We chose Philly for our surprise winter break vacation due to it being a city in close proximity to D.C. with a ton of our nation’s history coupled with great food.
Thursday:
With the drive being only three hours in comparison to the eight hour drive we had to Charleston two years prior, three hours seemed like a breeze. It also allowed us to not leave first thing in the morning since our check-in time wasn’t until 3:00 p.m. Our goal to leave was 11:00 and we made it out of Vienna at 12:30…pretty typical for us.
We arrived just before 4:00 in our Airbnb located in Society Hill (the intersection of 2nd and South Street). We leisurely unpacked and went to The Twisted Tail, across the street for dinner.
The Twisted Tail – The food and the service were absolutely superb. Our waiter honestly was one of the best that I have had to date…very personable and in tune with expectations of good customer service. While they didn’t have a kid’s menu, they said they could make chicken tenders and fries, mac and cheese, and a burger. The portions were big so at the suggestion of the waiter, Avery and Harper split the chicken and fries….a wise decision considering not only was it huge, but also Avery didn’t like it. Justin and I decided to get a mix of small plates and one entrée to share. We assumed the small plates were on the smaller side…..they were NOT and as soon as we received the first one (the heirloom beets in a yogurt sauce), I knew we had overordered. They were mouthwatering. Next came the crispy cauliflower flatbread and the spicy big eye tuna tacos). Both were excellent as well, although I had thought the flatbread was made from cauliflower and it was actually the flatbread heaping topping. Justin and I were stuffed by then so we didn’t mention that our entrée (the beef short ribs) and the last small plate (the spareribs) were taking significantly longer to come out of the kitchen than the other meals….so much so that our waiter actually started clearing our plates thinking we were done with everything. I think he was pretty embarrassed when we told him that they hadn’t come out, so he ended up bringing us this huge delicious Bibb lettuce and parmesan salad. More food was the last thing we needed but the salad was so amazing, we devoured it. We weren’t even hungry by the time the rest of the food came out, but we ate it anyway. While both were excellent, we promised ourselves we would never order short ribs out again, as I make the most amazing short ribs and we don’t feel like we are eating something special when we order them when we go out. We had actually ordered the seabass entrée but switched to the short ribs when they were out of the seabass. Overall though, it was a great start to our culinary experience.
Friday
Friday morning, we got a little bit of a later start than we anticipated not getting out of the apartment until close to 11:00. Justin had somehow slammed his foot into the bedroom railing Christmas Eve and destroyed his foot. It was all black and blue and he was in a lot of pain. Realizing he should probably get it checked out, I found an urgent care a half mile away, and Justin walked there (yes, he walked) to get it X-rayed. Good news is that it wasn’t broken so they wrapped it and told him to rest. I am guessing that the 28,000 steps we ended up walking that day in total wasn’t exactly what the doctor meant by rest. While Justin was at urgent care, I managed to burn a waffle, make oatmeal that crystalized to the point that I wasn’t sure if the pan coating was coming off, and then almost start a fire in the microwave when I microwaved a non-microwavable safe dish for two minutes. Ironically, I had asked Justin how to open the apartment windows the night before and had every one of them open to air out the apartment.
Anyway, we finally left the apartment walking via Second Street through Washington Square and then to the Liberty Bell. It was a beautiful sunny day and the weather was nearly 50 degrees. Avery took the time to read some of the signs and seemed to truly be interested in the history. I can’t believe this was the first time Justin and I actually saw The Liberty Bell. 
We decided to hit up Franklin Square next only to realize that it really was a nighttime place to visit. With two hours before we were meeting our friends, the McBrides, we decided to check out the The Redding Terminal Market as we figured we could do some browsing and eat lunch there. It was so insanely busy there…WAY busier than I was expecting and much more hot ready-made food than purchase and make/eat at home type food. I saw a sign for a dollar hot dogs and asked the girls if they wanted hot dogs, which they did. They ended up eating two each while Justin and I settled on a middle eastern place…Greek salad with gyro meat for me. It did the job…was healthy and good, but I hated settling on that option without being able to explore the hundreds of other food counters.
After lunch we were scheduled to meet the McBrides at Franklin Fountain, an ice cream soda shop. Since they were running a little late, we ended up going to The Betsy Ross House for a tour. It was great. We splurged and bought the girls the kids audio device, which was the way to go…it really kept their interest. While I knew Betsy Ross made the Star-Spangled Banner, I didn’t know how that came to be or anything else about her life. A quick fun education tour.
Then it was back to Franklin Fountain, the ice cream shops of ice cream shops. Justin and the girls splurged on milkshakes and me on the chocolate cake cone. It was worth every calorie!
We walked towards the waterfront and the kids got a kick out of watching people ice-skate. Avery had a crush on Winslow just like she did when we saw him earlier in April.
It was a little after 5:00 when we said our goodbyes and since we weren’t terribly far from Franklin Square, we headed back. We all rode the merry-go-round, enjoyed the lights show, and playing on the playground. The walk home was about a half hour so by the time we had walked home, Justin and I had both walked over 12 miles, 28,000 steps that day.
For dinner we went to Pizzeria Stella , right outside our apartment.
Pizzeria Stella – Justin and I shared the spinach pizza and the crab and apple salad. The salad had way more dressing on it than I would have preferred, but it was excellent as was the pizza. The girls each had their own bowl of pasta…Emerson with tomato sauce, Avery plain, and Harper with parmesan cheese. We also shared the calamari for appetizer, which was delicious.
After dinner, we fake lit the menorah as we did every night in Philly. By fake lighting it, Harper actually participated.
Saturday
Saturday morning, we headed to Independence Hall. We were hopeful that arriving by 11:00 there would still be tickets available for the day. There were not to the girl’s disappointment. Buying the tickets online in advance would have been the route to go. We were still able to go into two other buildings and see many compasses, maps, pendulums, constellations, globes, and copies of the Declaration of Independence.
It was another beautiful day and we headed towards City Hall. The architecture of the building was absolutely amazing.
Next we headed to LOVE Park, the original.
Lunch was next on our agenda and we headed to Monk Café. The place was small, so we were told we had about a 45-minute wait. Justin and I ordered an IPA at the bar and then we got lucky and got seated after about 20 minutes. We got seated in a bright spot by the window and we were giddy (probably the beer). Justin welcomed sitting as his foot was in severe pain.
Monk Café – Another excellent find! Justin had a burger. I had the pork sandwich with a side salad. The girls shared mac and cheese, chicken fingers, and fries. And the beer selection was excellent. Justin and I may have had several beers each!
The Philadelphia Magic Gardens were next on our list. To our surprise, we weren’t able to walk right in due to it being so busy and since it was 3:00, we didn’t want to wait another two hours until the time we could get tickets. We changed our plans and found a nearby park where we let the girls play for about 20 minutes before heading to The Italian Market section. We roamed the streets, browsed the vendors and shops, and purchased salamis, cheeses, and fruits so I could make a charcuterie board at home that evening.
Sunday
The forecast was calling for a rainy day, so we intentionally saved The Franklin Institute for Sunday. We purchased our tickets online the night prior and arrived at 9:15, before the museum even opened…a first for us! The exhibits were interactive and great. We did The Brain, Worst Case Survival Experience, The Giant Heart, The Train Factory, Live Science Show, The Planetarium, Electricity, The Sports Zone, and The Amazing Machine. It was a pricey museum, but it was well worth the cost and going on a rainy day made it that much better.
Since we drove to the museum and 5:30, we thought we may have a chance of getting into a popular Mexican restaurant El Vez, in the heart of downtown. It was a 45-minute wait, so we waited in an Irish pub next door, and Justin and I had a drink. Our waitress was very personable and talked us into getting the kids virgin margaritas. We figured why not! Dinner was delicious and a great time with our little family of five.
El Vez – El Vez was a great restaurant. Even on Sunday at 5:45, it was packed. The chips and guac were extra; however, they were well worth it. While they didn’t have a kid’s menu, they were accommodating – Emerson had a chicken quesadilla and Avery had a plain steak taco. Harper had some of both. I had the sea bass tacos – they had a sweet potato puree and were scrumptious. Justin had the steak tacos and they were equally good.
The girls watched a movie that evening, and we did face masks that we got from Santa. 
Since we didn’t carve out a meal for a cheesesteak and time was ticking, Justin went to Jim’s Steaks South Street, which was one block over. Since it was 10:00 p.m. and raining out, there was no line.
Jim Steaks South Street – While I don’t know that I have ever had a whole cheesesteak anywhere, I have certainly tried one before…not sure where, but I know I have. And I know I have heard people over the years say that there is nothing like a Philly cheesesteak. Well I took a bite of Justin’s cheesesteak (maybe two) and let me tell you if I never had another bite of a Philly cheesesteak again in my life, I would be quite okay. It’s just not the type of food that I enjoy eating.
Monday
Our last morning. Check-out was at 11:00 so we figured we would have a good brunch before heading off. I found Sabrinas in The Italian Market section; being a 20-minute walk there and back was perfect as it gave us some exercise before sitting in the car for three hours. Not only was it raining, but also it was so windy the umbrella was hard to control. It was the cutest little café and a great pick!
Sabrinas – Sabrinas was our fifth and final restaurant that we went to in Philly. Every restaurant we went to was a stellar pick. And our menu selections were equally on par….that is until I went to Sabrina’s. Somehow I overlooked their specialities and ordered the omelette. It was good, but when have I ever walked out of a restaurant saying an omelette was too die for! I even forgot to substitute the potatoes with fresh fruit. Justin had one of the specials and it was mouth watering. Avery got the buttermilk pancakes, which were fluffy and delicious and Emerson and Harper both had a bagel with cream cheese. Great place, rookie ordering mistake on my part though!
All in all, we had a great trip. Excellent eats. A ton of walking. Great weather. Fun family time!
Sidenote: While we didn’t take a ton of pictures, many of the pictures we did take won’t upload properly to this site for some reason…oh well!
