Just got back from a quick trip to Philly. I'd never been there before and loved it. Our family of 5 (2 adults, 3 young teens) stayed at Embassy Suites and it was idea. The usual E. Suites perks - great rooms, free reception, free full breakfast. The hotel is on the Phlash bus line and has bus stops out front going in both directions. We got the Nickelodeon rate of $139 on a Thursday. Add in $21 (ouch) for parking. But they did let us keep our car there until 5 p.m. on the day of checkout. Continued

That's it???
What about the sightseeing? the food? The Liberty Bell?
The weather?

The first night we took the Phlash bus down to the historic area and saw the Lights of Liberty show. I had buy one get one free coupon from the internet (sorry - I can't remember the website, but try to find it - it's a deal). The show was fantastic. You get headphones and walk around the historic area at night with a light show. The kids loved it too.

The next day we bought another Phlash bus pass ($10 for a family of 5 for all - day on and off). The buses are purple and come to each stop every 10 to 15 minutes. Great way to get around and from what I saw parking is expensive. We stopped at several places along the route.

nevermind

Okay - all of 2 minutes later. I keep trying to do lengthy reports and the forum deletes them. So continuation #3:
We took several stops from the Phlash:

#1) City Hall. Beautiful building, but we couldn't go up to the top for another hour. No one was waiting so my hunch is that they may have only one guide.
#2) Reading Terminal. WOW. Everyone's favorite. A huge indoor market. You must see it to believe it.
#3) Independence Hall. You get free timed tickets to get in. Very cool. We also caught a free play outside that really made it come alive.

To be continued yet again....

(last post I hope)(it keeps deleting these cuz they're too long!!)
#3) Liberty bell. We skipped the long lines and walked around the back of the peering at it through the plexiglass. When folks moved, we caught good glimpses.
#4) South Street. Funky cafes and shops. Great for teens and adults. Spent an hour in Hocus-Pocus watching magic tricks.
#5) Seaport museum, submarine and ship. About $7/person but it was late and we were tired. Next trip we'll see this and the battleship across the river.

Loved this city. We'll be back soon when we can stay longer.

Hi Boots. I love Philly too--I discovered the city for myself about 3 years ago and made about a dozen repeat visits from Baltimore these past several years, I enjoyed myself there so much.

Glad you had fun. Thanks for the trip report.

Sounds like a good time Boots. Philly is a great city and I'm happy to hear you enjoyed your trip. Next time if you have a whole day - the Zoo is fantastic! Well kept and I believe one of the oldest in the US. It's one of those zoos that you don't feel "sorry" for the animals they are all treated very well. I agree, Reading Terminal is a great place - makes me crave a cheesesteak just at the thought! !

Boots - the forum software automatically deletes ;enghty posts without ever really posting them. Just write the entire report in MS Word or such and then cut and paste it in by section with the sections going in as replies to the original post (which appears to eb what you ended up doing by necessity).