Early the next morning, we made our way from 17th to 3rd Street. We were going to take the subway, but it was deserted, cavernous, and creepy. We bumped into a woman, crying, who said, "You don't belong down here." It was very ominous, so we high-tailed it out of there and
walked the whole way. We grabbed a bagel on the way and realized we were still a bit too early for the
Visitor Center, so we waited outside the Liberty Bell at 5th and 6th. When the center opened, we got some maps and went to
Independence Hall. I thought it was just an old building with some chairs and candle holders, but Adam was in awe of the history that went down there. After a little speech by one of the park rangers, we looked at The Declaration of Independence (which may or may not have been the real thing), bought our tacky souvenirs (a Liberty Bell pencil sharpener) and then we went back to the
real Liberty Bell.
I had been expecting crowds, which is why we were out and about so early, but it was really a ghost town in the Old City, including at the
Liberty Bell. This was before they built the new building around it, so it was a rather small structure housing the bell with most of the 'line" outside, so it was good that no one was there. Because this was so soon after 9/11, security was extra tight still, but I was shocked at how small the bell really was. We each posed for pictures, looked at the crack close up, and went on to our next stop.
Because the
U.S. Mint was unexpectedly closed (due to 9/11, no doubt), we went directly to
Elfreth's Alley, a small little alley with tiny little townhouses. It's a perfectly preserved little street with dollhouse like proportions. Many of the houses are still occupied, so it's mostly a photo op, but they also had a museum, which we skipped. After peeking into
Christ Church, we stopped to eat. For lunch, we had cheese steaks nearby, in a little diner. I got a chicken cheese steak, which was not very good. But, I wanted to join the party without actually riding the Beef Express.
After lunch, we checked out the
Benjamin Franklin Museum, which was strange. You walk down this huge ramp into this basement. There were tons of phones that you can listen testimonies about BF. Another room has inventions and family portraits. There was supposed to be a movie but one of the museum workers kept muttering about light bulbs being burnt out, so we missed it. The strangest part was this little pit you look into that had little figures that danced around. Before we left, we saw a printing press and walked around the grounds where his house once stood.
Still hungry for more, we went to the
Atwater Kent Museum (now the Philadelphia History Museum). It's namesake invented a gun, hat and a type of radio. The first floor was a hodge podge of local history -- hats, radios and taxidermied animals. My favorite part was the photo album of World's Fair from 1876. It was fun to see all the different pavilions, like an old-fashioned Epcot Center. The second floor was a Saturday Evening Post exhibit with tons of Norman Rockwell covers. We were losing steam, so we enjoyed quietly looking at the covers, lost in our own thoughts. We then wearily walked the ten blocks back to our hotel to rest for later.
For dinner, we went to South Street for dinner. It was very hyped in our guidebook as "the place to be" but we were a little disappointed. It seemed to be a lot of bars and not many good restaurants. We ended up at a nicer place on the outskirts called
Bridget Foy's. It was good, but when we walked to 2nd Street and realized how many good places were nearby, we were kicking ourselves.
First, we had mojitos at
Cuba Libre. It was a cool Cuban restaurant with a buzzing bar.
The Hubby even got hit on by a cougar, which was funny. Across the street was what is now my favorite places in all of Philadelphia --
The Continental Diner. It's just an old fashioned diner, with low lighting and awesome cocktails. The drink menu is extensive and as we sat at the bar/ counter and watched the food come out. We drooled at the fries and realized next time we were in Philly, we needed to go there for dinner. After a really good Key Lime martini at the Latham Hotel's bar, we called it a night.
It was time to board the train again, so my father-in-law drove us back to Philly to catch the Amtrak to Pittsburgh. The train ride took all day and we arrived at 4 p.m. and were warned of taking a real vs. gypsy cab by the tour book. We refused a ride by some sketchy guy in his own car and called a service. Well, a few minutes later, who's calling our name but said sketchy guy. Looks like the legit and gypsy cabs were one in the same. Our driver did managed to get very lost, but luckily, in a neighborhood of B&B's so we were more annoyed than freaked out. He finally found our inn, The Appletree Inn. It was located in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, which consisted of beautiful brownstones and Victorian homes. We reserved the tastefully decorated Cortland Suite. It was and still is to this day, one of the best rooms I have ever stayed in. It had the required amenities a whirlpool tub, gas fireplace, and giant four poster bed, but they also had wonderful breakfast, not to mention homemade cookies and iced tea waiting for us every afternoon. I think this place was worth the trip to Pittsburgh alone.
