Those of you who have busy careers and/or little ones know how difficult it can be to have time alone. No early morning alarm, nap time, feeding schedule, moms group, or travel schedule for Matt almost seems foreign. It's hard to remember a time before it all. Spur of the moment weekend trips don't happen as often but we still want to make them a priority (even if its just once or twice a year).
Matt travels frequently for work and I've gone away on a couple girls trips since Walter's arrival, but this was our first trip together, with out him. We really really missed him, but man, it was awesome.
We try to plan our vacations somewhere we've never visited so we can look forward to exploring a new place together. It makes it so much easier to see the right sites and eat at the best restaurants when you know someone who lives in town. Matts cousin Sara and her boyfriend Nate live in downtown Philly, so we were able to spend time with them and took full advantage of their knowledge of the city.
^^City Hall & Love Park
Our first evening was spent walking through downtown to the historic district for dinner. It took us about an hour to get to the restaurant because we couldn't help but stop to look at every building. The combination of romantic architecture with post-modernism sky-scrapers was breathtaking.
We had dinner in the center of the historic district, just past The Liberty Bell, at a latin tapas restaurant called Amada. Course, after course, after course, this was possibly the best meal we've ever had.
Saturday.
Saturday morning, we headed to Sabrina's for brunch, had a brief wait, and then consumed omelets that could have fed a family of four. We were fueled for the day.
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| Bar at Sabrina's |
^^ I have close to fifty different pictures of building murals. Every block I turned down had a new painting or a massive sculpture. Philly LOVES their art.
After brunch, we walked through Fairmont, and visited our cousins apartment. This neighborhood is lined with gorgeous hundred year old brownstones. Sara's home is the definition of character and charm (just like her)!
Just past Fairmont is the Eastern State Penitentiary which opened in 1829. This was our country's first true penitentiary and was designed to create genuine regret and penitence in the criminal's heart. Prior to this institution, criminals were held in large holding pens and expected to fend for themselves.
This idea of solitary confinement was designed for reformation, but it proved to do the opposite- it made people crazy.
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| Cell Block 7, Eastern State Penitentiary. |
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| The Activity Yard, Eastern State Penitentiary. |
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| The Hospital Wing, Eastern State Penitentiary. |
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| Al Capone's (Scarface) cell during his stay at Eastern State. He was well taken care of. |
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| Standard Cell, Eastern State Penitentiary |
Eastern State was closed in the 1960's. It was a creepy, but architecturally beautiful place.
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| The oldest and longest inhabited street in the US. Historic District. |
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| Locally brewed cordial tasting. |
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| Independence Hall, Historic District. |
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| Foundation of George Washington's home, Historic District. |
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| The Liberty Bell, Historic District. |
After a great day of soaking up the history that Philly had to offer us, we stopped by the Independence Beer Garden. This seasonal garden is placed in-between sky-scraper apartments and Independence Hall and it was the perfect place to warm up.
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| Sazon, Venezuelan Restaurant. |
After relaxing at the beer garden, we headed to West Philly to a hole in the wall eatery called Sazon. If you don't know this about me, now you know: I am Venezuelan-American, raised by my mom who was raised in Venezuela. I grew up consuming shredded beef, plantains, arepas, black beans, and rice, all in my moms kitchen. This food is like water to my soul. When Matt and I heard that Philadelphia was blessed with a Venezuelan restaurant, we had to go.
Sazon is run by a Venezuelan woman and her husband who was born and raised in Philly. Her husband is chocolate connoisseur (he's known as the Chocolate Alchemist) and has created an entire menu of hand crafted organic Venezuelan hot chocolate. He hand grinds cocoa beans, makes his own chocolates, and melts them down into liquid gold. After inhaling our arepas, we ordered two very different cups of chocolate. Matt ordered la cuaima: dark chocolate, cinnamon, and chile peppers. I ordered calabaza king: milk chocolate, fresh pumpkin, pecans, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, with pumpkin cream and cacao nibs... amazing.
^^ Casitas (little homes) lined the walls of the restaurant. My mom has a small wall in her kitchen dedicated to these tiny clay casa's from Venezuela that are customary to hang in your home. I grew up these little casitas and arepas stuffed with cheese; it was comforting to see it all in this little dive.
SUNDAY.
We came across this man on our walk to brunch on Sunday. Most homeless people were sleeping on the concrete around man holes, inches away from the softer grass. These man holes produce heat from the subways, almost like standing around a space heater. I spent the rest of our walk praying for him to find a warmer, safer bed.
We brunched at Cafe Lift in The Loft District. Many restaurants in Philadelphia have a BYOB (bring your own bottle) policy- which is amazing. So, for our final brunch in the city, we brought a bottle of bubbly and asked for a carafe of orange juice for the table to make mimosas. Cheers!
After brunch, we enjoyed a chilly walk through down-town on our way to "The Oval". The light was just making it's way through the high-rise buildings.
We visited The Philadelphia Fall Fair which was being held at The Oval, a seasonal outdoor public space located in front of The Philadelphia Art Museum
This hay ride was led around the Benjamin Franklin Parkway by a police escort. The ride was surrounded by double-decker tour buses and yellow taxi cabs- it was a funny site to see.
There was a pop-up cider garden at the Fall Fair where we sampled cider made from three different types of apples. I had only ever had hard cider from a bottle, so it was extra delicious on tap! This cider garden was hosted by Frecon's Cidery located in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
^^ Linvilla Orchards (located just outside of Philly) had an amazing station set up for fresh pressed apple juice. Kids were able to pick their own apples, then peel, core, grind, and press them into fresh apple juice!
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Philadelphia truly caters to families of all ages, especially those with young children. I LOVED how Philly brought the country to the city for his event. It was so special how families had the opportunity to have the true "pumpkin patch experience" without having to leave the city. |
We had an amazing weekend visiting family and exploring the beautiful city of Philidelphia. We will be back soon!
