Logistical details for college visits: Tufts, Olin, Brown, Columbia and UPenn
 

DD and I are headed to the east coast for some college visits... need some help with a couple of logistics please:

- Day 1: Fly to Boston - rent car and drive through Tufts and Olin (it will be Sunday during their spring break so no opportunity to truly visit) - suggestions for lunch en route from Logan or near Tufts? Staying with SIL in Newton.
- Day 2: Drive to Providence, return rental car and visit Brown. Staying at the Hampton Inn. Suggestions for dinner within walking distance?
- Day 3: Amtrak (Northeast Regional) from Providence to Penn Station/NYC. Will leave suitcases at luggage storage at Penn Station. Need to get from Penn Station to Columbia around midday (and then back again around 5pm) - what are the subway logistics? Looks like a straight shot on 2/Seventh Ave Express. Can I buy single ride tickets? Columbia visit. Amtrak (Northeast Regional) from Penn Station to Philadelphia. Staying at Embassy Suites downtown (aka and Inn at Penn were out of the budget!). Suggestions for dinner within walking distance?
- Day 4: U Penn visit. White Dog Cafe for lunch. Staying at Embassy Suites downtown.
- Day 5: Fly from Philly back home.

Woo I'm tired just thinking about this trip!

I'm not familiar with restaurants near that Embassy Suites in Philly. I usually go to that neighborhood for the museums not the restaurants. You are walking distance from Rittenhouse Square which offers many really good places to eat. You can start here to get an idea:

https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/50...staurants/#map

Tell us what kind of restaurant you like, what food, and we can make recommendations. The Love is getting a lot of buzz but it's pricey. a. kitchen is good and it's fun to sit at their kitchen bar. You're also not far from China town which offers a lot of possibilities.

Best I could find near Tufts that is open Sunday was the Oasis Brazilian restaurant at the corner of Main and Harvard. They have an all you can eat buffet. I noticed that there is an Enterprise rental car along Main Street. The #101 bus stops at the corner of Main and Harvard Streets. Don't get stuck paying a drop fee for renting in Boston and dropping in Providence.

To get to Columbia you need to take the 1 local and get off at 116th St. Line 2 goes to the East side after 96th St.

MTA/New York City Transit Subway Line Information

NY subway fare
 

You and DD should get one regular pay-as-you-go MetroCard and share it. The card itself will cost $1.00 and you should load it with $2.75 x 4 = $11.00 , so $12.00 total (2 people taking 2 rides each, 2.75 per ride, roundtrip Penn-Columbia, Columbia-Penn) .

Your DD will scan and go thru the turnstile and pass it back to you to do the same.

When are you going? We have one more to do this process with too. We were going to do a spring break trip but we are leaning toward summer.

As to Penn, there is a hotel closer to the university you didn't mention. It's a Sheraton. When an older sibling went through this, we got the Sheraton through a discounter. Priceline? I'd have to check my notes. But it's probably on travelocity or the others too.

There are actually five hotels in University City: The Inn at Penn, Stay AKA, the Sheraton, and also, Homewood Suites, and The Study. I think they've already been mentioned in a previous thread but I brought them up for future searches. There are also a couple of B&B's, one of which is very nice.
http://www.gablesbb.com/

There are many restaurants in the Tufts area. In Medford square there is Salvatores and Carrolls. On Main st there is Bocellis. On the other side of Tufts in Somerville Davis Square there
are many places to eat as well

I went to two of the schools listed... It has been a while, but feel free to PM if you want what inside info I can offer.

Looking at that itinerary, I'd say you should have her apply to Grinnell and Carleton = still cold in the winter, schools still high quality, don't have to bolt all around the northeast coast to visit. :p