There is this movie, or so I’ve heard, called “the Philadelphia Story.” Funny thing is, I have no clue what it is about. I couldn’t tell you who’s in it, when it’s set, if it’s a happy movie, or if it’s a drama – but what I can gather, is that it takes place in Philadelphia. But I suppose that this is all a little bit besides the point, because clearly that is not our story, it’s someone else’s. So let me tell you our Philadelphia story.
While Philadelphia wasn’t where our love story began, in some ways, it is where it really took off. Philadelphia is where we both attended graduate school (at Temple University) (go Owls!), it is where Ryan popped the question, and where I obviously said yes. (Most likely a very loud, YES!) (With mild shrieking.) (Okay, there was most likely a lot of happy shrieking.) It is where we planned our wedding together, moved in together after tying the knot, got our first “real world” jobs, and had our first tastes of that glorious post-college adult life.
The personal touches around our bed and breakfast.
Considering these details, you can only imagine all of the happy memories that we made together while living in the City of Brotherly Love. Yes, Philadelphia is a big part of our story, and probably to nobody’s surprise, that is why we love going back so much.
So when we returned to Philadelphia for a quick visit after the Christmas holiday, and were invited to stay at La Reserve Bed & Breakfast, just a few blocks off of Rittenhouse Square, and only a few blocks from where we had lived together, we instantly felt right at home.
Ryan loved stopping back in the afternoon to enjoy the homemade cookies and sweets.
Based off of our interactions with La Reserve before we arrived, we both had an idea about what our stay would be like. We anticipated a quaint room with beautiful appointments, delicious homemade pastries at breakfast and an extremely accommodating staff. (Which was almost completely spot on.)
Our apartment. The Lafayette Executive Suite.
What we weren’t expecting was to get a whole. entire. apartment. I kid you not. We found ourselves staying in an extremely large, beautifully decorated, one bedroom apartment (that is probably even larger than our two bedroom apartment here in San Diego).
I’m a sucker for natural light. . .and it seemed to just pour into our apartment all day long.
For years I had run down these very streets to the Schuylkill River Trail while we lived in Philadelphia, and I had often wondered to myself what these beautiful row homes looked like on the inside. And there we were, getting to stay in one.
For me, a fluffy messy bed is always the sign of a good night’s sleep.
Our apartment was the perfect home base for us to re-explore the city. And it’s convenience to everything couldn’t have come at a better time. With the temperatures hovering around 10°, we loved being able to quickly scoot in and out to our favorite shops and restaurants.
The city views from our living room and kitchen.
La Reserve gave us a beautiful space to relax in, but also, our stay truly reminded us what it was like to live in the city again. It gave us the opportunity to relive a piece of our Philadelphia story, and that was more magical than anything you might see in a movie.
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La Reserve Bed & Breakfast offered us a complimentary stay while we were in town, however no monetary compensation was received. Everything that I have shared with you is an honest account of our experience.
Homemade cookies and sweets? Count me in!