Philly on a weekend? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**lilwings** · 09-06-2007, 08:21 AM

Next weekend I'm headed out to Philadelphia for the Distance Race. I have a general idea of some of the things I want to see when I am not running, but I was wondering if any TPunks had tips or ideas from their travels.

What shouldn't I miss?

**mbo108** · 09-06-2007, 10:30 AM

hhhmmm...i do live in Philly (okay the suburbs) so i should have a few ideas...

Just like every other city there is plenty to do...

I believe the PDR takes you down Broad St and ends at or near the Art Museum, so if you have any strength left you can run up the steps Rocky-style.

If you like baseball the Phils are at home Friday (7:35 start), Saturday (3:55 start), and Sunday (1:35 start). The park is pretty cool, tons of young people go down there, its almost a giant bar like atmosphere. Its won some awards for its overall food selection, vegetarian-friendly food, and beer selection ( I suggest getting a Sly Fox beer from one of the vendors on the 1st base side). Tickets are cheap too.

Okay, you'll have earned a cheesesteak after all that running. You can head to Pats or Geno's, but the best ones are at Jimmy's on South Street. South St can be fun to walk along, crazy little stores, Goth kids, hippies, bars. You name it.

One of the most unique museums in the world is the Mutter Museum. It has all sorts of gross artifacts, like shrunken heads in jars, preserved penises, and other deformalities that people had over time. There is also a Rodin Museum along Broad St which is cool if you like his work.

And of course, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the National Constitution Center are all big draws. I actually haven't been down to the NCC yet and I'm mad at myself for that one, it seems as though they always have great programs.

Oh, and the big King Tut exhibit is currently at the Franklin Institute if you wanna check that out.

If you let me know more specifically what you're into or looking for, i might be of more help. Probably not though. ;-)

**Joker** · 09-06-2007, 10:35 AM

No trip to Philly is complete without visiting Delilah's on Delaware Ave. :D

**lilwings** · 09-07-2007, 03:26 AM

mbo, thanks! I definately want to see the Mutter! It's nice to have an insider's perspective.

I know this might come off as a weird question... is everything within walking distance downtown? I'm catching a ride to the downtown area where I'm staying, but I'll be sans wheels after that.

**mbo108** · 09-07-2007, 04:50 AM

walking...hmmm, not so sure. and thats definitely not a weird question, don't worry, its a valid concern. There are always taxis around too. You probably can walk that stuff downtown, but you dont have too. There is a subway which is alright. i would just googlemap your hotel and some of the downtown attractions and check the mileage.

**DC_Jessica** · 09-11-2007, 05:55 PM

I'm doing that race!!! Wheee. I'll be taking in all of Philly as well. Probably watching Rocky Friday night too! I'm staying at a friend's apartment while I'm there, but we should get together if you're interested! I am from Pittsburgh but have never been...

**Sijuki** · 09-12-2007, 04:18 AM

Last I visited Philly we did a fair amount of walking. We did take a couple cabs... but a lot of walking. Damn if I can't remember the name of the restaurant we had breakfast at, they had the best pancakes with strawberries and bananas in them. Mike, Te, MRC?

**my retro career** · 09-12-2007, 08:57 AM

omg Rob - I totally forgot about that restaurant - which was ultra delicious!!

it's in south philly; within blocks of the italian market.

I took some friends there again after that and they also enjoyed it a lot...

still don't remember its name though.....

**simply_angelic** · 09-12-2007, 11:40 AM

strawberries & bananas in pancakes are soooo good...and then more berries on top mmmmm. Damn now I'm hungry!

**noke_travel** · 09-12-2007, 01:14 PM

i lived in philly for a summer a few years back. never really did the touristy thing but here are my suggestions.

check out south street for nightlife. go to pats or gino's gor a late night cheesteak and visit some of the communities on the main line as well.

**DC_Jessica** · 09-12-2007, 05:36 PM

So is it an obvious pancake place? Like it says "best fruit pancakes in South Philly" on the outside and it's right next to the Italian Market? I'm super interested now, and I've got my Philly friend jazzed about it too. If anybody is in the area and wants to "holla" or eat carbs Saturday evening with me, let me know...

**mbo108** · 09-13-2007, 07:10 AM

I would try to meet up with you but I'm going to be out of town from Friday to Sunday. Good luck with the race!

CookieDough · 09-13-2007, 09:53 AM

Good luck on the race. I live out here in LA and I was in the LA triathlon. It was my second time taking part in it. Hope you don't be as sore as I was

**mbo108** · 09-25-2007, 01:12 PM

So how did the race go? Did you enjoy Philly? I would love to get an outsiders take on their visit if you had a minute to respond.

**DC_Jessica** · 09-25-2007, 08:03 PM

I actually really liked it, despite having some peers openly refer to it as a s***hole. We opened my short weekend with pizza at Dock Street (I think) in West Philly and lots and lots of Fresh Prince theme song singing. We went around town a bit to get tokens and see some sights, went to JFK Park, looked at the skyline. Then we headed back to watch Rocky (neither of us had seen it). We were both pretty cheesed that he doesn't win. I mean, I get it, but come on. I liked it a lot but was still pretty impressed that it was a best picture!

In the morning the girl who was supposed to meet us there woke up at the time she should have been arriving from DC, so we went out sight-seeing. Did the liberty bell in under 15 minutes (10 of which was probably spent getting our bags checked), ate at a greasy spoon named after Ben Franklin (Benny's?), drove around the Italian Market, and when the girl still hadn't arrived (seriously, it took her 5 hours) we did some more sights. Art museum and Rocky statue, saw all the people lining up to do the Rocky dance in front of it. The old penitentiary (LOVE the gargoyles). There was also a ritzy craft fair we buzzed through.

The convention center was pretty cool, and I liked the downtown area, despite how small it was. Did NOT know that Philly was famous for soft pretzels. But loved it when I found out! We bought some outside of Reading Terminal Station. Mmm. They also gave them out before and after the race. I went back a bunch of times...

As for the race, I loved it. It was cool and flat and very very scenic. In fact, the first quarter mile or so was right up that street from the Art Museum with all the flags on it, heading in the direction of William Penn's semi on top of City Hall. (My friend Mary kept telling me about it and driving up to it from different directions, but I didn't actually see it and giggle until I was running!) I was well on my way to a PR (I'm very very slow) and about mile 7 a guy with a "No Whining" t-shirt on saw a service road with a hill off the course, and he said "I'm going to do some hill work!" When I gave him my look of horror, he invited me, and after a nice bout of "are you serious?" and "I'm serious if you're serious!" we went about a quarter mile or so off course to run up a hill. It definitely set me back a couple minutes, but I think it was worth it. :D And PS, some of the back of the packers (or penguins) had t-shirts with a picture of the liberty bell that said "Stop looking at my crack." Awesome!

I know it's wordy, but I liked Philly a lot. Can't wait to go back when I have more flexibility to party instead of going to bed early and watching what I eat/drink.

**mbo108** · 09-26-2007, 10:54 AM

Thats great, I'm glad you had a fun time. Sounds like you really packed in all the major sights. Congrats on the run (and even adding a little extra - whew!)

**simply_angelic** · 09-27-2007, 07:21 AM

Looks awesome. I totally would have gone for the hill work too. There's just something that makes you feel so accomplished when you run up a big hill & keep on going!

**mbo108** · 09-27-2007, 07:36 AM

oh, and i like the pic of you at LOVE Park. There is a big stir going on because they dyed the water in the fountain red today to promote the new TV show "Dexter" (apparently its comedy-drama about a serial killer who kills other serial killers - yeah struggle with the moral dilemnas of that one). The problem is that violence and the murder rate are spiraling out of control in the city. So it probably wasn't the best idea. Anyways, i would love to see more pics of the Iladelph if you have them and wouldn't mind sharing.

**DC_Jessica** · 09-27-2007, 04:09 PM

OOoh the Iladelph. I like that. I'll have to share that with my girlfriend - she just started a grad program at UPenn and is having a little trouble adjusting. She gave a dollar to a guy outside of Reading Terminal who gave her a line about Philly being the "City of Brotherly Shove." (Apparently he has a schtick he does about "just" having been diagnosed with HIV and not being able to get any help in this "crappy" city...one of her friends gave him $1 three years ago!)

They have a Dexter fountain in DC too. Same with the murder rate, though we're improving from our former notoriety. It's at the station where I work, so I'll get to see if its still there tomorrow.

PM me your email and I'll invite you to the rest of the pictures. I really only upload to Snapfish...it's a pain, but I've been using it forever. Be warned, that allegedly my fly is down in my obligatory Rocky statue shot.