This morning, as usual, I got up earlier than Patrice. Being the good husband that I think I am I left the room as quietly as possible and went to the lounge for breakfast. There I had a plain bagel (and I do mean plain) and a chocolate milk (did I mention that I was told that the coffee machine is broken).
After eating I started reading my book while trying to ignore the conversations of the other travelers around me. I did overhear one woman say to her partner, in frustration “I’m not a doctor!” Since I didn’t hear what preceded that comment I resisted saying “But I am!”
Patrice informed me, via text, that she had awoken. I inquired “What is your plan?” to which she replied “Get up and have a little breakfast. Pack and get on the road. What’s your plan?” My answer was “Wait for you to get here and tell me what to do”.
While waiting I checked my emails and saw that a patient sent me his recommendations for Philadelphia. By all normal standards I share much too much personal information with my patients. Sorry but I can’t help myself. I love seeing and talking with my patients. How else can you explain a man of my age still enjoying going to work? I shared with a new patient, Kevin, that I might be slow to get back to him since my wife and I were traveling to Baltimore and Philadelphia. He told me that he had spent some time in Philadelphia and had a “to do” list for the city. Here is the list:
Things to eat:
Reading Terminal Market (DiNic’s-RoastPork)
Sweet potato pie
Pastrami Sandwhich
Dinics
Turkey Leg
Laser Wolf Restaurant
South Philly Barbacoa**
John’s Roast Pork
Hoagies Omakase
Florella Pasta
Casa Mexico, 1134 S 9th St.
Barbuzzo, 110 S 13th St, (Salted Caramel Budino)
Pizzeria Beddia, 1313 N Lee St
Philly Cheesesteaks
Geno’s
Pat’s King of Steak
Dalessandro’s
Angelos Pizza/Cheesesteak
Water Ice
Siddiq’s Water Ice
D’Emilio’s
John’s Water Ice
Rose’s Real Italian Water Ice
Morrone’s
Pop’s
Yardly
Fine Dining
Royal Sushi and Izakaya
Andra Hem
Doro Bet
Vernick Food and Drink (Roast Chicken)
Zahav, Pom glazed lamb shoulder**
Kalaya
Toasted Beef Curry
Tom Yum Soup
Bird Soup Dumpling
Shaw Muang
Things to do:
Magic Garden
Liberty Bell, 526 Market Street
Rocky Steps/Phil Museum of Arts, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Independence Hall, 520 Chestnut St
Love Park, N 15th & Arch St
Longwood Gardens
Baldwin’s Book Barn
Free Library of Philly Rare Book Collection
Masonic Temple, 1 N Broad St https://pamasonictemple.org/
Clay Studio
Fabric Workshop and Museum
Museum for Art in Wood
Franklin Institute,
Philly Phlash, 19 spots, $12/family
Elfreth’s Alley
Hmmm, we will be in Philadelphia for 2 days. I think we might miss one or two of the things on his list.
Prior to heading to Philadelphia we went to see the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. Actually I should say the remnants of the bridge. That is where a container ship struck the bridge on March 26, 2024 and 8 workers making repairs at the time were killed. A horrific sight on the news and more so in person even though we couldn’t get very close. See below.
After the bridge sighting we were on our way to the City of Brotherly Love. The drive was a breeze and again the trees lining the highway were gorgeous. We arrived much too early to check into the hotel so we checked Kevin’s list and decided to have Philadelphia Cheese Steaks for lunch. We selected Pat’s King of Steaks [1237 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19147]. We weren’t in a rush to get there before closing because they are OPEN 24 HOURS!
The only decision we needed to make when we arrived was what type of cheese. The choices: 1. American, 2. Provolone, 3. Cooper Sharp America, or 4. Cheese Whiz. Really, Cheese Whiz? I was told that is the original so I ordered it. But provolone sounded really good. This is what I was served. What do you think?
Not sure why we choose Pat’s, we were also given Geno’s Steaks as an option. When ordering our food at Pat’s I turned around and saw this.
After our cheese steak fest we tried to go to the Reading Terminal Market but the parking was awful. I needed some chill time so we decided to defer the market to another time and head to the hotel.
Checking in was a bit traumatic because they couldn’t find our reservation, in spite of me showing it on the Marriott App. While they struggled with looking for the reservation I tried to log in online. That was “successful” but unfortunately didn’t get us a key to a room. The app had a chat function that I used but unfortunately that just went to the clerk who was helping us at the hotel. Lucky for me I didn’t say on the app that the hotel clerk is a jerk. They were finally successful in getting us checked in. I say they because it took 5 people.
After chilling in the room for a bit it was time for dinner. We chose Vernick Fish [One N 19th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103]. The meal was wonderful and reasonably priced.
We had a lovely evening and looking forward to more baseball tomorrow.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 