On Friday, November 30th, I spent the day in Philadelphia, a city I adore. I did exactly what I wanted to do. I had such an amazing day!
I wanted to take a ton of pictures …but discovered that my camera battery was completely dead upon arrival. My intention for this post was “my day in photos.” Oh well. I’ll be better next time.
I happened to stick to a single neighborhood, Center City, which is downtown. I simply loved being there.
After getting off the train, I hopped on the subway to get to the outdoor German-Style Christmas market. This was in Love Park (with its famous namesake sculpture) where a giant tree stood in place of the usual fountain. After perusing all the wooden stands and huge tent with its lovely artisanal products, I went back to one for a gingerbread heart with frosting decoration. It read “Merry Christmas” in German and had trim and depicted two lit red candles.
I strolled up and down the shopping streets, Chestnut and Walnut, browsing many of its shops, even trying on beautiful clothing. This included a visit to a quirky accessories store called Tselaine where I was awed by beautiful soft cashmere scarves with a peacock feather print and the Italian grocery store named Di Bruno Bros. where I lingered… Across Broad Street, Macy’s has a famous light show, so I checked that out for a song or two.
I also hit my favorite place in town, the Reading Terminal Market. It had changed a bit since I was last there, about 13 months ago. The first stand I hit was Termini Bros for some Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti for future breakfasts. For lunch, I also hit my favorite stand, Tommy DiNic’s for a Philly Cheesesteak, the most delicious one in my opinion. With a long line, it seems so for everyone else as well! We were all thrilled to wait awhile for such a glorious reward and chatted all about what we were ordering. I sat down and immediately a couple of other girls sat down at the next table pushed up next to mine in this very crowded place. We had a lovely little conversation about France. On the way out, I picked up a couple of cookies from the Famous 4th Street Bakery. Although a bit messy, this fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie was to die for! Really, I shouldn’t have saved the other two for later!
I walked around some neighboring streets, browsing through the West Elm Store. I also got a small decadent European-style hot chocolate at a nearby chocolate cafe. The ambiance was charming. There, I picked up a little molded piece of chocolate in the form of a squirrel on a lollipop stick for my godson, a lover of chocolate just like his godmother.
I had to head back to the train station after that, back to my normal life right away actually, full of errands and work.
It was just so nice to celebrate the season in my own special way.
Philadelphia is so close, and yet we've not gone yet! It's on a my list for mini weekend trips this spring! And I'm keeping these places in mind to check out! Glad you were able to get away for a bit and enjoy yourself!
You should go!
Of course there's the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, the Liberty Bell and South Street which are great too. I just happened to stick to one neighborhood.