Two Days in Philly

Prosecco drink at Bridget Foy’s

The best brisket sandwich 

Love this 

Had to screenshot the vrtleats 

I love this building— so many down there look like this. 

Independence Hall

Celebratory dinner 

Favorite place in Reading Terminal 

The ultimate Barnes & Noble combo 

Fresh flowers 

Masonic Temple

Rittenhouse Park

Walking to Sampan

Happy Pride!

Love Park

Rittenhouse Park

Home of the great brisket sandwich 

When Shelley got asked to go to her work headquarters and do the company chef spotlight for Pride month, the timing coincided perfectly with extending our Charleston trip. 

We decided to drive out so we could drive down the coast and add three extra days of “vacation” time. 

 I learned something about myself on this trip: I overplan WAY too much. I literally made a detailed itinerary of where I’d go while Shelley was at work, where we would eat, etc. 

Things, as usual, did not go as planned. 

On the first day we arrived, we got there just in time to park in a garage and Shells went to headquarters and I was on my own to wander the city. We had been en route for about six hours, we hadn’t seen the hotel room yet, and I was roasting. So I walked to Barnes & Noble (obviously), ordered myself a chocolate chip cookie and a PTL, and sat in the cafe reading. 

I should confess that I wore a pair of sandals (cute) and a lounge outfit that kind of dresses up when paired with said sandals. This was a mistake, because those shoes were not made for walking really any great distance. By the time I made it to B&N, I had blisters like…all over. Thus, out the window went my plan to walk over to the historical district or the Philly Magic Gardens. I’ve seen these places before so it wasn’t a hugely devastating moment for me to browse the THREE LEVELS of the air conditioned bookstore and then walk over to Rittenhouse Park.

This was a new experience for me, because honestly I didn’t even know it existed, but it was right outside of the bookstore and the sidewalk lining it had street vendors selling produce and flowers and such. I sat under a tree in the sunshine and read and listened to the buskers playing music.

When Shelley picked me up, we literally had ten minutes to check in to the hotel and get changed before we met her colleagues in the lobby to walk over to dinner. (Another poor footwear mistake, by the way: heels.) We went to a place called Sampan, which was fun, modern, and Asian inspired, and got the chef’s tasting menu for the table. The food was amazing (there was some sort of salmon rice cake bite that was so incredibly delicious) and we just chatted and laughed and had fun. 

The next day, Shelley had to go to HQ all day to prepare for the chef spotlight, so I had planned to grab lunch at Reading Terminal, peruse the art museum, and maybe read in Love Park. Ambitious, sure. It was all for naught. I woke up and my feet were literally pulsing. I walked over to get bandaids and neosporin and treated the NINE blisters I had, put on socks and my Vans, and then loaded my backpack with books (in addition to overzealous itineraries, I also overpack… a lot… like five books for a week…) & walked the few miles to Reading Terminal, where I had a sandwich I’ve only had once before and been dreaming of since: the brisket sandwich from Tommy DeNic’s. I don’t even really love brisket, but this sandwich is unreal. If you ever are there, go! They put hot peppers and this sharp cheese on it and it’s sooo good. 

I wandered around the market, picked up a little red velvet cake to celebrate Shelley’s success, and really enjoyed a shop that sold herbs, bath salts, and essential oils. 

The art museum was closed that day (I’ve also been there a couple times, and it’s a must see if you’ve never been) and there was a demonstration happening in Love Park, so I just walked back and honestly by that point I just wanted to sit down. In spite of the bandaids and Vans, the damage had been done. Between the sandals mistake and then barely wearing shoes in any form for over a year, it isn’t really a surprise.   

I logged on to watch Shelley’s chef spotlight, which she crushed! I was so proud of her. 

After she came back, we wanted to go to Jim’s on South for cheesesteaks but they were closed for renovations (sigh) so we ended up wandering around South Street for a bit, which is always a good time. There are fun restaurants and antique shops and little stores— it’s one of my favorite places in Philly. We ate dinner at Bridget Foy’s (if you go, try their frozen lemon drink (vodka, lemonade, and Prosecco) and the pasta primavera) on the patio before heading back to the hotel to pack up and prep for the next day, where we were going to take the train up to NYC— post on that coming soon!