Philly!

Well, I figured I should finally post something personal on the blog, so here we go:

Alisa and I decided to take a mini trip up to Philadelphia during the week of the Fourth. We were already planning to head up that way for a BBQ at her friend's place on 7/4 so we figured we may as well spend a couple of days there and see the sights.

We found the Penn's View Hotel via Trip Advisor and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to stay in Philly. Prices were decent, around $150/night, rooms were clean, friendly staff and a great location. Right off of Market St. and a short walk to Independence Hall and other historic sites. Also, the Ristorante Panorama located on the Hotel's ground floor was excellent. Definitely the best meal I've had in a while.

http://www.pennsviewhotel.com/

We spent most of Wednesday getting there so nothing too big happened on that day except a visit to the above mentioned restaurant. Thursday was the big sight seeing day with a visit to Independence Hall, and the original House and Senate.


Independence Hall


Constitution Hall. The chair at the main table is the original chair that George Washington sat in when he presided over the Constitutional Convention.

Afterwards we were going to visit the Liberty Bell, but at 11:00, the line was out the door and half-way around the building. No way were we going to wait in that line in the July sun. So, we visited there first thing on Friday (7/4, it seemed appropriate) and got right in.


Liberty Bell

While in the city we also checked out Nodding Head Brewing. http://www.ripsneakers.com/nodding Visiting local brew pubs has become something of a traveling tradition for me and Alisa. She thought this up during our San Diego trip. Whenever we visit a city we'll visit a local brew pub or two and, if they make a decent impression, we'll purchase a pint glass from them. It's a fun way to collect some useful souvenirs from a trip. Anyway, it was a fun little bar down the way from City Hall. If you're there, check out their "Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse", it's a very unique wheat beer and really nothing like any thing you've had before. It has a weird tart/sour flavor that doesn't sound that great when I just described it, but it's really very tasty.

All in all it was a fun little trip.