Philadelphia, Pennyslvania



After finals week I had a few extra days before my flight back home to Salt Lake City...so I headed to the Sherwood's once again! Although, this time around, Amanda and I took a tourist trip to Philadelphia! It was awesome, I had no idea how many cool things there were to do and see in Philly!


We made our first stop at the Liberty Bell. That was cool to see, and as a bonus, it was completely empty--that's right, no lines, no people. We then headed over to Independence Hall and got to walk through the whole place! Now I am not a huge history nerd, but this place was seriously cool! Everything was just as it was in 1770; the furnishings, structure, and wall paint color were all from the original building! I got the see the actual room where they signed the Declaration of Independence, and see where George Washington actually sat! You may call me nerdy, but in all honesty it was seriously cool!


Then we walked down this little place called Elfreth's Alley. These are homes that were built in 1713 and have been there ever since (and they are still lived in). It is the cutest little street of old houses with picturesque window shutters, cute cellar doors, and cute colored shingles. Such a darling neighborhood! It literally looked like something out of a storybook!


After Elfreth's Alley, Amanda and I walked over to The US Mint. This is where they make all the money, well the coins anyway. And once again, no one was there. I guess a random Monday in December is the best time to go to Philidelphia. My favorite part was getting to see the actual factory where they make the coins. First they take this gigantic coil of metal and feed it through a machine where it goes though the cutting process then comes out where each coin is stamped and printed. I was fascinated! This trip turned me into such a nerd, but I loved it!


The rest of our time in Philly was spent in Reading Terminal Market area. We made a stop at the LOVE sign, the big city hall Christmas tree, and the German Christmas market. It was there that we stopped for some scrumtious strudels! Reading Terminal Market itself was super fun to walk around in, they had various little shops for just about everything you could imagine! It was there I got an iconic Philly cheesesteak in downtown Philadelphia. I was being so touristy and I am sure the guy making the sandwich thought I was so dumb. While there in the Reading Terminal we also got the best doughnuts I have ever had on this earth. Beliers Doughnuts were to die for, and absolutely delightful. I will dream of the salted caramel doughnuts until the day I die. Seriously, these doughnuts were so good.


To sum it up, I had an awesome time playing tourist for the day and seeing all the sights in downtown Philadelphia. And on top of that I got to hang out with Amanda! The Sherwood family is really the best and I can't thank them enough!  I am so glad I met them over Thanksgiving and am so grateful they invited me back for another visit! I hope to see them again sometime soon!

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