Philadelphia

OK, so recently we had the weekend trip to DC, followed immediately by the Yo-Yo Ma concert Monday, and immediately followed by a Tuesday night post-work flight to Philadelphia, PA. Boom, boom, boom. I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere. The reason for the trip? A Pearl Jam concert Wednesday night. The beauty of this trip? No vacation days required.

DC? No vacation.

Yo-Yo Ma? No vacation.

Pearl Jam? No vacation.

Tuesday, work 8-4. Scheduled flight out of Raleigh at 7:35pm. Concert Wednesday. Flight out of Philadelphia 8:20am Thursday. Work 2-10 Thursday. Whew.

But, before the concert, there's sightseeing to do. PLENTY of historical items to peruse in Philadelphia. Sadly, it rained the entire day. So the entire day was spent wet and cold and soggy and miserable. Here's what occurred:

Start off with a 9:45am tour of Independence Hall.

Then THE room inside the building where the Declaration and Constitution were debated and voted upon:


The courthouse that originally housed Congress:


The House downstairs:


The Senate upstairs:


Then it was a visit to the Liberty Bell in the shadows of Independence Hall:


Afterward, a walk (in the ever present rain) to visit Benjamin Franklin's grave at the (open via appointment only) Christ Church Burial Ground:



Then a walk towards Chinatown to catch a cab to travel to South Philly for lunch. The item on the menu? CHEESESTEAKS. The destination, Geno's Steaks:


From there, a walk through the Italian Market and a stop at Anthony's Italian Coffee House for some Pumpkin Latte and a canoli. Time to warm up and infuse some caffeine.

From there, a walk through the South Philly neighborhoods until finally finding a cab-friendly zone. Cab it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a cheesy touristy "Rocky" pose at the top of the steps:




Then, another cab to the hotel to drop off any souvenirs, bags, books. A walk from the hotel back towards the Independence Hall area to acquire some dinner. But on the way...

American Philosophical Society museum:


American Philosophical Society library:


Carpenter's Hall, home of the first Continental Congress:


Then a walk for (a planned) dinner at City Tavern, home of many a discussion and debate concerning revolution. However, I stumbled upon a beer geek nirvana of unparalleled proportions: Eulogy Belgian Tavern. Revisited my trip to Belgium one year ago. Belgian food and Belgian beer. However, they don't open until 5:00, so let's continue on to Penn's Landing:


Now, back to Eulogy for a Grilled Three-Cheese sandwich (with tomato and bacon) and some fine refreshment with Vuuve, translated literally to "boobs".




So, my wet, cold, soggy, miles-walked day is complete. From Eulogy there is one final destination for this chock-filled Philadelphia day: Pearl Jam.