Day 4 of S&K's Philly Adventure

Before I start, I need to make an announcement...

This is my 150th blog post! 

Holy cow.

Now that my mind is sufficiently blown, allow me to walk you through Day 4 of Stacey & Kate's Philly Adventure.

By this point in the trip, I had officially 100% fallen in love with Philadelphia. I was mad crushing before, but looking at the city again through tourist glasses made me realize how lucky I am to live here. I was pumped for another day of exploration.

Anyone want to buy me this for Christmas?

Like any good explorers, we had to make sure we started the day well nourished; so we walked to a popular brunch place in Philly called Sabrina's Cafe. The route to the University City location (the area of Philly where we live) took us right through Penn's campus so Stacey got to wonder in its beauty. And she shot this pic of Joe and me:

That's right! Joe graced us with his presence again for brunch! But he sadly had to get back to the books right after, so Stacey and I bid him farewell and headed toward our first stop: the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Now, I have a confession to make. I hate art museums. They bore me to tears. I really wish that I liked them because I feel like it would make me more cultured, but I just don't get the appeal. Luckily, we weren't stopping there for the art (especially because a ticket is $20!). Instead, we were going because that's where the famous Rocky stair scene was filmed!

Ya, it's been a while since I watched the movie (and also apparently can't look behind me for a reminder). This is clearly more of a flex pose than a celebratory pose. Haha.

Following our trip to the steps (which Stacey ran up and I slowly ascended), we headed to Eastern State Penitentiary. For those of you familiar with Alcatraz, it's similar. Only it's not surrounded by water. And it hasn't been preserved well.

***Side Note*** When Joe and I visited Philly for his interview exactly one year ago this month (wow - mind blown again!), Eastern State Penitentiary was one of the few sights we had time to see. I was excited to go because it's supposedly haunted and they also host one of the best haunted houses in the country every fall. Though we didn't do the haunted house (Joe hates them), the audio tour of the prison was awesome and very creepy ***End of Side Note***

A little bit about ESP from their website:

"Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cell blocks and empty guard towers.
Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world’s first true “penitentiary,” a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts."

Since I had somewhat recently visited and taken the audio tour, my focus was on taking photos. You see, this time last year when I visited I only had my iPhone. Now I have my fancy camera that I got for Christmas.

***Side Note*** Disclaimer (again): Yes, I have a fancy camera. Yes, I took expensive classes to learn to use it. No, I don't remember anything I learned. No, I haven't practiced using anything but auto-mode. No, I don't know how to use any type of photo editing software - what you see is all camera. ***End of side note***

Who wants to tour an old prison? ME ME ME!!!!

I hate when people are in my pics, so here's one cutting them out. Looks MUCH creepier :)

What the cells would have looked like

What they look like after the place was neglected for 20+ years.

What Al Capone's cell looked like, just as a comparison. Stacey said it looks very Tower of Terror. She was SO RIGHT.

One of the cell blocks

More ruins

Gate for the medical wing

Beautiful destruction

Starting to wonder if we're safe walking around here ;)

Love that guard tower

Seriously love it

After Eastern State Penitentiary, we went back to Reading Terminal Market. We didn't have much time when we went there on Thursday (we were rushing a warm cheesesteak home for Joe), and we wanted to have a chance to explore some more, try some famous Philly ice cream, and take some photos.

Reading Terminal Market is home to 80 merchants, some Amish! (see Lancaster County Farm Fresh photo). You can buy cheesteaks, ice cream, meat, produce, fish, spices, kitchenware, cookbooks, candy, baked goods, etc. I bought some candy and beef jerky for Joe, and Stacey bought some Amish cookies and jellies. 

I had heard about it before, but never had a chance to visit. Now that I have, it's a must-do for any of my friends or family who visit us! I'm already planning to do a lot of Christmas shopping there...

As the day came to a close, we headed home and Joe ran out to grab us some burgers from Bobby's Burger Palace for dinner. We ended the night with burger-filled bellies, watching Dr. 90210. A perfect last night :)

Follow me on Bloglovin'