Unfortunately, the internet in our hotel here in Philly is not working properly. Basically, it doesn't use wifi and my Mac is being difficult about doing the ethernet connection. . . and well, computer says no. So, updating nightly as planned isn't going to be as easy as planned. Missed updating last night, and we're here at the McDonald's a block or two away from the hotel using their wifi. At any rate, here's Day 1 and 2 of Philly!
We left promptly at 4AM yesterday morning. Virginia was a beautiful drive. We made sure to take plenty of stops to rest and stretch our legs. Drive wasn't too bad. Getting into the city and finding a place to park the car for 3 days took a little while, but we got it done.
The hotel is right next to Chinatown. Lots of cute shops and restaurants really near by. We ate dinner last night at a little Shanghai style restaurant named Joy Tsin Lau. We spent a lot of time last night just walking around and exploring the city. Took the subway a bit further into town and checked out a couple places we're heading to Monday. But yes, Chinatown here is kind of small, but very vibrant and has a good ambiance.
Today we woke up early and took a bus to the Philadelphia Zoo. It's a very big and impressive zoo. It was a lot of fun, we spent about 3 hours there. It had a lot of different animal exhibits and going right when they first opened proved to be a good idea, as when we left it was incredibly crowded and started to get a bit difficult to be able to get a clear view of the animals without a bunch of unruly children running into you and pushing you.
We had a bit of a hiccup with taking a bus going the wrong direction when trying to make our way to the Museum of Art. We finally made it there, though. It was very exciting to see some very famous artist's paintings there. Most notable for me were paintings by Magritte, van Gogh, Mondrian, Dali, and Pollock. Also, there's the famous Rocky statue in front of the museum. The view of the city from the steps of the museum was also quite a sight to behold.
We've done a great deal of walking so far, and boy are our dogs barkin'! We've also decided the subway is the best and least confusing way to travel in the city. We had a fantastic dinner tonight at a fine dining restaurant, El Vez. It was in my Frommer's guide, and I'm so glad I took it's advice! Their queso fundito con carne was to die for. It has chorizo in it, so of course it had to be ordered. Their margaritas were also some of the best I've had.
We're both pretty exhausted and ready to get up early and start tomorrow's fun. We've altered trip plans a bit here and there due to getting used to the city and the public transit. Tomorrow's big plans are mainly the Italian Market on 9th Street early in the morning, and then heading over to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center. I'm sure some more city exploration will be involved as well. The city is huge and bewildering to someone who grew up in Blythewood! It is fun nonetheless.
We left promptly at 4AM yesterday morning. Virginia was a beautiful drive. We made sure to take plenty of stops to rest and stretch our legs. Drive wasn't too bad. Getting into the city and finding a place to park the car for 3 days took a little while, but we got it done.
The hotel is right next to Chinatown. Lots of cute shops and restaurants really near by. We ate dinner last night at a little Shanghai style restaurant named Joy Tsin Lau. We spent a lot of time last night just walking around and exploring the city. Took the subway a bit further into town and checked out a couple places we're heading to Monday. But yes, Chinatown here is kind of small, but very vibrant and has a good ambiance.
Today we woke up early and took a bus to the Philadelphia Zoo. It's a very big and impressive zoo. It was a lot of fun, we spent about 3 hours there. It had a lot of different animal exhibits and going right when they first opened proved to be a good idea, as when we left it was incredibly crowded and started to get a bit difficult to be able to get a clear view of the animals without a bunch of unruly children running into you and pushing you.
We had a bit of a hiccup with taking a bus going the wrong direction when trying to make our way to the Museum of Art. We finally made it there, though. It was very exciting to see some very famous artist's paintings there. Most notable for me were paintings by Magritte, van Gogh, Mondrian, Dali, and Pollock. Also, there's the famous Rocky statue in front of the museum. The view of the city from the steps of the museum was also quite a sight to behold. 
We've done a great deal of walking so far, and boy are our dogs barkin'! We've also decided the subway is the best and least confusing way to travel in the city. We had a fantastic dinner tonight at a fine dining restaurant, El Vez. It was in my Frommer's guide, and I'm so glad I took it's advice! Their queso fundito con carne was to die for. It has chorizo in it, so of course it had to be ordered. Their margaritas were also some of the best I've had. We're both pretty exhausted and ready to get up early and start tomorrow's fun. We've altered trip plans a bit here and there due to getting used to the city and the public transit. Tomorrow's big plans are mainly the Italian Market on 9th Street early in the morning, and then heading over to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center. I'm sure some more city exploration will be involved as well. The city is huge and bewildering to someone who grew up in Blythewood! It is fun nonetheless.
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