I actually took a quick day trip to Philadelphia on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. Only a few hours in the city, it was far too short, but still fantastic to be there.
I took an Uber to the train station that morning. Traveling during the pandemic, it was nice to have a window seat and an empty seat beside me. Normally, I would have to walk through several cars just to find a seat! After arriving in the early afternoon, I hopped on the subway and rode until the second stop.
At nearby Alice Pizza, I ordered the spicy Diavola and classic Margherita pieces of pizza and grabbed a can of coke. I enjoyed my pizza like they serve in Italy outside at a table in nearby Love Park. My feast was delicious!
After lunch, I walked to the Reading Terminal Market, which is across from Alice Pizza. There, I purchased a half pound of cranberry pistachio biscotti from Termini Bros. I also picked up chocolate chip and black & white cookies from Famous 4th Street Cookie Company. I browsed around this glorious indoor market a bit, but not much, as I knew that I was short on time.
Wanting to move to Philadelphia, I had an appointment to tour an apartment scheduled. To get a feel of how it would be to live there, I walked the blocks surrounding the apartment building I was checking out. I even entered the Target to peak at its grocery section.
To fill up my time prior to my appointment, I decided to quickly walk a few blocks down and a few blocks over to buy a refill of the Almond Shower Oil from L’Occitane. I underestimated the time this would take, but, luckily, I was in and out of the boutique and made it in time for my appointment. The leasing consultant was a bit late, so that gave me the opportunity to cool down in the nice lobby of the historic building.
During my appointment, the leasing consultant kindly showed me four apartments. I was in total shock of the size of the tiny space of the first one! It was two tiny hallway-like rooms for the living area and bedroom. There isn’t a bedroom door in each home, instead, the bedroom is simply around a corner. Even though the kitchen cabinets were white, the kitchen was dark in terms of natural light in the first option. Next, she showed me a large studio, but I told her that I needed a one bedroom home. Over the initial shock of a smaller home, the next two one bedroom apartments I liked. Still, the layout remained a bit odd as a toilet room was separate from the rest of the bathroom. I told her it was European! These two were a bit bigger at 392 square feet. 392. I currently live in a 681 square foot apartment home with a balcony. Even though the price was good for the location, it took me a few days to admit that this size and this building would simply not serve me well. Now, I hope to rent an apartment featuring white kitchen cabinets and a dishwasher that is at least 450 square feet in the downtown location I desire, all within my now increased budget. I will figure out a way.
The kitchen is along one wall of the living area. I adored the white kitchen cabinets.
I explored this Midtown neighborhood for just a bit longer. Around 2:45, I called a nearby nail salon for an appointment at 3. I walked four blocks down and made it on time. This is one that I was trying for the first time and… I was so pleased! I selected gel polish number 112, my usual dark reddish pink. It turned out to be OPI Dutch Tulips! My favorite color! I have had many manicures in the shade and have a bottle at home, but have never had it as a gel manicure. My nails looked lovely. I will definitely return to this salon.
After indulging in a rare gel manicure, it was finally time to squeeze in a little shopping in my favorite shopping district on Walnut and Chestnut Streets of the lovely Rittenhouse neighborhood. I bought two eyeshadow refills (the two neutral colors that I wear every single day, Shroom and Cork) at MAC. At Di Bruno Bros, I purchased a small wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano, two kinds of prosciutto (the guy was so passionate about one that I bought 1/4 lb. to try it), a bag of Abbracci cookies, and a pain au chocolat sold in a bag (probably because it was later in the day) from the bakery. Unfortunately, I had to get back to the station to catch my train.
I bought a row of soft pretzels at the station. With my snack, I sipped a small (caffeine-free) root beer as I never really cooled down from the foggy warm humid morning/early afternoon.
This trip was not long enough. In fact, I was speed walking to most places! I am so happy that I went though… Under further restrictions since November, I have had the memories of this fun little trip to help get me through!
On each train ride, I enjoyed reading Elevate Your Personal Style: Inspiration for the Everyday Woman by Jennifer Melville on my Kindle.
I Ubered back home and after dinner, I savored a souvenir chocolate chip cookie for dessert. Plus, I love a cranberry pistachio biscotto for breakfast too!
I actually took another day trip not long after this on Monday, November 9, 2020 and intend to share about it here as well. Pretty much since then, I have been unable to travel out-of-state due to the current restrictions, nor would I consider it safe to do so (up until the beginning of this month). I feel grateful for traveling when I could. Not just vacationing, I am working on being able to move there soon.