philadelphia

i recently took a trip to new york and during my stay there i ended up taking a couple days away from the big apple to explore the historical city of philadelphia. i am not a huge history buff if i am being honest, but i can respect our country's roots and can say overall i had a pleasant time. it is worth a day trip if you are near the area and want to experience part of our country's origins. some food spots are really great, not to mention the old buildings are stunning and are at every corner you turn.

a few things:

+ the famous love sign! this was in JFK Plaza, aka Love Park. the fountain normally isnt pink, they changed the color for the day for breast cancer awareness.
+ being in philly and a huge foodie, i HAD to try out the philly cheese steak sandwiches (with cheese whiz of course). we tried the two top competitors: pat's king of steaks and geno's. pictured above is pat's, which was my favorite of the two. the meat was juicier and the bread was more flavorful. the cherry peppers were free (and yummy!)
+ the famous rocky steps are picture below the cheese steak. can you believe i have never seen the movie?
+ my favorite part of my philly trip (besides the food i ate) was visiting the eastern state penitentiary. it was fascinating! the surgical light pictured is the actual authentic one used that was left behind due to the bulk
+ the japanese house & garden was closed when we went unfortunately. i bet it would have been really neat inside.
+ if you are ever in philly you MUST try Barbuzzo. i was very skeptical of the place as the menu seemed a bit "healthy" and not very meat lover friendly but every single thing we ate here was so fresh and delicious. highly recommend the goat cheese dishes!