City of Brotherly Love

Since we were heading East for Thanksgiving this year, I figured that I might as well try and add a few extra stops to see some family and friends who live on the East Coast.  Before turkey time in Virginia, I flew into Philadelphia for a few days, and boy was I excited.  But seriously, I really was.  Back home in San Diego we were in the middle of a month-long heat wave (or at least it felt that way), and I was beyond ready for some cool temps and real deal Fall weather.

The only bummer about flying East from San Diego, is that it literally feels like it takes all day.  (Kind of because it does.)  My flight was at 11 a.m., and I didn’t even land until almost 8 p.m. Philadelphia time.  But hey, I wasn’t about to let that get in the way of having a great first night in Philadelphia.

I hustled out of the airport, and was greeted by a cold blast of air.  At first a little startling, but also amazing.  I took a deep breath of that cold air and beamed a huge smile.  I love that feeling of being chilly (note: not freezing).  I grabbed a cab into the city, and checked into my cozy room at the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, where I was welcomed with a great little gift bag from Visit Philly, which of course I tore into right away, and then got settled into my room.

The view from my room was gorgeous, overlooking Penns Landing and the Ben Franklin Bridge.   The city was all lit up, it as the perfect way to start my trip.

After getting my things laid out, I hailed a cab and booked it across town to one of our favorite old haunts for a guaranteed great meal, Monk’s Cafe.

I wouldn’t technically say that Monk’s serves bar food, and I wouldn’t want to call it elevated bar food (think not snobby or tiny portions), it is just really really good food that happens to be in a bar.  And my dinner of choice?  The scallops, a basket of fries and a cold beer.  Yes, it feels so good to be back in Philadelphia.

Only a few hours in, but I already knew that this was going to be a great trip.