shaun and I's anniversary. We had a blast at the wedding and it was good to see some old high school friends. It was an absolutely perfect setting to fall in love all over again with my husband of five years and celebrate.
 |
| Heather and Fran on their special day |
A great week, indeed. Thank you, Philadelphia. We had a great time in your city of brotherly love!
