Tour Guide Extraordinaire Mike picked up two of us on Thursday afternoon. Our flights landed within an hour of each other so that was handy. Having Mike was like having the best tour guide ever at your beck and call. He knows the city and knows the history, so we had running commentary the whole time. Add to that that he is an actor by trade and would throw in dialect with the stories and it was fabulous.

First stop - Termini Brothers--it's time for some pastry! It was like stepping back in time to enter this bakery in south Philly. Undaunted by the Don't Handle the Pastries sign, we bought a box of Italian cookies and took pictures of the cakes. Wayne Thiebaud would have loved this place.

Frankly, just being driving around was a blast, seeing all the different houses and neighborhoods. We drove through Center City, lots of great architecture. The City Hall in particular is just amazing. You could spend hours looking at it. We also really enjoyed all the public art and murals. http://muralarts.org/

Mike lives in Mount Airy so the road tour of the city continued up the Schuylkill (we called it sgoogle)whatever that road is called. What a beautiful drive up past the boathouses. We passed Mt Laurel Cemetery where many Philadelphians who had died when the Titanic went down were buried (I am throwing that in here so Tour Guide Mike will know I paid attention). Gee I hope I got it right.

More fun being driven about, looking at the former "summer houses" of the past. It was evening now and so we dropped our bags at Mike's and walked over to McMenamin's Tavern on Germantown Avenue for dinner. Good, basic pub fare and lots of different beers to try.

Things we did on Friday:

The Highlands Mansion http://www.highlandshistorical.org/
Dan, Mike and I drove out and walked the grounds a bit. Really beautiful, fabulous gardens. We also drove a bit further into Montgomery County (Mike heads the theatre arts program at Montgomery CC so we visited his office). Beautiful countryside, amazing houses.

Reading Terminal Market http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/
After picking up Robin at the airport we headed into the city, parked the car, and started walking. The first sit down was the Reading Terminal Market. We all split up and got our own lunches then sat listening to the steel band playing. Then we browsed. I love markets like this and we all had something fun to look at, from food stalls to book stalls, to soaps and more.

The History Walk
If you know anything about Philadelphia you know that if you are interested in US history, this has to be on your list of places to visit. I'm a west coast girl born and bred so for me it is still just so amazing to walk around these places where Ben, and Tom, and all the boys worked and played and started a revolution (basically).

So, we started walking, and we walked, and walked some more. Saw the Liberty Bell (from outside), Independence Hall (with scaffolding painted to look like the building), Old City Hall, with one of the best NPS guys ever explaining the Supreme Court back in the day, and how it doubled for regular criminal court when the SC was not in session.

This is also where we saw a lot of cranky people dragging themselves up the stairs just to reach some air conditioning. The look on one particular woman's face definitely said that she would kill for a margarita right about then.

We visited Carpenter Hall and walked some more, into the Society Hill area. We wanted to know how much a place would cost in that neighborhood and quickly determined that it would cost too much for us.

Go to Philadelphia. Walk. and walk some more. We did, and a good time was had by all.

Feet were tired, Robin had flown in on the red-eye, so back to Mt. Airy and a fun evening just hanging out with friends, grilling chicken and drinking beer.

Toucan, how fantastic it was for you and your friends to spend a weekend together! I'm glad the weather cooperated. I lived in Philadelphia for a number of years, and summer there is brutal! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

What a great report! I'm glad you had such a good time, and cooperative weather. July has kind of walloped us this year. (Although I did take a group around on Friday the 15th and the weather was lovely.)

The scaffolding on Independence Hall is to restore/replace where necessary all of the wood; it's due to be done in spring of 2012. It's not too pretty the way it is, but I'm glad they're getting it done!

Great report...I was born and raised in Phila. and now live in its suburbs, but I think you experienced more than I have!!! We tend to take our own surroundings for granted. Next time I'm in the city I'll have to take the time to "stare" at City Hall.

Very enjoyable Toucan2. A great city for historic walks indeed. I went maybe a dozen times when I lived in nearby B'more. It's been 9 years since I've been to Philly, so I'm due for a return visit!

Thanks all! Amy, that's the weekend we were there! That Friday was beautiful.

Magic Gardens of Philadelphia http://www.phillymagicgardens.org/
I completely forgot to mention the Magic Gardens of Philadelphia and that was one of the highlights. We knew that Robin, especially, would love this place.

We wandered down South Street enjoying the funky shops, stopping at a few, stopped for an iced coffee at one with a singular destination in mind...the Magic Gardens. We didn't tell Robin what it was, we just told her we had a surprise for it. I wish I could capture her eyes going big and the oooooo that she voiced.

You can see this artist's work all over south Philadelphia on walls and garage doors and more. If I had to give you a one sentence description it would maybe be mosaics made out of found objects, where there are often outlines of figures both human and animal, with mirror tracings. Ugh, that doesn't describe it. You have to see it to believe it.

In particular you can visit the Magic Gardens for just $5 where the entire house and garden is completely mosaiced (is that a word?)and the longer you look the more you see. There is a pretty cool video you can sit and watch in the basement where the artist is interviewed on his techniques and views and how he works with others to create the work.

Go! You'll be glad you did.

I'll come back later and tell you about Saturday...a celebration of all things French.

Cool! If you noticed a group of Nigerians in native garb, I was with them. We had lunch at the cheesesteak cart right at the corner across from Independence Hall...and, speaking of mosaics, we went into the Curtis Building for the Dream Garden mosaic. Love that, love the Magic Gardens, although they're very different.

So glad you enjoyed my hometown. I still enjoy the visits back. Great report!

Amy, I wish I had seen you and your group! Songdoc, you know, I sort of worried about doing this report, wondering if I had anything new to say, so I am glad people are enjoying it.

Saturday - Franco Fun Ensues

If it is French, how can it not be fun? Mike decided to dub this "French" day. There was French toast, the storming of the Bastille, and a cabaret - Edith Piaf--No Regrets.

French Toast then a walk to burn those calories
The morning started with Mike making us French toast. Mike is an incredible cook so this is well worth mentioning. Bellies full, it seemed like a good time for a walk. We had the goal of proceeding up Germantown Avenue to Chestnut Hill, browsing and shopping.

Again, we were also just enjoying the neighborhoods so this was definitely a meander. We took a slight detour to a former train station now posing as a used bookstore. Surrounding it seems to have been a sort of unofficial swap meet. The bookstore was Walk A Crooked Mile Books. 7423 Devon Street.

We made our way back over to Germantown Avenue. There were lots of fun shops--an herbiary, yarns, quilt fabrics, linens, home furnishing--and fabulous bakeries (we were full, so we just enjoyed the smells wafting out the doors.

We visited Mike's favorite cheese shop and picked up a gorgeous cheddar for later. I wish I could remember the name of the market we browsed through as well, tasting our way and picking up a couple of different flavors of hummus for later. It was an indoor farmer's market.

Then it was time to hop on the train headed back to Mike's because we all had to freshen up and head out for a Bastille Day celebration. Okay, so the actual Bastille Day was two days earlier but that cannot stop a good party.

Celebrating Bastille Day - with a rousing game of Flip Cup?!
We were invited to a party at a friend's house in the Museum District--apparently he has it every year. They had already gone through 3 kegs by the time we got there, so everyone was having a great time. We met the folks, had some beer, peeked out back and were charmed by Pig Alley.

This tiny little alley runs between the row houses (I guess they are row houses) and really is more of a very wide sidewalk with gates to each back yard/courtyard/little tiny spaces. It was charming because even though it was tiny, the homeowners had put out plants, both flower and vegetable, and sometimes small benches.

Immediately outside the house party was a table set up with all kinds of people standing around drinking beer. We thought they were just visiting, but it turns out they were playing Flip Cups! Shoot, I had seen the t-shirts at the airport but didn't know what it was about. We were duly educated, invited to play ( but declined) then amused as spectators. One chick could really flip her cups. Check it out: http://www.flip-cup.com/

Storming the Bastille
This has to be one of the funnest things I have every seen. Right there in town is Eastern State Penitentiary--now a historic site you can visit. (http://www.easternstate.org/) Well, that looked interesting and all, but we were there for a storming.

As I understand it about 16 years ago one of the restaurant owners in the area came up with the idea of a Bastille Days celebration, capped by the storming of the Bastille, with ESP standing in as the Bastille. Sponsored of course by the restaurants in the area which you are encouraged to visit.

We had fun checking out the booths and getting our first taste of water ice (wooder ice? i tried to pronounce it properly). Votes were in that Mike's choice of the grapefruit water ice was most refreshing. Most importantly though was the stormin!

This was complete with a guillotine, storm troopers as part of Marie Antoniette's army atop the wall, and the pelting of the crowd with TastyKakes (let them eat cake!) This does not do the scene justice. It was just all kinds of silly and fun.

The Perch Pub
We had a nice evening ahead of us. We had a late dinner at The Perch Pub that we thoroughly enjoyed. It's on the Avenue of the Arts at Broad and Locust. The food was good, it's a great place to people watch (on the second floor, all windows surrounding) and best of all it was some of the best service any of us had ever had in a restaurant.

I wish I had gotten her name to tell you, but she's the one with the short white-blonde hair and her boyfriend is one of the cooks. Absolutely fabulous. Go. You won't regret it.

Which brings us to

Edith Piaf - No Regrets
One of our friends is the managing director at The Wilma http://www.wilmatheater.org/(by the way, great upcoming season, you should get a season subscription, really. I would if I lived there. Have dinner at the Perch Pub first!)

So anyway, the Edith Piaf was a cabaret show that was fantastic. It was at 10:30 pm, just an hour, we got a free drink, all for $20! The singing was wonderful, the troupe was both funny and poignant, the hour flew by. My understanding is they are going to do three more shows in the coming year. So if you live there you might want to watch for that.

It was a really fun way to finish our day of Franco Fun.

What a great trip report and what a great time with old friends.

Fun report! I've been to the storming of the Bastille and it is silly fun. I remember the weather that weekend very well as I was wishing it would hold on through the next weekend when my daughter was married. (It didn't.) I will have to try the Perch Pub. Thanks!

@starrs, it really was so much fun to see everyone
@suki, yes, it got really toasty after we left! Too bad it didn't hold, but I am betting you still had a wonderful time.

A crazy few days here, I'll finish up soon.

Sunday - Blueberry Pancakes, Art, and the bookend to the best service we ever had in a restaurant

I only mention the blueberry pancakes to make you jealous. Mike served up the delicious cakes, along with some unbelievable spicy turkey bacon of some sort. And coffee of course.

Then we needed to fill up on some art viewing. Philadelphia does have a lot of public art, which is fun, but we wanted to spend some time at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mike drove us in, continuing his fabulous work as tour guide, and we ended up at the art museum.

You can't hit it all so we studied floor plans and each visited what we could. It's a world-class museum, and well worth the visit. No art museum visit is complete without a visit to the gift shop--and this shop was wonderful. I do some of my best gift buying at art museum gift shops!

We then visited the Rodin Museum. Maybe it was because I had visited the Rodin museum in Paris, but this felt a bit disappointing. This is their description: As visitors approach the front gate, they are greeted by one of Rodin's most famous works, The Thinker, while the powerful Gates of Hell stands at the Museum's entrance. Inside, visitors will discover casts of many of Rodin's best-known sculptures, including The Burghers of Calais and Eternal Springtime, as well as maquettes, drawings, and waxes.

Or, we could have just been tired, hot, and hungry. So we headed for Sabrina's near the Italian Market for a late lunch before we took Robin to the airport. http://sabrinascafe.com/ (we walked a bit in the Italian Market as well, even though it was Sunday and most were closed. Still fun)

First, I will say that the food was absolutely fabulous. The service, not so much. Seriously, we almost walked out. A defining moment was when Dan placed his order and the server informed him that they were out of Challah so it might be served on something else.

So Dan naturally asked what it might be served on. In the most extraordinarily snotty voice imaginable she started a list of maybe on a bagel, maybe on what, maybe on this, maybe on that. Dan responded, maybe I want my menu back. And perused it and placed another order. She actually got a little bit better after that, but let me assure you that her tip suffered.

Another trip to the airport, dropped off Robin. Mike gave Dan and I the auto tour of Penn, Fairmont Park, and a neighborhood I can't remember now! We refreshed ourselves with iced coffee there then headed home, coming in from another direction to Mt Airy with even more beautiful homes.

We were a bit tired, and getting ready to go home, so we spent a nice evening just hanging out, posting our pics on Facebook, eating leftovers and chatting.

Wrapping it up

Monday morning saw Dan headed for the airport, and me to a hotel downtown as I was going to work with one of my vendors on Tuesday and fly home Wednesday.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in midtown, 13th and Walnut. This may not be the fanciest place in town, but it was the one with the vacancy. Philadelphia hotels were booked up! While an older property, I would definitely stay there again. The main thing was the absolutely fabulous staff.

Every single person I encountered had a genuine smile on their face, were welcoming, friendly and helpful. And yes I posted this on Tripadvisor too. The property is older, but this meant the room was nice and big. The beds comfortable, the shower hot. I enjoyed the rooftop pool (I think on the 7th floor). The breakfast was typical HIX, but hey, it was free.

On Monday night my vendor took me to see the Philadelphia Freedoms play the Newport Breakers in World Team Tennis. I had been telling for a few years that they ought to go, and they both are big fans now and enjoyed it thoroughly. I would have loved to go the next night when they played the KC Explorers (my team) with the Bryan Brothers there but just couldn't fit it in. But, I ran into one of the brothers at the airport Wed morning so that made up for it!

Tuesday they took me to lunch at a nice Italian restaurant, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name! Wish I could share it with you, it was good. Tuesday night I dined on my own in the neighborhood of the hotel, The Sahara Grill 1334 Walnut St. Dining alone can sometimes be hit or miss for service but they were quite welcoming. I had a small table at the window that was fun for table watching. Simple dining, hummus, pita, grilled shrimp, grill vegetables.

In conclusion, we loved Philadelphia! Thank you for a great visit.

Thank you, Toucan, for a great trip report and for loving my favorite city. Please do come back again soon!

PS: Blueberry pancakes: WANT

Great trip report. I buy the Termini Bros pine nut cookies every chance I get. Very cool that you watched the Bryan Bros play.

Thanks Amy, I'm sure I will be back
Birdie, lucky you!

Thanks for an interesting report. I am glad to hear the Holiday Inn Express is o.k. I just reserved a room there for early September when we have to drop our son off at Penn. This will be a very short trip as we arrive in PA late Wednesday (staying with my brother in law about an hour from Philly that night), drive into Philly Thursday a.m. after rush hour, leave my son off at his apt in West Philly and then have to head back to VT the next morning.

That should be a lovely time of year to visit, I was there for work last September for a couple of days and it was gorgeous.

Toucan, thanks for directing me here and for such a terrific report! I am biased since we lived in Philly + 'burbs for many years but I really think it's one of the most underrated US cities.

You highlighted so many of the things I love about the city: architecture / art, neighborhoods, history, food, and people. We're lucky to get back every couple of months to visit friends. When you return, you'd probably enjoy this byob resto: modomiorestaurant.com. BYO restos are another great aspect of the city.

When my husband was at Penn for undergrad he took pics for Termini's and they always sent him home with a huge platter of cookies. Needless to say he was a popular boy.

FWIW, I think the Rodin could benefit from some landscaping/signage to make it more welcoming. I used to work at the Free Library next door and often ate my lunch in their gardens which usually included directing tourists to the entranceway. It just doesn't have the wide open gardens like the museum in Paris but the collection is still great.

Hopefully on your next visit the Barnes Foundation will be open on the Parkway.

http://www.barnesfoundation.org/

Maureen

Thanks Maureen, yes, we were bummed that the Barnes closed for the shortly before we got there. That's funny you should say that you had to direct people to the entrance, we walked all the way around looking for it! You are probably right about the landscaping as well. I did love the gardens in Paris.

That link for the restaurant didn't work, but I'll google. Many years ago Mike and Jamie took me to a great BYOB where the wait staff sang opera. It was a wonderful experience.

Here are some pics if you are interested. I hope the link works.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.254637751217579.81235.100000140670243&l=34803faf69&type=1

Toucan, thanks for posting your pics - they're great, especially the mosaics. One of your friends (cooking in kitchen) looks a LOT like our friend Greg - I had to do double take.

I think your friends took you to the Victor Cafe (byo w/opeara-singing waiters). We haven't been there in years but now I really want to go. Definitely a fun experience.

LOL so Mike has a doppelganger (sp?) Yes, that restaurant was very fun, a great memory for me.

I also enjoyed the pictures. A friend took us to the Magic Gardens last year. She just announced the destination, and I was a little annoyed because I wanted to do one of the historic buildings, but we had a great time.