The Philadelphia Story- new entries 2004

While visits to Constitution Hall and the Liberty Bell are considered mandatory for visitors, unless you are a history buff they may not be the most interesting. (I recommed a quick trip thru.) Save more time for exploring other memorable spots in the the "Historic District" of Philadelphia which includes Ben Franklin's restored home and museum,(excellent for kids!) Betsy Ross's home, Elfreth's Alley and various stations that were part of Underground Railroad. In the huge museum area ( located on Ben Franklin Parkway/Eakins Oval to Logan Circle)visit the Civil War Museum, the Art Museum, Museum of Natural Science, Franklin Institute (must see for kids and adults!), Please Touch Museum, Mummers Museum and a dozen others. Don't forget the new Kimmel Center for the best in musical and live performances! There are always Broadway shows playing at a number of great theaters downtown.

Another must see- the Reading Terminal on Market Street, unfortunately it is closed on Sundays. If you like zoos, Philly has a terrific one with a new balloon ride that takes you up for a bird's eye view of the entire city!

Quick Tips:

Don't forget a self-guided tour of China Town
and the famous Italian Market in South Philadelphia (9th Street)-home of the Philadelphia Cheese Stea). Walk or ride a bike along Kelly Drive, buy a soft pretzel with mustard from a street vendor, and make sure you look for William (Billy) Penn standing at the top of City Hall at the end of Broad Street!If you are up to it there are stairs inside so that you can walk to the top but it is sometimes a long wait.

Best Way To Get Around:

You can take any number of trains from the suburbs of New Jersey or Pa. Once there,bus,taxi or subway are your best bets. Driving is tough and parking a nightmare. Best way to see Philly is on foot or horse-drawn carriage.

I enjoy "adventure" in dining and that makes Marrakesh one of my favorite places to take visitors for something "off the beaten path". They serve a prix fixe menu every night and $20 for this 7 course feast is a bargain!

The aura of mystery begins with the location; the spot is tucked away in an alley (Leithgow) off of South St. between 4th & 5th Ave. When you see the huge, ornate, wooden doors, you knock with a brass door knocker and are welcomed inside. Instantly you will feel transported outside of Philly. The strains of Moroccan music,the beaded room dividers,the smells of saffron, cinnamon and other spices send a signal to your brain that something unusual is about to happen. You are seated on couches (very comfy and romantic) with lots of pillows in front of a rather small round table. Your waiter (looking a great deal like a genie out of a bottle) sits on a little hammock in front of you and recites the menu choices. He explains that you will be eating, for the most part, without utensils and how you can accomplish this task. Next,a Turkish towel is draped in your lap (like a huge napkin-I liked this!). A large pitcher with long neck is brought around so you may cleanse your hands before the meal. The first course is a selection of salads with carrots, eggplant, lentils and other ingredients mixed with unusual spices. Spicey but not hot. The salads are served in small bowls and you use pieces of pita bread (baked fresh) to scoop it up and into your mouth. Fun.

The next course "pastilla" is one of my favorites but hard to describe. It is a large round pastry of phyllo filled with chicken, raisins, spices (cinnamon) then covered, baked and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It is yummy and you eat it with your hands. This is followed by a choice of a chicken or rabbit dish and then a course of couscous (a small rice-like grain) steamed with a delicious assortment of vegetables and spices. For this we were issued a spoon, which came in handy. After that came mint tea, a selection of Moroccan pastries (baklava and others) followed by some fresh fruit. The meal is served very leisurely and is a great conversation starter or romantic spot for a first date. Live belly dancers are available by request but must be reserved ahead of time.

The whole atmosphere is designed for your dining pleasure and it succeeds in this department quite well.

This trendy addition to the Philly restaurant scene features contemporary Asian creations served family style in somewhat dramatic surroundings which include a 10 foot gold Buddha and glass-encased waterfall. The menu is truly creative but not daunting and there are choices to appeal to the even the most traditional of diners. The fun part is that your choices are served, one at a time, in a family style manner that allows each guest to sample what others have ordered in a tasteful and dignified manner. The entrees, while pricey, even allowed enough to take home. The Angry Lobster (excellent), Wasabi-crusted Filet-Mignon and Lobster Fried Rice were most memorable. Dont ask me about desserts-they looked fabulous but alas I had no room. Word of advice-Dont try to rub the tummy of the 7ft Buddha (as I had been told to do by a friendwho had been there). It's virtually impossible without walking across someone's table and standing in the middle of their meal!

The ride starts out under a nice canopy of trees from Betzwood Trail in Valley Forge Park, through Port Indian, Norristown, Conshohocken, Manayunk, Fairmount Park and ending at the Philadelphia Art Museum. You are following a converted "Rails to Trails" path along the Schulykill River as it travels east into the City of Brotherly Love. High points are all places EXCEPT the the first mile in and out of Norristown. You lose the heavy shade for a mile or so and the odor of the waste treatment plant can be a little funky in mid-summer. It only takes a minute or two to get through this section and the rest is easy riding. It is a flat, paved level path. You can make the trip one way and arrange for someone to pick you up at the Art Museum. Round trip is not that difficult (total 36 miles). For beginners I recommend going as far as Manayunk, stop at an outdoor cafe for lunch (lock your bike at bike stands provided), then ride back. I have made this ride during every season of the year and it is beautiful each time.

This area has been known traditionally as the "Italian" market for years,but you will surprisingly find many of today's vendors of the Asian persuasion. Which just goes to show that quality meats,produce,etc... have no cultural boundaries. One of the hottest stops on any tour of the Italian Market is DiBruno Brothers cheeses. This family owned and operated business still maintains the "old-world" quality and is full of the traditional Italian smells and tastes you may crave. Vendors will let you taste-test a cheese before buying, but you can easily walk out of there with a WHOLE LOT OF CHEESE!!! It all tastes great!

Another excellent place for true Italian delicacies is "Talluto's." This place rocks with fresh-made specialty pastas (available fresh and frozen), sauces, imported meats and the best selection of olives I have encountered anywhere on the East Coast. Also available here, the best Italian Hoagie in the city and good selection of real prosciutto,mortadella and capicolla as well as salami and soppressate. If you are interested in carrying home a fresh-killed goat,lamb or eel there are places along 9th street where you can find just such a thing. Don't forget the "War of the Philly Steaks." Two nearby steak sandwich emporiums (Gino's and Nick's) have battled it out for years trying to produce the best cheese steak. A hint; they both use velveeta so take it from there. Look elsewhere in Philly for the best.

Produce of every description abounds in outdoor stalls year round and even in cold weather you will find vendors and patrons alike huddled around huge "trash" can fires talking, smoking, etc...Legend says this is how the "doo-wop" music of South Philly got its start with acapella groups harmonizing in settings like this. At any rate, the Italian Market is certainly worth a trip for anyone who loves local color and loves to eat!

Since the Reading Terminal Market is too large to adequately cover in one journal entry, I'll just cover restaurants in this one. The Market started in the 1800s when farmers came to town to sell produce, meat,etc... It's conveniently located right across from the Market St. Train Station and subway entrance. If you enter on Filbert St., the best bet is to head to the far left and start your tour there.

First row at left(12th St.side) includes The Rib Stand, a real down-home spot for ribs and roasted potatoes. Then there's Pearl's Oyster Bar, one of my favorite stops. It's always crowded as the oysters and seafood are fresh and delicious and give you a real taste of Philly. The next row finds another popular spot...the Dutch Eating Place, run by Amish and Mennonite workers who are the real McCoy...and so is the food! I took my brother and a friend and they chowed down on a breakfast of scrabble, fresh fried eggs, applebutter and schmierkase (a kind of cottage cheese). There's a great set of hoagie vendors in this row as well...Rocco's and Spataro's.

For more exotic fare try Sang Kee Peking Duck, right out of Chinatown(the ducks are hanging by their necks in front of stand) not for the squemish...but the Shanghai Gourmet Restaurant, also in this row, serves fresh, better than ordinary Cantonese, Mandarin and Szechuan meals. There is also a Tokyo Sushi Bar,located only a few feet away from Amish butchers and produce stands. There's a Mexican Cantina (so-so),a decent vegetarian snack bar and fresh-roasted turkey sandwiches and platters right next to each other in this aisle. For great Southern cuisine there's Delilah's, Down Home Diner and Fireworks!

For Greek and Middle Eastern try Olympic Gyro and Kamal's Middle Eastern Specialties. For seafood there are 4 great Asian seafood markets where you can get your meal cooked right there; Coastal Cave,Golden Fish Market,Johnny Yi Fish Market and Kim's Seafood . This is just a sampling of eating establishments I have personally visited and loved in this Philadelphia must-see!

The Market is closed Sunday.

Besides restaurants the Reading Terminal Market also has a myriad of small stands where you can purchase fresh food items to take home and put together your own gourmet meal. I recommend bringing a cooler,with ice and a large, sturdy shopping bag.

Get a map when you first walk in and if you're with a group, pick a common meeting spot (a good place is the big stone pig, Philbert, near center.

For fresh produce you have choices among Asian,Italian, Pennsylvania Dutch and several organic stands.Each one has a little something different to offer. For bread that tastes as good as that in New York, try Le Bus or Metropolitan Bakery...a little pricey but worth it. Don't leave without stopping at Termini's Italian Bakery stand (row 3) for some Sicilian cookies or fresh cannolis.

If you are interested in seafood,the selection is UNBELIEVABLE. I found prawns the size of small lobsters for a very reasonable price. Vendors are more than happy to answer questions and though I've tried many it seems to me the Asian seafood guys have the freshest fish.

Old City Coffee carries not only every conceivable flavor of coffee but an unbelievable selection of teas as well. If you're thirsty for something else there's Four Season's Juice Bar for fresh blended drinks and smoothies,and even a Beer Garden serving domestic and imported beers,wines and spirits.

There are several Amish stands clustered next to each other for fresh eggs, turkey products,REAL original hot pretzels- made on site. Then there's Glick's Salads for pickled chow-chow,apple butter and honey. Keep moving and you'll find several Pennsylvania Dutch butchers (with pork,veal,prime beef,sausage,lamb) and poultry vendors,(with home-raised duck,geese,turkey and game birds). Pick up some fresh Lebanon Bologna at any of the Amish butchers, take it home,spread it with Philly cream cheese and slice into rounds. Heaven! Move along and you'll find farm fresh dairy products(with ice cream, fresh-churned butter and local cheeses).

An interesting day stand is My Kid's Dairy where fresh goat's milk cheese and goat's milk fudge are sold... This is just a small sampling of the many quality items sold at Reading Terminal Market. You will have to come and see yourself the best that Philadelphia has to offer!

The Philadelphia Marathon is traditionally run on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It is made up of several thousand runners from all over the WORLD who come to test their skills on this 26 mile loop. Because of the interesting and varied scenery it is a popular run that even beginners have been able to complete with decent times on their first marathons. There are not any terribly steep hills and there is a "turnaround" in the town of Manayunk.

Crowds throng along the Schulykill River in this "tres chic" little outpost of the city and the runners receive much encouragement to continue on the remaining six or so miles from this point.

Thumbs down- 'Right to Life' protestors who posted huge, gory, highly-prejudicial posters of aborted fetuses along the route about two miles from the finish. This was a cowardly, un-Christianlike exhibition that went beyond the right to Freedom of Speech. Other than that the marathon was well-organized and an outstanding experience to all who participated. See you again next year!

Well. . . there are a lot of cars, an awful lot of cars. And a lot of people: babies, toddlers, crumb-crushers, curtain-climbers, rug rats, and an assortment of every other age of child imaginable. Most of them were crying or whining. I felt their pain.

If you are not totally in love with cars in general (like my husband) and have no interest in them other than that they get you to your next destination with a minimum of fuss (like me), you will find it an hour or so of SHEER TORTURE.

On the other hand, if you love sitting in cars and developing an "ass-memory" for the ones you like best, go right ahead and be my guest. You will love it.

The fourth floor (the most crowded) was filled with the glamourous, luxury cars like the Infiniti’s, Jaguars, Mercedes, BMWs, and Acuras. I have to admit the assortment of styles, colors, makes, models, and variety of features is astonishing. I have included pictures of ones that caught my attention for at least five seconds. There are also lots of advertisers handing out literature and a few sales representatives available to answer any questions you might have. Most of them were swamped, however, and it would have been tough to stand in line waiting to talk with them.

Other than that, it’s a lot of walking, pushing, and shoving through big crowds laced with strollers, wheelchairs, motor-heads, football players, men and women in the crux of mid-life crisis. . . and cars. That’s it: just cars. Wear comfortable walking shoes; although the demo areas are mainly padded with cushy carpets, the convention center floor is pretty unforgiving on the feet.

Leave behind the "roar of the madding crowd" and take a 40 minute drive outside of Philadelphia on Route 73 (Skippack Pike) to the one of the quaintest little shopping villages in the state... Skippack. Once a stop on the 1900's rural trolley route, it is now restored Victorian village filled with charming little shops, restaurants, art galleries, etc... It's the perfect spot for a day of browsing off the beaten path.

Creativity and craftsmanship are two of the hallmarks that shopowners in the town must convey with their shops. This is not a typical "tourist-trap" type souvenir spot. Many shops are tiny and are tucked into renovated 18th and 19th century buildings, homes, barns, etc... There are approximately 60 shops that feature everything from doll houses and doll house miniatures to pottery, designer jewelry, New Age artifacts and a myriad of other specialties .

Skippack has distinguished itself in American history as one of General Washington's encampments during the Revolutionary War. A variety of special events take place year round which feature antique cars, costumed reenactors, craft fairs.