The City of Brotherly Love

I planned a trip with Danny to Philly in the beginning of 2021 as the city was hosting a couple of concerts I was set to attend in August. Unfortunately, both Rammstein and Deftones/Gojira were postponed YET AGAIN to 2022 due to Covid. Even worse, Poppy was no longer going to tour with Deftones and Gojira. She is currently scheduled to visit NYC during our Disney vacation in October. Ughhhh. I requested refunds for both shows, and decided to buy tickets at MetLife Stadium for Rammstein next year. I figured I’d keep my hotel reservation, and take a necessary mini vacation. I thought it would be refreshing to get out of New York for a few days. 

Side note, do you know Philadelphia introduced a new slogan back in 1997? “The City that Loves You Back” motto was created by the Great Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation to counteract Philly’s antisocial reputation, and attract tourism. It was suppose to be both “a reply and a challenge” to the “I Love New York” slogan. Is that supposed to be shade towards New York? To be perfectly honest though, New York loves no one LOL. I’m always wondering how transplants even survive here for more than a few years. 

We made the trek from Brooklyn to the new Moynihan Train Hall, which is the newest transportation hub for Amtrak and the LIRR. It is a vast difference to the narrow and compact corridors of Penn Station. The skylit high ceilings give the station a bright and airy feel to it, in comparison, to its ugly stepsister, which is basically doom and gloom. This was my first ride with Amtrak, and luckily, everything when according to plan. We arrived at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia mid-afternoon without issue. 

I booked a stay at Loews Philadelphia Hotel, which is an upscale contemporary hotel located right near City Hall on Market Street. I initially choose it because it was within walking distance to many of Philly’s main attractions and a quick Uber ride away from the main concert venues (had the concerts not been rescheduled). I’m glad I got a discount on this hotel because once I walked into the lobby, I felt like this hotel was too bougie for my wallet lol. The room was very spacious and clean with one of the most comfiest king beds I’ve ever slept in. I felt like I was laying in a sea of fluffy marshmallows. There was also a large, well-appointed bathroom with a shower only. I was impressed as the room had a bright, modern feel to it with a view of City Hall and off in the distance, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Our stay was also pleasantly quiet, in comparison, to the constant sirens and awful music blurring from cars that plague Brooklyn. 

We ventured off to Shake Shack to get a bite to eat. It was another reason why I booked Loews LOL. This was the first time in my life I saw an empty Shake Shack. We ordered from a kiosk, and sat down to wait for our food without having to stalk a table to sit at. After dinner, we made our way over to Eastern State Penitentiary for their summer twilight hours. I don’t know why I love this haunted, decrepit prison, but this was my 3rd visit here. I’m glad I got to take Danny here for his first time. I snuck in some maskless pictures while I was there, since Philly currently has an indoor mask mandate, which is understandable given the current circumstances. 

The weather was not so kind to us during our trip. It was either too hot or raining. The next day we ventured to some stores and comic shops in the morning before the heat became unbearable. We stopped off at Mac Mart for lunch. This place is what mac and cheese dreams are made of. Danny got the BBQ Bacon bowl, while I got the Mac’n Tot. Mac and cheese topped with tater tots, ketchup and potato chip crunch… yes, please! I loved the pink and white aesthetic of the shop! It was super cute. 

We took a break, and head back to our hotel to relax. We waited until the evening to set out again, this time to the movie theater. Luckily, the hotel was only a five-minute walk away. We decided to watch Candyman, since it was one of our highly anticipated films of the year. This theater was more crowded than it was when we went to see Godzilla vs. Kong, and there were tons of kids. To be honest though, I bet the Candyman doesn’t even scare these ittle shitheads nowadays. Candyman was one of the best horror films I’ve seen this year, and the cinematography was beautifully done. Sometimes, you don’t know what to expect with horror remakes or sequels that are produced decades after the original film premiered. Since temperatures had cooled down, we took a walk through Old City to a few comic and record shops to end the night. 

Unfortunately, it rained for most of the morning and early afternoon on Saturday. I’m glad Danny is as easygoing as I am, and was happy to relax in the hotel until the rain cleared up. I’m always worried people are not having a good time, but I sometimes forget that he is as much as a homebody as I am, and we can enjoy each others company by not doing anything special. I also forgot that we were only a two-minute walk from Reading Terminal, and I regret not going there sooner during our trip. There was everything from pizza, BBQ, and cheesesteaks to cookies, ice cream, and donuts. We settled on The Original Turkey, which basically serves Thanksgiving dinner. They specialize in both Thankgiving-themed sandwiches, and turkey platters. We both decided on turkey platters with mash potatoes, mac and cheese, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I was in heaven. They are so generous with their platters that I couldn’t finish the entire plate. One of the pros of staying so close to Reading Terminal is that we could take our food back to the hotel. We were able to get our food within in 10 minutes of walking into this maze of delicious food vendors, but there was not an empty table in sight. On our way out, we stopped off at The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company for chocolate chip cookies. I regret not getting more cookies. White chocolate cranberry, chocolate macadamia nut, double dark chocolate… send help. Next time I’m in Philly, I’m making a trip to Fox & Son Fancy Corndogs and Miller’s Twist for pretzel dogs. 

We journeyed down to Old city again to check out another comic shop, which reminded me of Forbidden Plant in NYC. On our way back, we did some sightseeing. We took a stroll down Elfreth’s Alley, which is the nation’s oldest inhabited residential street. Danny took the cutest photo of me. He’s so adorable when he takes nice photos for me on vacation. It was past 5pm, so mostly everything was closed. It seemed bizarre to Danny and I that everything shutdowns so early in Philly, but yet again, we are from the city that never sleeps. We stopped off to check out Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell before calling it a day. 

Overall, despite the weather, it was a nice getaway with my favorite person. I would like to go back to Philly during the fall for a more autumn/Halloween feel. I also much rather be there during cooler temperatures too lol. Hopefully, next time I can get the cute photos I wanted to capture during this trip. There might be Halloween events happening during this time too, especially at Eastern State Penitentiary. I’m already planning fall trips to Salem and Philly for next October since I always feel as though I’m not doing enough during the fall season. Why am I never satisfied? With that being said, enjoy these photos of only ESP because I didn't shoot anything else after this LOL. Priorities.