A Weekend in Philly

The Clock Tower was designed to be the tallest building in the world.

Love in Philly

Sisterly love transported me to the city of brotherly love.

My sister is a pastor and I wanted to support her at a ministry engagement.

Of course, I had to attempt to see the sights while I was there.

I stayed in an AIRBNB near center city. It was much more affordable than a hotel.

The link/pictures are omitted because I didn’t like that they required light housekeeping.

The third floor (2 bedroom) apartment was about a minute walk from Malcolm X Memorial Park. His wife (Betty Shabazz) is next to him on the mural.

My niece and nephew and I stopped for some photos/videos.

We then walked to Baltimore Ave. and headed east on the trolley. It was the first trolley I’ve seen that also went underground.

Philadelphia is known to be a very walkable city, so I was surprised the trolley did not detail each stop.

Center City

The stop for center city is 22nd St.

The weather was also a surprise! It was as hot and humid as home. In addition to a short “hurricane like rainstorm”.

The trolley cost $2.50 per person and accepts coins. I had read about the $5 tourist bus, but everything was 20 mins or less walking distance from each other.

Short on time, I should’ve checked the Reading Market’s hours of operation. They were closed by the time we got near.

Coincidentally,  it was late and we skipped the Liberty Bell.

Google maps accurately led us the twenty minutes to the Rocky Steps. The street signage  confirmed we were going the right away.

We turned on Benjamin Franklin Parkway and it was lined with flags from countries all over the world. I spotted Haiti and Bahamas.

The Rocky Steps were everything I expected them to be.

His statue is at the bottom of the steps, (to the side). There was a long line so I tackled that first.

There is also a Philly post card that makes a nice picture. I found out later that Philly is the mural capital of the world.

Philly has a park on every corner!

I recalled seeing more photos opps at Love Park but upon arrival there was only the ‘Love’ sign. That was a bit disappointing.

On the way there, a large sculpture caught my attention. It was a Shakespeare memorial.

To my surprise,  Google said Philadelphia was the entry way for Shakespeare into America.

South Street

My niece needed to make a purchase to use the restroom at a Philly cheese steak spot in center city but I wanted an authentic experience.

Their sign outside reassured that they’d perfected the Philly cheese steak but I didn’t “bite”.

South Street was a quick LYFT drive away so I went in search of Ishkabibbles. I’m so glad I did.

It was for good reason because my niece and nephew were not impressed with their food.

I got onions, green peppers (they were too generous with those), salt, pepper, mustard and white cheese.

I didn’t add cheese whiz (the yellow cheese) to my sub. Mayo and ketchup were optional, I omitted those.

I got fries with cheese on the side and preferred my usual ketchup.

The cashier offered me a sample of their house drink but I’m not a big juice fan.

In my entire life, I’ve only enjoyed one Philly cheese steak so I was optimistic that it’s birthplace would win me over.

I was right!

That bread was toasted to perfection and tasted freshly baked. It was the best part of the sandwich.

The “bad” cheese steaks I’ve had before were not seasoned properly. I thought the simple salt and pepper would not be sufficient but it was.

I’m so happy I waited and it was well worth it!

I have unfinished business in Philly! Have you been? 

~Poof…Bee Gone

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