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We are heading to Philly... what is NOT TO MISS?


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It is December, and from what I understood it is getting cold. Also it will be raining 2 or our 4 days.

 

I have a 4 year old dd and a 9 year old ds. We are staying right by city hall and the convention center.

 

Also, is anyone here from Philly? I have never met a WTMer (in a nice well lit public place:lol: please)

 

I have heard that there is an amazing aquarium across the river in jersey, not sure if that is worth the trek if I only have 4 days.

 

Nicole

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Get a cheeseteak at Jim's! It's close to where you are.

 

I'd definitely go see the Wanamaker Holiday display at Macy's. It's a classic, and Macy's should be commended for maintaining it post-takeover.

 

Years ago, going to see the Liberty Bell was kind of weak, but I'm totally impressed with how it's managed now. Independence National Historic Park would be crazy to miss, given you are from the opposite coast. :)

 

Have fun!

 

I'm about 1.5 hours away from where you'll be, at the coast. With the wind turning colder, I'm not worth a visit this time of year. Come again in the summer!!!

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When will you be there? We live in NJ but my 9yo dd and I are in Philly a lot on weekends. If you walk around Old City...there are lots of neat exhibits around Carpenter Hall (where the 1st Continental Congress met) and Independence Hall. You'll want to see the Liberty Bell. Not sure your budget or if you'll be there around then but the Plough and the Stars restaurant has lovely live Irish sessions on Sunday nights and great food...though I'd suggest getting there just before 5pm to order off the bar menu for the kids.

 

I think the art museum is free on Sundays (or it was). The Franklin Institute is wonderful.

 

The aquarium as nice as any I have been to. Also the Battleship NJ is docked for touring right near the aquarium on the Camden waterfront...I would not venture into Camden for much else though.

Edited by Donna
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I was being nice. LOL

 

Yes, you were. :)

 

My dh, who grew up in CA, loves to point out what he calls "The Corridor" speak (NYC, NJ, PHL). He's says we're the masters of understatement in both directions. ;) Since Dolphin's from the Left Coast, I thought I'd mention it.

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Get a cheeseteak at Jim's! It's close to where you are.

 

I'd definitely go see the Wanamaker Holiday display at Macy's. It's a classic, and Macy's should be commended for maintaining it post-takeover.

 

Years ago, going to see the Liberty Bell was kind of weak, but I'm totally impressed with how it's managed now. Independence National Historic Park would be crazy to miss, given you are from the opposite coast. :)

 

:iagree:Yes, yes, and yes! No one should ever leave Philly without having a real Philly Cheesesteak!

 

The aquarium as nice as any I have been to. Also the Battleship NJ is docked for touring right near the aquarium on the Camden waterfront...I would not venture into Camden for much else though.

:iagree:The aquarium and Battleship NJ are both very nice but definitely use caution while in Camden. Make sure you have gps or maps available. They may have a ferry from Philly for easy access. I imagine the ferry would be better than driving.

 

If you get a chance to see Boathouse Row lit up it's very nice although there won't be any crews on the Schuykill in December.

:iagree:I loved riding past Boathouse Row at night as a child to see the lights. Traffic on the Schuykill Exprsswy can be a bother but I'd recommend seeing this.

 

Enjoy your visit!

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Old city Philly is cool but it's a bit cold to walk around in winter (which is why we haven't done it with the kids, too cold this time of year. We're in FL now but I'm a Philadelphian and our families are there). But there's the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross house, Independence Hall, the Mint. Elfreth's Alley. http://elfrethsalley.org/ In Center City: Broad @ Walnut and Market Streets for the decorations and the old Wanamakers light show. Definitely some of the restaurants on restaurant row there.

No idea what's happening at the Kimmel Center, you could check there.

The Museum of Art, the Rodin museum right there as well (then hit Rembrandt's restaurant for food).

The redone Please Touch Museum is supposed to be really cool and of course, the Franklin Institute (and it's infamous walk-through heart).

View Boathouse Row at night, I like to watch the colleges practice there too.

Reading Terminal Market (** must hit Termini's for their cannolis and napoleons while there** great food, sweet family!!!). The Italian Market is just a pain in the butt but some great stuff there, cheeses alone make it worth it. Outside there I'd walk to the ends of the earth for Sarcone's bread- this is a link to their deli. Give me a loaf of Sarcone's bread and some butter and gravy (sauce) to dip... and I'm good. http://sarconesdeli.com/

People always want to walk down South Street at night but, having walked it a lot - it was a lot more fun in the 80s.

 

Food: the Steven Starr restaurants are always a treat.http://www.starr-restaurant.com/ Still like Buddakan though it's over 10 years old now. He has a bunch of new places now though.

Cheesesteaks: I'm not a big fan of either Geno's or Pat's. I like Jim's and I absolutely adore the pork/broccoli rabe from Tony Luke's. Tony Luke's is my "not miss" place. http://tonylukes.com/ Everyone likes their own place for hoagies as well.

Baker: Termnini's http://www.termini.com/Locations-W2C7.aspx

(I always over-focus on the food, sorry. I miss the food..I really do. LOL)

 

Off the beaten track and the new kid on the block: the Piazza on the border of Fishtown in Northern Libs http://atthepiazza.com/find-the-piazza.html

 

I really do not like the Camden Aquarium, though it's there. I'd rather do the 2.5 hour ride to Baltimore for the Inner Harbor. :) Philly Zoo is OK. It's very concrete jungle to me (spoiled by FL zoos).

 

Ooooo... shopping at Urban Outiftters. That's a good one.

 

Penn campus is beautiful. I think that's worth a trip to walk around the campus.

 

Manayunk is fun too. More fun during the bike races, but the parking is horrible. http://manayunk.com/

 

ETA_ I had this bookmarked in case we ever go back when it's warm there. LOL. (I moved from the cold for a reason.) It's the "Constitutional Walking Tour" http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/the-constitutional-walking-tour-of-philadelphia-Sixth-and-Market-Streets-philadelphia-pa-19103-us

Edited by cjbeach
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Thank you for all the suggestions, I will look into them. We won't have a car. We are flying into NYC and staying with my sister (in Harlem) then taking the train to Philly. Thank you for the warnings, we are pretty cautious, my dad was born and raised in the Bronx, so he has always taught us about being really aware (though we sometimes laugh at him using his city behavior in Portland OR).

 

We are staying right near the convention center. With it being so cold, I was thinking of getting one of those hop on hop off bus passes.

 

Is that Macy's the one with the Dickens village? I was reading about that. I also saw that there is a Christmas village right near the city hall.

 

I will look up the cheesesteak place, we did greys papaya in NYC, so a good cheesesteak would be good to try in Philly. Keep them coming, I should have internet. We are taking the train down on Sunday and staying through Thursday.

 

Nicole

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Capogiro gelato is my absolute favorite place in Philly. You'll be able to walk there from the convention center. My favorite non food place is The Constitution Center. Independence Hall is okay if you haven't done a lot of other colonial stuff.

 

My four year old's favorite was The Franklin Institute. He also loved the gelato. We thought it was pretty spectacular.

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If you do hit the museum, it's always fun to do the official "Rocky" run up the steps. Even living in Philly, we got a kick out of it every time. (Gosh, I hope I'm not dating myself.)

 

We do plan on hitting the Rocky Steps:lol:

 

I am so excited. We are off tomorrow. I am a little nervous as the train fares were higher than I expected, so I am borrowing my sisters car and driving.

 

Thank you for all the recommendations. I will keep you up to date.

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We live about 45 minutes from Philadelphia. Here's my two cents:

 

  1. Avoid the Zoo, it is filthy, depressing, and pointless. There are much better zoos on the West Coast. :001_smile:
  2. Longwood Gardens is close to Philly and is beautiful this time of year (or any time of year).
  3. The Franklin Institute is interesting and has an IMAX theater.
  4. Reading Terminal Market is an adventure.

HTH. Enjoy.

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Yes, you were. :)

 

My dh, who grew up in CA, loves to point out what he calls "The Corridor" speak (NYC, NJ, PHL). He's says we're the masters of understatement in both directions. ;) Since Dolphin's from the Left Coast, I thought I'd mention it.

 

Not just left coast, but living in Oregon since I was 4. I am just getting through and really reading everything. I told dh about Jim's for cheesesteaks, I think I am going to be taking a whole bunch of chemists with me on that one, dh's colleagues all want to go:lol:

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We went to the Liberty Bell, and the tour across the street of the Convention meeting buildup.GA, we also did a bus tour. I really enjoyed the tour! We were there a day.

 

Which bus tour did you take? I am thinking of doing that tomorrow so that we can familiarize ourselves with the city.

 

Sorry for the multiple posts, I am happy I have learnt how to do links and quote, multi quote might be a ways off for me.

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I'd also go to the Reading Terminal Market and Chinatown, they're both close to where you'll be staying. If you get a chance to see Boathouse Row lit up it's very nice although there won't be any crews on the Schuykill in December.

 

What is the market? Also, is the Chinatown really amazing? In the context of we have been to both San Francisco's and NYC's?

 

I am just trying to figure out our plan.

 

Thank you

 

Nicole

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Reading Terminal Market is a must. It's a snapshot of all of Philly's great ethnic groups, through their food. Everyone, rich through poor, goes there. Look at all the food before choosing - that's half the fun! It's within a good walk of most of the downtown attractions. (And you'll need the walk after being tempted by the offerings!) They close relatively early, so it's a lunch thing unless you're early for dinner.

 

12TH & ARCH

MON–SAT 8–6 & SUN 9–5

---------------------------------------------------------

NOW OPEN: READING TERMINAL HOLIDAY RAILROAD

 

Now-Saturday, December 31

Opens Daily at 10am

Location: Piano Court

Kids and adults alike will delight in this interactive 500 square foot train display featuring 17 working train lines that rumble through a multitude of miniature scenery including Center City Philadelphia, a Christmas Village, and a snow-covered countryside.

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You guys are so awesome. I am waking the kids up in another 30 min and then we are going to have an explore. I am so excited.

 

For those of you homeschooling here what are the laws like in Pennsylvania and New Jersey?

 

We really want to move to the East Coast. Hubby works in drug discovery. We want to go to Connecticut, but it looks like Pennsylvania and New Jersey have more bio tech companies.

 

Part of the reason I came to this conference at such a cold time of year is to see how we feel about the climate and area.

 

Nicole

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Homeschooling in New Jersey is the best, we are completely unregulated. No reporting, no letters of intent, no keeping track of days, no testing...nothing. We are facing legislation that will change that, but the homeschoolers in NJ are great at orgainizing and "fighting city hall". Our taxes are impossible, our housing prices are high, but we have great homeschooling laws!

 

As for the weather, it has been pretty warm the last few days, the cold hasn't settled in yet for winter.

 

Enjoy your trip!

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Thank you for all the suggestions.

 

Yesterday we did the big bus tour and saw lots of things including the USS New Jersey across the river. Ben Franklin's rental properties etc...

 

They stopped for 5 min at the "Rocky" Steps and ds ran up to the top of those and we got a photo of the statue.

 

The Rodin is closed for renovations, but we got a good look at the outside.

 

We spent a few hours at the Franklin Institute (as our OMSI membership from home got us in for free)

 

The next place we got off the bus was independence park. We spent some time in the visitors center, then off to the liberty bell and a tour of Independence hall. This was my favorite part of the day. The park rangers at each of these places were AMAZING! So knowledgable and friendly. Really engaging. It was a great day.

 

However, I walked the poor kids to their limit yesterday and couldn't wake them up this morning. So we have kept it light today. We walked around the Redding Terminal Market. It was great. We had a cheese steak, bassets ice cream and played with the model trains. Then we walked around the Christmas village at Love square.

 

Tomorrow is our last full day. I still haven't decided what we will do. It has really helped having all these suggestions. Thanks ladies!

 

Nicole

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