Philadelphia First Anniversary Trip
A few weeks ago, Brian and I ventured to Philadelphia to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. Why Philly you might ask? It was a city I had never visited before, the food scene is top-notch and most especially we were gifted Chris Stapleton tickets for his show in town.
I wanted to share what we did, where we stayed, and where we ate while on our four day weekend in the big city. After visiting Philadelphia, I would say it is underrated. The city has amazing historical sites and I'm not just talking about the Liberty Bell. Throughout the city you will find historical signs letting you know who lived in certain areas of the city or about events that occurred in the 1700's on the street corner. Brian and I laughed thinking "Benjamin Franklin might have walked this very path all those years ago..."
Where To Stay
We rented this Air BnB off South Street. It's tiny, but the place was perfect for what we were looking for since we wanted to get out and explore the city for most of our trip. Plus, it is walkable from a ton of historical sites, restaurants and other things to see and do within the city. Brian and I really got our steps in this trip walking most everywhere from our Air BnB. Lyfts and Ubers are easy to get around the city, but we had nice weather and enjoyed looking at the architecture and historical markers on our route.
The Air BnB is in an area of South Street with a very busy night scene, but this unit is on the backside of the building so it is surprisingly quiet for the area. And it came with a great parking spo which was wonderful for us since we made it a road trip.
What To Do
Bok Bar is located at the top of an old school building that is being renovated with apartments, shops, restaurants, etc. It's sad to see a school building close, but wonderful to see a city not let the place rot. Bok Bar has phenomenal views of the city. We didn't stay long because the people weren't out vibe as it felt like most everyone there was there to be seen. But if anything it was worth seeing the renovations of the building, enjoying a drink and taking in the views of the city on a beautiful summer night.
Liberty Bell & Independence Hall
History buffs may scoff at this, but we didn't spend a ton of time viewing either of these historical sites. On our arrival day, we walked to both from our Air BnB. The Liberty Bell is viewable through a window with a push button explaining it's historical meaning and seeing Independence Hall was good enough for me. I didn't need to see the inside. Both spots had long lines and were overcrowded with tourists (us included) that I wasn't interested in spending our time this way. If I were to travel to Philly again, the inside of Independence Hall would be on my list.
Like most tourists who travel to Philly, we wanted to see the Rocky statue and steps. We actually walked here from our Air BnB (not recommended, but totally doable). The line to take a picture with the statue was down the sidewalk even on this hot day. We took it in and decided to climb the steps. Upon making it to the top, you have a cool view of Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This was more a right of passage stop than it was a must, must see.
Wander
I don't have a link to share for this because there's no destination. My favorite thing to do (and something Brian is learning to love) when visiting a new place is to get out and wander the neighborhoods. It is wandering that introduces you to cool neighborhood eats and boutiques. We walked so much of Philly with a coffee in hand to just see what we could find. We spent so much of our time wandering and talking about what we like or dislike about what we were seeing, what our life would be like if we were residents in Philly and taking in so much of the city life our current hometown can't offer.
Many people told us this was a must see when visiting Philadelphia, and this will be an unpopular opinion but I didn't like it much. The place was crowded and the hours were minimal. I did eat a samosa from a vendor here and it was delicious, but honestly due to crowds and being a bit hangry I can't remember the name of it. If you've never been, then I would probably recommend it as well. But if you've been to similar markets in Europe I'd pass.
The place was awesome in it had a ton of eateries and drink places and we wanted to like it, but truth be told we didn't. It had a boardwalk feel we weren't prepared for, it was crowded with families and small children and the location doesn't allow for much of a breeze. Images online made it look more adult friendly than it was. If we were in a different place in our lives this might be something we would've loved, but for an anniversary trip we wanted something a bit quieter and more adult.
Where To Eat
Little Nonna's is an Italian-American restaurant by Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran located in Midtown Village. Inside and outside seatings hold about 80 guests, so if this is on your list be sure to make a reservation. We ate here on Thursday night, our first night in town after the long drive, and luckily only had to wait 15 minutes without a reservation. I cannot say enough positive things about our experience. We sat outside on the back patio which is a rare thing for a restaurant to have in a city. i tried squid ink pasta for the first time here, and consider it my new favorite pasta. Little Nonna's makes their pasta in house, so you know it has to be good. I would highly recommend this place for nice dinner in Philly.
Just around the corner from Little Nonna's and owned by the same ladies is Bud and Marilyn's. This place has a vintage feel to it and the food is American inspired and focuses on simple, well prepared comfort food. We sat here after our dinner on Thursday night to enjoy dessert and a few drinks at the bar. The cake dessert here is enough to share with a table of four -- see evidence here. We came back to Bud and Marilyn's for brunch on Saturday because we heard people rave about it. This might be my favorite breakfast meal we ate in Philly.
Nomad Pizza started out as a food truck off the back of 1949 REO speed wagon in New Jersey before moving to brick and mortar shops in New Jersey and Philly. We had a late lunch here one hot afternoon. We split an amazing pizza and a couple beers and ciders. Wood fire pizzas are some of my fave and this place did not disappoint. We visited the 7th street location, and this street corner is adorable and made for fun afternoon people watching.
We met up with Brian's cousins for brunch on Sunday at Hawthorne's Cafe. This place offers your typical American style breakfasts with great brunch cocktails. It was a perfect location for all of us to meet in the Italian Market area with ample free street parking if you have a car. The place is adorable on the inside and from how quickly it filled up on Sunday morning obviously a neighborhood favorite.
It's a bit bittersweet to tell you about this place because the Sunday of our weekend in Philly the Whetstone Tavern closed it's doors for good due to the owner no longer wanting to own a restaurant anymore. The location will become a Brooklyn-style pizza place.
With that said, due to the anything goes type of feel of this place closing the next day Brian and I had a wonderful time chatting up the staff and reaping the benefits of half off taps since they were trying to get rid of their inventory. We originally stopped in for a drink to cool off on our way to Bok Bar, but ended up staying for three drinks each. We enjoyed this place so much we returned for dinner after Bok Bar wasn't our scene. Cheers to the Whetstone Tavern. It would have been our place if we ever lived in Philly while it was open.
Since we were staying in an Air BnB and driving, we did bring our own coffee to brew at home to save a little cash here and there. But we did stop at Greenstreet Coffee twice while in town. We enjoyed the cute corner shop feel to this space and joked if we lived in the neighborhood that this would be our spot. Since Whole 30 (see my thoughts on it here), Brian and I both drink black coffee and Greenstreet delivered on great black coffee.
Have you been to Philadelphia before? If so, share what we missed in the comments below!
Xx,
Linds
