Loving Philadelphia….Dora & Woods

Wow, what a friendly beautiful hidden city. For as many times that I have come to the east coast I am surprised I have never been sold on visiting or exploring this young, diverse- vibrant city overflowing with history and charm. 

My day started at 5:30am when I landed and very easily hopped on the SEPTA train for a cheap $6.25 ride to the city center. In the distance was a pinky orange sunrise, birds chirping, green trees, and buildings in the distance. I met Woodley at the concourse in the center of the city, to board a subway to Independence Hall area to check into our hotel for the night. Quick change, freshen up and hit the ground running for this FULL packed day. No other way for Dora to truly explore a new land with a willing just as excited side kick. 

The air is moist, there is a lovely breeze, its an over cast day which I welcome with open arms as I am always surrounded by sunshine. My hair starts to grow….as in wide- puffing out, Woodley thinks I look like I have a full head of hair, I described it as feeling like a brillo pad, lol The east coast curls are out  We made our way walking everywhere, honestly we walked 10 miles today. A yummy breakfast at a place called Winkel. I learned an interesting fact in case you dont know, PA is the mushroom capital of the world! Over 1 million pounds of mushrooms come from these parts. I had a Cremini Mushroom & Goat Cheese scramble……yummy 2 cups of coffee later we were off to our first museum of the day.

The Mutter Museum, of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. I had found out about this place from my TA research and was very excited to see what would be on display. Woweee……brace yourselves as this place was not for the weak stomached peeps. We saw slices of Albert Einsteins actual brain, baby fetuses in jars, skeletons preserved-as in the skulls of many, intestines, colons, diseased skin infections, gang green limbs, hearts, etc. The baby fetuses in jars is what peaked my interest and the amount of them was more than I could have imagined. We saw up close fetuses from 8 weeks to 26 weeks, conjoined twins with multiple body parts- perhaps too much details but it was fascinating beyond my imagination. These many different sets of conjoined twins at different points of connection was mind blowing and this museum did an extremely tasteful job of providing educational facts to the display. Babies with different deformities…. We were both mesmerized. 

After here we walked this beautiful cheery city, the sun peaked out and we made our way past many pretty parks, squares with water fountains, passing joggers, children, families reading library books in grassy fields, tourists etc….to the famous Rocky Balboa Statue and stairs. Woodley shared that its empowering to run the stairs like Rocky! We raced up them with the intention, “we can conquer the world”! Many others have the same idea, snapping photos, videos, and singing The Rocky theme song. Many do boxing moves at the top, it was cute! We than posed next to the statute of Sylvester Stallone. From this point you have a remarkable view of this pretty yet small scale city. 

Its a humid, sticky walk back to city center, yet breezy with a hint that rain may be coming. We found a delicious cafe that Woodley had her heart set on for gelato. We ordered a grapefruit inspired Aperol Spritz, tomato-basil-mozz bruschetta, and shared a creamy wild mushroom gnocchi. To die for gnocchi. We are both in heaven enjoying life! Gosh I LOVE being on vacation especially getting to share time with my dear friend. We have known each other for 24+ years and share a lot of history. Having shared my Italy trip with her 15 years ago where we ate gelato daily, she wanted me to try her fav spot. This place is like out of Italy. I ordered Hazelnut on a cone, she got pistachio. We had to rush it to go as time flies when your having fun. We are late for the Free by Foot walking tour, yikes!

We jump in an Uber, meet up with this fabulous guide and our other groupies all from International destinations, to walk more of the city for 2.5 hours. I love walking tours, as they bring a place to life, telling stories, and providing meaning to all your eyes can see. Toni our guide has lived here 30 years and was a wealth of knowledge. I was surprised how many countries were present in this group….Thailand, Venezuela, India, Australia, and of course a Couple Americans from NJ. 

We started at The Betsy Ross house, she sewed the first American Flag, Benjamin Franklins house, his burial site- where she handed us each a penny to throw on his grave and make a wish. I mean around every corner was a piece of major American History. George Washington, the USMint where coins are made, to seeing the printing machine that stamped the Declaration of Independence. A crazy story which tore at my heart strings, you may know about the story of Oney Judge, she was the special mixed race slave of Martha Washington- the details our guide shared like Oney was her friend as she told the story. Apparently there is a book about the story but, Oprah may be making a movie to tell this true story. Truly disgusting and unfair. Yet Oney escaped and lived a happy life in NH once she got away. Im not doing the story justice, but Toni brought it to life for me…….sorry I guess I’m getting tired as I lay in bed writing 

We walked down Elfrey’s Alleyway which is a small street with row homes from the 1700’s that still have the same front from those days. Its a historic street and a 1000sq ft home just sold for 1.2 million. Wow!! So much to see in this town. We said our good byes to the group. Made our way into a huge gorgeous Catholic church to light a candle, say a prayer and capture the beauty of these massive ornate structure.

We were exhausted having walked this town, feet are hurting- im in the wrong shoes, ouch. We have achy bones and need a rest. As we get to hotel it starts to rain, like cats and dogs, thunder and lightening. We watch the storm through our foggy hotel window. A much needed 1 hour short rest and we get ready for dinner. Uber awaits in the downpour of this torrential out of nowhere serious storm. We get drenched getting in the car, get dropped off at wrong entrance to restaurant. By the time we make our way my hair is soaked, shoes soggy, and my delrium of no sleep has kicked in. For those who know me well it was a total uncontrollable laughter while demanding napkins and towels from hostess to dry off in between tearful chuckles. 

This hidden asian restaurant called, the Double Knot was like in a fancy chic trendy dungeon. I was laughing all the way down the stairs so curious as to where they are taking us after walking through a kitchen. A had to be there moment. In any case food was all small plates sharing. The Tempura Cheese Curds with Yum Yum sauce was my ooey gooey favorite. Along with a shrimp taco, crispy Brussels, sea bass fried rice, and a caramelized tofu. Interesting fare, yet a funky experience. We are full and tired in need of finding water.

The rain has stopped and the weather is beautiful! The streets are packed with young energy and we are ready for bed. We made our way home…….yay! Its been a long Laurie/Dora Day! Im beyond satisfied and feeling relieved to be away from my work! 

Tomorrow is our first ever experience with a Soul Cycle class to start the day! More exercise and food awaits! Sweet dreams everyone! Hope you enjoyed your virtual quick tour……

Love you XO

Love Laurie Sue