In West Philadelphia, Born and Raised or In Other Words: My Trip to Philly

I took the Megabus into Philly on Monday from DC. It's a 3 hour ride- so not terrible. And for $4 - it was great. 

My first obstacle was the subway station. I had to find it. I had to figure out how to pay (And tokens? Really?) and then I had to figure out how to get to where i'm going. I won't lie - I am directionally impaired. 

I got to my hotel, checked in, and showered and I asked a few people where I should eat. Most people recommended National Mechanics, but it was packed for a Monday night and I ended up at Mac's Tavern, which is owned by the cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And the food was phenomenal. I had the Sweet Dee turkey BLT and I never wanted to stop eating.

This was the view from my hotel room - I could see the cemetery where Ben Franklin is buried. My hotel was awesome - right next to everything I wanted to see.

The next morning was all about tourist attractions. And I was so lucky to have my hotel right next to everything. My room actually faced the cemetery where Ben Franklin is buried. So, I did the Independence Hall tour, saw congress Hall, and the Liberty Bell.

The room where the Constitutional Convention was held. That is George Washington's original Rising Sun chair.

Independence Hall.

The Liberty Bell.

I went to this place for lunch and had another amazing sandwich. It was called Khyber Pass Pub and my sandwich was amazing. And the Mac and cheese. I was in a food coma. 

I really wanted to see the second national bank, but it was closed on Tuesdays, so I went to the National Constitution Center. It was pretty cheesy and I wasn't super impressed. But, I paid the extra to see the Prohibition exhibit and that was well worth it.

The Second National Bank.

My boy - Alexander Hamilton.

The American Spirits exhibit. 

For dinner. I went to Continental, another place that was suggested to me. I had the Sourpuss martini - way too sweet for me. And then I had the cheesesteak eggroll and it was perfect. 

I walked to Paddy's - the one that It's Always Sunny is based on and had a few beers. And I was highly impressed you could smoke in there. 

My biggest complaint about Philly, aside from the subway, is that the street names are never visible. My biggest problem getting around was that I'd get to an intersection and there were no street names. 

Otherwise, it's a food heaven and a history nerd's dream. I can't wait to go back to see all the things I missed and eat more food.