Weekend in Philly

I spent my birthday weekend in Philly with Alex’s family. 

Here’s what we did and saw. 

Where we stayed:

We stayed at Club Quarters Rittenhouse Square. It was fine. Great location. It looks like some of the hotel has been renovated and other parts haven’t. Everyone loved the all-day coffee station in the lobby.

 

What we saw:

-City Hall: Walk through it on your walk to the Liberty Bell.

-Chinatown: We saw this beautiful arch.

-Independence Hall: Independence Hall requires a timed ticket, which sold out very fast. The tickets go on sale the night before at 5 p.m.

-The Liberty Bell: The Liberty Bell does not require a ticket, so anyone can go.

-Benjamin Franklin’s grave: You have to pay to enter the cemetery but his grave is visible from the sidewalk and the chain link fence.

-Betsy Ross’ House: This is not free to enter. There’s a nice courtyard outside so we sat there for a while. 

-Elfreth's Alley: Some of the oldest houses in America are on this block. They’re beautiful and most are privately owned.

-Rocky Steps & Statue: Pose with Rocky’s statue and then run up the steps.

-The Franklin Institute: The Lego exhibit was incredible. The artist, a New York attorney was tired of being a lawyer, so he started tinkering with Legos and created all of this incredible art out of those little colorful blocks. The rest of the museum is more kid focused but this was super cool even for adults.

-Rittenhouse Square: Pretty place to take a stroll through.

-Union vs. Cruz Azul: The real reason we were in town! We traveled with Cruz Azul to the game with a police escort and watched the game from a suite. It was so cool! And even better, Cruz Azul won!

 

Where we ate:

-Green Egg’s Café: Cash only! Big portions. Great place to grab a big breakfast before exploring.

-Harper’s Garden: Late night dinner spot with good shared plates.

- Jeni’s Ice Cream: Brambleberry Crisp is their best flavor PSA.

-Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Chunk is delicious. (And yes, I had ice cream two days in a row, it was my birthday after all)

-Ishkabibble’s Philly Cheese Steaks: A recommendation from our Uber driver and it did not disappoint. 

-Pietro’s- Delicious pizza and Aperol Spritz! Perfect for a Birthday lunch.