Wanting to explore more of the US after being abroad for so long, when Labor
Day came around in September, David and I looked at a map of the continental US,
compared it against direct flights from Austin and places we had yet to visit,
and decided to go to Philadelphia for the long weekend. (It was basically like throwing a dart at a
map, but it worked.)
Friends
recommended that we stay at the Loews Hotel in the heart of downtown
Philly. The Loews building was the first
modern skyscraper constructed in the US, and housed the Philadelphia Saving
Fund Society. The bank was opened in
1932 and featured amenities like air conditioning and radio receivers, as well
as luxury Cartier clocks on every floor.
The office building was eventually remodelled into a hotel, which opened
in 2000. David and I realized from the full
flight and busy hotel lobby that we had just happened to book our trip during
the same weekend as Made in America.
We’d been
out of the states for four years, so we had an excuse for 1) not even knowing
what Made in America is and 2) not realizing that the concert series was the
same weekend as our trip. Made in
America, it turns out, is an annual music fest showcasing popular and up-and-coming
artists. It was started by Jay-Z, and
takes place in LA and Philadelphia every summer.
Coincidentally,
Ankeeta, my college roommate, happened to be in Philadelphia for the festival,
but we didn’t realize it until the night before her flight back to Dallas. However, we were able to meet up with one of
David’s high school friends, Mr. George Bickley Remmey IV. (Or just Bickley, as he’s totally embarrassed
when David calls him by his full name… in a posh British accent.)
We had
dinner on Monday night with Bickley and his wife, Alice, at the Continental, a
trendy diner that served up a variety of small plates from around the globe –
French onion soup dumplings, Thai chicken lettuce wraps, and cheesesteak eggrolls
with sriracha ketchup. It was a
delicious way to catch up with an old friend!
After
checking into our historic hotel, we followed the crowds to Reading Terminal
for lunch.
I looked up ‘The 9 Best
Things to Eat at Reading Terminal’ on Thrillist, and David and I went to
town! We had gator gumbo with a side of
fried macaroni and cheese at Beck’s Cajun Café and split the famous reuben at
Hershel’s East Side Deli. For dessert,
we devoured a chocolate chip cannoli at Termini Bros Bakery.
Our
favorite, though, was the donuts from Beiler’s. The Amish travel to Philadelphia from
Lancaster County each day to sell their homemade goods and fresh foods. And who knew the Amish were the best at making
donuts? But of course they are – they
use fresh butter and cream to create perfect gooey donuts with creamy
centers. The line for Beiler’s was
wrapped around the terminal, and it wasn’t hard to see why. As David and I were savouring the snack, all
I was thinking was, ‘This is the best donut I’ve ever had in my life.’
Following
lunch, we walked to Independence Park.
Once there, we saw the iconic Liberty Bell and took a tour of
Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the
Continental Congress met to adopt the Constitution.
We then spent
all of Sunday exploring America’s early history across Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn as the capital of the Pennsylvania colony. It became the largest city in British America in the mid-1700s and played a pivotal role during the American Revolution. Not only did the founding fathers sign the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at Independence Hall, Philadelphia also acted as the nation’s capital while Washington DC was under construction.
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn as the capital of the Pennsylvania colony. It became the largest city in British America in the mid-1700s and played a pivotal role during the American Revolution. Not only did the founding fathers sign the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at Independence Hall, Philadelphia also acted as the nation’s capital while Washington DC was under construction.
William Penn sits atop beautiful City Hall,
overlooking Love park
We toured
Betsy Ross’ house, where she sewed the first American flag
Down the street from her home is Elfreth’s Alley, America’s oldest continuously inhabited street
We walked down the cobblestone alleyway to admire the traditional
homes
Nearby sits
Christ Church, also known as ‘The Nation’s Church’ because so many of the
founding fathers worshipped there, including Ben Franklin, who’s buried in the
churchyard.
William Penn, George Washington, and Betsy Ross also attended services at Christ Church
The
cemeteries around Society Hill, a residential area in Philadelphia with
picturesque row houses, are filled with Revolutionary soldiers. An original flag with thirteen stars attached
to a small, round marker indicates that the person buried beneath fought in the
war.
Pennsylvania Hospital, the country’s first hospital, sits on the outskirts of Society Hill
We stopped for a break at the Franklin Fountain – a popular, authentic ice cream parlor and soda fountain
One of the
best parts of our historical tour of Philadelphia was spending a few hours
locked up in Eastern State Penitentiary.
Following
the Revolution, The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public
Prisons met at Ben Franklin’s home to set the international standard in prison
design by building a penitentiary that would reform prisoners. The
society was founded on a Quaker-inspired concept of isolating the prisoners to
help them think and repent on their evil deeds.
The inmates were even hooded any time they were outside their cells to
prevent interactions with other prisoners, guards, or gaining knowledge of the
prison’s design. Visitors from South
America, Europe, China, and Japan visited the prison to then return home and
base their own prisons on the same structure.
Charles
Dickens even visited the prison in 1842, but completely disagreed with what he
saw. He called the solitary confinement
of the men inside, ‘worse than any torture of the body.’ Others agreed, and in the early 1900s, the
Pennsylvania system was shut down.
Today, the
prison is known as one of the most haunted buildings in America. Every year during Halloween, it opens its
doors for Terror Behind the Walls, a haunted house experience. Even walking through in broad daylight, we
got an eerie feeling from the barren cells sealed with heavy doors, abandoned
corridors, and the overgrown prison yard.
Al Capone
spent his first prison sentence at Eastern State Pen for carrying a concealed,
deadly weapon. He spent his year behind bars in luxury compared to other inmates.
He had furniture, oriental rugs, and even a radio. Pep the Dog is another notable prisoner. The poor pup was sentenced for murdering the
Pennsylvania governor’s wife’s cat. He
was even assigned an inmate number and had a mug shot taken.
On a
lighter note, David and I also visited West Philadelphia, where the Fresh
Prince of Bel-Air was born and raised.
Our bus slowed as we approached the playground where he spent most of
his days, chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool. When I mentioned to some friends that we were
headed to Philly for the holiday weekend, they asked what we were going to see
and do. I told them besides going for
the history and cheesesteaks, we were going to check out the basketball court
where Will Smith got in one little fight before moving to Bel Air. ‘You know that’s not a real thing, right?’
was the response I got back. So I am
happy to say that in fact, it is a real thing and I saw it and took the picture
to prove it!
After
taking in the sites of Philadelphia for a couple of days, we decided to head
outside the city to visit the Amish and (most importantly) Chocolate World in
Hershey!
The small
town of Hershey, PA is about 90 minutes outside the city. David never deleted his Zipcar account after
coming back to the states, and we were glad he didn’t, because finding a rental
car company with extended hours on Labor Day is impossible. Zipcar is inexpensive and everywhere, which
made it incredibly convenient. We found
a car parked in a garage a few blocks from our hotel and booked it for the day.
From the
moment we arrived in The Sweetest Place on Earth, our mouths started
watering. We could actually smell the chocolate as we drove into the
adorable town!
Even the street
lights are shaped like Hershey kisses
The old
factory is still there, while construction for a more modern factory is
undergoing a few blocks away
We saw the
house that Milton Hershey built after finally succeeding with his candy company,
and learned about his vision for a place where his employees could have fun
outside of work, which led to a huge amusement park adjacent to Chocolate
World. We also learned of Hershey’s
commitment to helping underprivileged children.
As he had no kids of his own, it was his dream to help other children,
so he built the Milton Hershey School and gave his entire fortune to it. Today, Hershey is one of the wealthiest
private schools in the world, and serves nearly 2,000 children.
Besides the
tour of the town of Hershey, we also went on a tour of the factory to learn how
our favourite candies like Reese’s peanut butter cups and Mounds bars are
made. From there, we took a lesson in
chocolate-tasting and then made our own, personalized candy bars.
On our way
back to Philadelphia, we stopped in Amish country for dinner. We ate at a farmhouse called Good n Plenty in
Lancaster County. The menu consisted of
country staples like fried chicken and honey-baked ham, with sides of butter
noodles, mashed potatoes, fresh-baked bread with whipped butter, and pickled vegetables. It was a simple, home-cooked meal. For dessert, they didn’t have any donuts so
we had the local favorite, whoopie pie.
As we drove
back to the city, we couldn't help but notice all of the signs for the
surrounding towns… Intercourse,
Fertility, Virginville, and the best one of all – Blue Ball. Who came up with these names? Was it the Amish, or someone poking fun at
the Amish? Either way, it made for an
amusing car ride.
Before
flying back to Austin on Tuesday, David and I took part in the cheesesteak
challenge. We had already tried Jim’s
Steaks on South Street a couple of days prior, and that was pretty dang good,
so we were excited to compare Pat’s vs Geno’s.
Pat’s King
of Steaks invented the cheesesteak back in 1930 when Pat Olivieri decided that
instead of making hot dogs at his hot dog stand, he was going to try something
different. He grabbed some chopped meat
from the butcher, cooked it on his grill, and combined the meat with onions in
an Italian roll. Years later, customers
and employees alike suggested he add cheese.
Today, a traditional cheesesteak is considered chopped steak and cheese
whiz on an Italian roll.
Thirty
years later, Joey Vento decided to start selling cheesesteaks and figured he
would open Geno’s Steaks where they were already eating them – across the
street from Pat’s! So Pat’s and Geno’s
are literally across the street from each other, at the corner of 9th and Passyunk in South Philly.
David and I
first stopped at the original, Pat’s. To
avoid overeating, we decided to split one sandwich at each place. At Jim’s, I preferred the original, which was
just steak and cheese whiz on the specially-baked bread. The steak at Jim’s was fresh off the grill,
which made it super tender and moist. However,
they did not put enough cheese on my sandwich, which made me sad. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake
twice, and asked for a simple steak with double whiz at Pat’s. That’s what I’m talkin’ about! However, the steak wasn’t as good as Jim’s...
the meat was bland and chewy. Even
though I only had half a sandwich, by the time I finished all that cheese, I
was too full to eat another half at Geno’s.
David was
ready for a second helping, though, and ordered another sandwich across the street. He asked for the steak sandwich with
provolone and grilled onions.
Unfortunately the grilled onions were undercooked, and the taste of raw
chopped onions overpowered everything else on the sandwich. So our winner of the cheesesteak challenge was
neither Pat’s nor Geno’s, but Jim’s!
I gained
four pounds over Labor Day weekend because of those damn sandwiches.
No joke.
To work off
some, but apparently not all, of
those calories, we booked it to the Museum of Art to run in Rocky’s footsteps.
David and I
returned back to Austin not only weighing a bit more, but with more knowledge
of American history, and we are looking forward to continuing our domestic
travels to get to know the US even better!
