My trip to Philadelphia! (Pittsburgh, Wall: houses, buying, upkeep)

[portyhead24]

So I just got back from my week long vacation in the northeast and I thought I'd share my experience for anyone interested. I had a great time and can't wait to come back soon! So here's the rundown:

Flew into Pittsburgh to meet my friend who lives there. After he picked me up at 6 that Saturday we drove straight through to Philadelphia. First I gotta say the terrain was just beautiful! Such big and beautiful trees and hills/mountains. The whole drive was very entertaining for me. I've seen mountains no doubt i.e. Colorado, Oregon, but this was a new kind of terrain I've never really witnessed in person. Just lovely all the way through.

So now for my first couple of gripes. Lemme pre-empt by saying that the things I loved far outway my gripes and they are small and trivial so please no one take offense. I just wanted to give a visitors pov. Ok so I wasn't very keen on the idea of paying a $20 toll to drive on the highway from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. You gotta pay to drive on your own highway? We have tolls too but those are privately owned and can be easily circumvented. Maybe someone has a good explanation for the tolls. Also, I was kinda taken back by how few stops there were along the way. There were some Sunocos of course though but still the stops seemed to be few and far between. Those stops were interesting to me though just for the fact that there are designated stops along the way for travelers.

So we finally get to Philadelphia about midnight and still trees galore. We took the exit we were waiting for and then all of a sudden BAM! were in Manayunk. LOVED IT!!! I loved all the houses, architecture, history, density. It was just a great part of the city. I never really seen a city like this before. Got to our destination, had a shower and started drinking. The next day was the bike race and that was just a blast! The friends we stayed with live on Lyceum right at the top of the "Wall" so we had a perfect spot. I had a great time that day and met some great people. Also, drank Yuengling for my first time. What a great beer, I enjoyed it alot.

Next day we went to downtown or "Center City" as the locals call it LOVED IT!!! What a beautiful city. Rivers all around, great architecture, walkable and beautfiul parks and history and museums. Walked down to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Uhhhhh, can you say "Gorgeous"? Wow the building is just that, too bad I didn't get to make it inside, but next time I'll make sure I have more time and money set aside. Another one of my gripes is how here stood this beautiful work of art and craftsmanship, yet people were more concerned with running up the steps and posing like Rocky haha. Don't mean to step on anyone's toes but that just seemed kinda cheesy to me.

Later that day we went and visited some people on the south side. Woah mama! The row houses all abound. We don't really have these where I come from. Also, what y'all have to understand is that it's very cool and interesting to see such older and historic buildings. Truly most of our buildings are no more than 50 years old with MANY only having been built within the last 5-10-20 years. They lived on the third floor and the stairwell was something trippy I tell ya. Extremely narrow. Never experienced anything like that before.

Next day we walked down to Main Street. Very cool area. Ate at a lil restaurant, forgot what it was called but it was decent. Walked around a bit before we headed back up the Wall, damn that thing is steep.

Had a Philly cheesesteak that night for dinner. It was ok, not mind blowing like I was expecting but good nevertheless. I think the place we got the sandwich from was called Alessandro's.

Next day we made it by a Wawa, which I had never heard of before either. It was cool and the sandwich I got was good. But please, stop calling those banana peppers hot peppers The store is cool but I wasn't quite sure what people were raving about. People were talking about it having anything you want/need, but honestly those types of stores are on nearly every corner here, so I figure it's probably not as common in this area of the country to have large convenience stores like that. Please, correct me if I'm wrong. Also, loved the Tasty Cakes. I've actually had those before though, but I had to mention them again anyway. The cherry pie was very good stuff.

Next day I went out to NYC for my first time by myself and met up with my step sis later. Again, LOVED IT!!! But this is a Philly thread so I'll just move on now

Friday night we made it to downtown to Club Voyeur to see Afrojack. He put on a great show and we had a great night dancing and drinking. The vibe and people were great and we had a wonderful time.

Saturday was a completely chill day. Just hanging out and taking it easy.

Left back to Pittsburgh on Sunday then flew back home this morning

There was more that happened but I didn't wanna bore y'all with all the mundane details. Anyway, overall I give Philadelphia and A++ a wonderful and historical city full of charm and all forms of beauty. I will definitely come back again.

oh yeah p.s. one more lil gripe. The beer distributors haha sorry but I'm not used to that. Here if you want beer/wine you go to the super market or a convenience store and get your drink all the way up until midnight (1 a.m. on Saturdays). But hey, it's a small price to pay to be in such a wonderful place.

oh and p.p.s. I took s***loads of pics so I can post a few later as soon as I upload them. Thanks for the hospitality!

[FindingZen]

Glad you enjoyed your trip... and thanks for the positive feedback and constructive criticism as well.

RE: The tolls....it seems like Pennsylvania government would sooner take ownership of upkeep of the highway - and the subsequent tolls - rather than outsource it to a private company for a big lump sum a lathe Illinois government and its Chicagoland expressway.

RE: Beer distributors. PA has a Quaker tradition, the remnants of which determine such quirks as access to alcohol. Not unlike the highways, PA is also hesitant to let go of the reliable cash cow that is the state liquor stores in exchange for a huge one-time payday.

[Wisertime]

Originally Posted by portyhead24

Next day we made it by a Wawa, which I had never heard of before either. It was cool and the sandwich I got was good. The store is cool but I wasn't quite sure what people were raving about. People were talking about it having anything you want/need, but honestly those types of stores are on nearly every corner here, so I figure it's probably not as common in this area of the country to have large convenience stores like that.

Haha, I know what you mean. As an outsider and soon to be resident, I was not quite sure what the hype of Wawa was about (though I have not tried the coffee yet...I hear its good). Its a little better than your avg conv. store, but not anything to write home about. Otherwise looking forward to exploring Philly.

[pman]

while I woudn't put a wawa on a tourist list, it's mainly just a good convenience store that sells its own dairy products cheaply and has a no surcharge AMT and cheap gas.

rock steps: don't hate, that's art too. the movie is as much art as a mobile.
if you think the beer distributors suck, try buying wine and liquor. don't know if it was set up by a quaker, but certainly the plcb was set up by a teetotaler progressive. today it exists largely to serve itself. no one likes it, yet no one can get rid of it.

thanks for sharing your pov and glad you had a good time.

[LibraGirl123]

Originally Posted by portyhead24

So I just got back from my week long vacation in the northeast and I thought I'd share my experience for anyone interested. I had a great time and can't wait to come back soon!

Glad you enjoyed yourself! Thanks for the posting. Do come back again soon.

[newmarlig]

Thanks for the positive post! Too bad it can't be made a sticky for all of the Philly naysayers.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Wisertime

Haha, I know what you mean. As an outsider and soon to be resident, I was not quite sure what the hype of Wawa was about (though I have not tried the coffee yet...I hear its good). Its a little better than your avg conv. store, but not anything to write home about. Otherwise looking forward to exploring Philly.

Exactly who hypes Wawa? I'll admit I've heard newcomers talk about the Wawa hype but I don't know of anyone who actually hypes it up. It's a nice, clean, convenience store that sells gas and is good for sandwiches on the go.

[Duderino]

Glad you enjoyed your stay in PA/Philly! As you noticed, history is a big thing here. As is our quirky, puritan-esque liquor and beer law and overpriced (for the quality) highway system. A few supermarkets/gas stations are finally able to sell alcohol, so I think it'll be standard everywhere eventually now that the precedent has been set.

Hope you have a chance to visit again soon!

[kidphilly]

Glad you enjoyed, sounds like you had a good time sans tolls (for what it's worth I am not a big fan and Jersey is actually worse)

Great weekend to experience Manyunk and the Wall!

Thanks for the recap, it is always great to hear the perceptions both good and bad!

[portyhead24]

Y'all are all very welcome! I'll definitely be back again asap. Probably next year around this time, except next time I'm gonna be sure to stop by more sites and museums. I haven't uploaded my pics to my computer yet cause I've been so busy with moving into my new place (a whole other crazy story that started right before my vacation) and work. Hopefully though I'll have some up for everyone by tomorrow or Friday.