A Day in Philadelphia

Last weekend my roommate Liz and I headed up to Philly for a little day trip. We’d talked about going to visit for a few months, and since we both had the weekend off, we knew it would be the perfect time to go. I stalked Pinterest boards, Tripadvisor, and good old Yelp for some ideas for things we wanted to visit. Since we’d both visited the city before, we decided it would be okay to skip some of the more conventionally touristy stuff like the Liberty Bell (with a few exceptions) and head to local gems that were a little less crowded.

First, we stopped into Reading Terminal Market, which I’d been to before. It’s like a giant warehouse filled with food vendors and various other little stores. Definitely one of Philly’s big attractions, and for good reason. So much good food! I got some killer buffalo wings, and Liz grabbed a Philly Cheesesteak. Then we split a donut from Beiler’s (well worth the wait) and headed out into the city.

Then we visited the Edgar Allan Poe historical site, which included a tour of a house Poe once lived in. The house included many of the inspirations for Poe’s stories. I was really excited to visit since I’ve been a fan of everything Poe for as long as I can remember, and of course bloggers can’t resist a good mural.

After Poe, we took a walk to Mac’s Tavern, a bar that I’ve wanted to visit since I started watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Mac’s is owned in part by Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson (Mac and Dee from IASIP) as well as many of their friends. Though we weren’t lucky enough to catch any of the cast members hanging out (definitely didn’t expect to either, of course) we enjoyed talking with the bartender and tried some really awesome raspberry cider.

After a little more walking, a dip into a few vintage shops, and even a stop by a “Curio” store that had a real human skull for sale (cool but yikes), we decided to check out the Magic Garden. I’d heard about this place from one of my best friends, Sabrina, who had visited a few years back and brought me home a cute magnet. The Magic Garden is an art installation by Isaiah Zagar that features multiple rooms, staircases, tunnels, and pathways. This was probably my favorite of the stops we took around the city.

Our final destination was the LOVE statue. By the time we arrived here, we had walked almost six miles around the city, and we were pretty tired. I, for one, can’t wait to go back! Philly vlog coming soon!

Have you been to Philadelphia?
What is your favorite way to spend the day in a new city?