WOW! I meant to write this before all of the COVID-19 craziness but this is also a time that is allowing me to sit down and truly write this. I hope that all of you are keeping calm and finding things to keep yourselves busy. This post will be about my day trip to Philadelphia but my next post will include what I am doing to hopefully provide inspiration for the days to come.

About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go visit one of my best friends at his college in Philadelphia. I had not been to this city since my freshmen year of high school when I went on a trip with my school orchestra. On that trip, we saw the Philadelphia Orchestra, went to the art museum, ate at Reading Market, and got a chance to see the city. We also were able to perform and go see the Liberty bell. It was incredible to have a fun trip to not only compete but learn some United States history. We even went around the US Mint! We were only able to have a certain amount of time in each place and I know I did not spend all the time that I wanted to in these places. So, I had three requests: the Art Museum, the Magic Gardens, and Reading Terminal Market. I knew that I had seen most of the art museum but as a huge fan of any and all art museums, I was looking forward to see what new exhibitions they had added. I also wanted to see the Magic Gardens because I had not been before and wanted to experience beyond the photos I had seen on Pinterest. Lastly, I love farmers markets and markets of any kind. From the local farmers markets here as well as Union market, to my time spent in Seattle with their famous Pike Place Market, I am a huge sucker for any market.

The View from the top of Union Station

The night before, I hopped on my train. The drive through D.C. was already gorgeous and I have been loving any and all sunsets recently so I was thrilled when we parked on the roof of Union Station. I also love trains. I was able to catch up on my book; I am the SLOWEST reader when it comes to books for pleasure (I am currently reading “I’ll Give You The Sun”!) and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to get somewhere with it. There were many students on the train, attempting to get home for Spring Break, or at least that is what I assumed. I like to people watch and guess their stories. I arrived around 8PM where Nico was waiting at the wrong staircase with his camera out ready when I came from behind. I had been hit with a bit of work emergency so I dealt with that on my way to his university’s senior showcase which was very entertaining. I could feel the energy of being at an art school immediately. That night, I was able to meet his friends and it was enlightening to be in rooms filled with people passionate about acting and theatre.

The next day, we woke up pretty early because we wanted to have breakfast at this pretty popular place called Green Eggs Café. There is usually a line out the door so we wanted to ensure we would get a table. We got lucky and were able to sit down immediately. The café had wonderful lighting and a great ambiance; and you know the menu is amazing when you just can not decide (I was in between red velvet pancakes and the breakfast burrito… I got the burrito). I also ordered the Nutella Latte and all of their juices were squeezed in house. Amazing. The next time I am in this city, I will be going there again and I recommend it to anyone going; however, they are cash only yet conveniently have an ATM in house. After, we walked around the city and around the shops. None of the shops were open so we killed some time in the Barnes and Noble until our Uber arrived to take us to the Art Museum.

The Philadelphia Art Museum has the famous Rocky Steps leading up to the gorgeous building. You can typically see groups of people running up the steps to commemorate the famous movie. We ran up it as Nico sang the Theme Song. We then were able to walk around the Museum (free of charge for youth!). They had an interesting exhibition that gave me a bit of a Black Mirror vibe and honestly, I am unsure of what it was trying to convey despite reading all the information plaques. Oops. They also have a lot of European and American art; we walked around picking our favorites and kept running into exhibits that reminded us of our High School Theatre productions. 

The Philadelphia Art MuseumThe first thing you see when you enter the doors.

We also ran into Pippin somewhere along this journey.

Still full from breakfast, we then went to the Magic Gardens. We were lucky to receive an immediate ticket inside as well as a discounted ticket for being students. It was more confined than I expected it to be but a really fun place to run around in and take pictures. I was, however, very nervous about falling down the steps because landing on all of this stained glass was not an adventure I wanted to have. After making a couple of rounds, we had seen all of it. We sat in the sun for a bit, looking around reading the walls.

Walking around the Magic Gardens The Magic Gardens

We walked around the city some more and took a couple of breaks. We then indulged in my shopping addiction (I’m working on it😊) and went back to the shops. I had to stop at Urban Outfitters and use one of my many rewards and then through the most gorgeous Anthropologie I have ever seen.

I had to include a photo of the Anthropologie.

We then ate dinner at Reading Terminal Market. Wowie it was so crowded! It reminded me of Pike Place Market but all food on one floor and a lot tighter. We pushed past so many lines in order to see all of the stands and we still missed plenty. After luckily finding a table and eating, we waited for a long time in line for donuts. I had never heard of these donuts before nor eaten one but when I see a line, I feel intrigued to get in because that means whatever is at the end is worth it. But boy was it worth it: Beiler’s Donuts. I had to get six and bring some home for my family (I mean they had one with lucky charms on it! I don’t need to try it to know that these guys are for real.) I ate a single oreo donut while we were there... they were worth it. 

The Oreo Donut. OMG. Still thinking about it.

We rode the train home and I read my book as well as mentally prepared for my tomorrow: a 15 hour work day but one of my most favorite days of the year. Will write about that soon too. I had a blast and was so lucky to be able to travel before all of the crazy. Here's hoping future travel plans don't get cancelled; stay safe! Thanks for reading.