Yo, Adrian. I did it!
As I mentioned in Part Two of our trip to Philly, we ended the night eating delicious food while watching a free showing of an opera in front of Independence Hall. I’m sure we weren’t allowed to sleep on the lawn so we headed over to our hotel.
Usually we use AirBnB for our accommodations, but we couldn’t really find anything that would suit our needs. We were three heads so we needed two beds and I wasn’t going to pay $200 for one of us to sleep on a sofa bed. This forced us to go to a hotel and the cheapest room we found – with good reviews – was $124 for two double beds and breakfast. Not bad, since that came to about $41 a person.
The room was nice, but nothing fancy. You know, it was a hotel room. The breakfast? The same hotel breakfast you get everywhere.
We checked out after breakfast and made our way to Ultimo Coffee Bar because we heard it was the best coffee in town. Kate and I didn’t drink coffee because that’s not my thing and Kate was full from breakfast, but our friend KJM had a soy vanilla latte and she said it was delicious.
Rocky Steps
We jumped back into the Batmobile (Honda Civic) and made our way to the Rocky Steps. Okay, people call them that, but they are the steps that head up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
At the base of the steps we noticed a gathering of people around the Rocky Statue. I wanted a picture, but I didn’t want to wait in line for me to be in the picture so I just took a picture of the statue and moved on.
Now the moment of truth. Me at the bottom of the Rocky steps looking up. Will I run up the steps and be like Rocky? Hells to the Yeah! I went up those babies like there’s no tomorrow. Surprisingly the steps were not that hard. I’m not in the best running shape and I was able to do it without any problems.
Rocky Steps leading to the Museum of Art
The steps were cool, but not as impressive as the entrance to the Museum of Art.
Now, that was beautiful.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
If you don’t want to run up the Rocky Steps, you don’t have to – you’re probably more mature than I am – but you should definitely make your way to the top because the museum entrance is amazing.
The ticket to the museum? Not so amazing. $20 per person. Ouch. You can pay whatever you want on the first Sunday of every month, but we weren’t there on the first Sunday.
Now let me tell you that the $20 were worth it because the Museum was amazing. It had so many cool things, but my favorite part was that they had entire rooms of houses from different eras. And I mean, the WHOLE room: chairs, tables, mirrors, chandeliers, walls, ceilings, windows, curtains, I mean everything. And a lot of different rooms. It was cool to see how fancy people lived.
The ticket to the Museum of Art also includes entrance to the Perelman Building where they had a Patrick Kelly exhibit. Patrick Kelly was a designer in the 80s and we all know the 80s were so freaking weird. His designs were just too much weird for my taste.
If you’re ever in Philadelphia you should definitely go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It is very, very nice… just try to go on the first Sunday of the month and pay less.
Fountain in front of Museum
Kelly Drive
After the Museum we decided to take a walk on Kelly Drive… a short walk because we were very tired. Kelly Drive is an eight mile loop, but we walked maybe half a mile… if that. We just walked by Boathouse Row, which is a row of 15 boathouses for social and rowing clubs. The houses were nice, but we couldn’t go inside any of them.
Kelly Drive was nice – at least the little part that we saw – but it was a little crazy at times. There’s a lot of people walking on the same path that runners, skaters, and cyclists go. So you have to stay to the right and always be on the look out for crazy cyclists coming fast from behind.
They say Kelly Drive is a beautiful drive but the driver doesn’t get to enjoy it because there are some dangerous turns. I was the driver and I decided we would walk instead so I can enjoy the view as well. Again, we didn’t get to see much of the view because I wasn’t going to go on an eight mile hike after walking an entire Museum of Art. Maybe next time.
I don’t know if you can tell, but I had an awesome time in Philly. I didn’t think Philadelphia was going to be this nice. I guess the only images from Philly that I had were from Rocky and from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. You know, I thought there would be a couple of guys who were up to no good starting to make trouble in the neighborhood. I just didn’t want my mom to get scared and send me to my auntie and uncle in Bel Air.
Oh I almost forgot!
We had a mission to find the best doughnuts in Philly and were told that Federal Donuts were the best. We went to check it out and found out that not only do they sell doughnuts, but they also sell fried chicken! What did I have for dinner you dare ask? Coconut curry fried chicken and a vanilla lavender doughnuts thank you very much.
I guess I should stop typing now and go for a run… or maybe a light jog.
That’s all from my trip to Philly. It was a short getaway, but full of things to see and do.
Do you have any fun weekend trips planned before we go into hibernation?
What! Coconut curry fried chicken? How did that taste Aldo? It sounds like the Philly trip was a success 🙂
The coconut curry fried chicken was delicious. Maybe not the healthiest, but not any unhealthier than other fried chicken.
Looks like a fun trip. That was one thing I missed when I visted Philly – the Rocky Steps.And MmMMm donuts! I have tried Chicken and Waffles, but not chicken and donuts. Maybe a new business venture? lol
They have a few stores in Philly so it looks like people like them… I liked it.
Looks like a great trip. I’d love to go visit Philly one of these days. Coconut curry fried chicken sounds delicious. 🙂
It was a great trip and the chicken was delicious indeed.
Awww looks like an awesome trip! I went to philly a few years ago and we did the steps, too– they seemed frightening from the bottom but weren’t actually that bad! I really liked walking around the city. So much to see!!
Yes the steps weren’t really that bad… maybe it’s just the excitement that keeps you going… and the Rocky music playing in your head.
You can’t go there and not run up the Rocky steps! Never heard of Federal Donuts, but will have to check it out. How’s parking in Philly?
Oh man, I forgot to write about parking. Well, around the independence mall is only two hour parking on the street so we decided to use a garage instead. The one we used was $20 for up to 12 hours, but we saw cheaper options while walking around. Next time I go to Philly I’ll look for better parking alternatives.
I think if I went to Philly the first thing I’d do is run up the rocky steps. Iconic movie moment!
Indeed.
My brother-in-law lives back there for med school. Keeps promising to get me on Merion but I doubt that will happen. Got to run the steps.
What is Merion and what does it do?
I never knew that was an art museum. I think I thought it was a court house or something…
Yes, I wouldn’t expect it to be an art museum either. Whatever it is, it is beautiful.
Vanilla lavender donuts? That sounds interesting! I haven’t been to a museum in a long time, but I do think they’re worth it, especially when you go on the cheaper days. You’ve inspired me to start looking around at some here!
The donuts were delicious. And you’re welcome. I like museum because I learn something new every time I go. You do have to watch out for the cheaper days and save some money.
I adore historical recreations of rooms and homes, so that would’ve been right up my alley! But, I’m not sure I’d be able to stomach $20 per person. Those steps are gorgeous–I’m impressed with your running prowess! I probably would’ve flailed my way up and tripped over the foot of an unsuspecting passer-by.