YO! Philadelphia and the Surrounding Area Day 1 We arrive at Philadelphia International (PHL) via US Airways. I’ve read that international passengers have a devil of a time getting through customs and baggage claim at PHL; our domestic flight is on time and baggage is at the carousel in record time. Then we take the SEPTA commuter rail from PHL to Market East Station downtown (next to the Reading Terminal Market) for $7 per person; the train offers a great connection to downtown and takes about half an hour. From the train station, a taxi to Comfort Inn Penn’s Landing (aka Comfort Inn Downtown) costs us $7. We spend the first 2 nights at the Comfort Inn, $234 for 2 nights, including taxes. I’ve read mixed reviews about the hotel. During our stay the hotel staff is friendly and helpful. The room is clean and quiet. It is RIGHT by Interstate 95 and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge; to me the interstate is white noise, but others don’t care for the sound. Room rate includes a nice continental breakfast. There is also a complimentary shuttle (pickup and dropoff) that covers a 20-block radius, perfecting for going to most of the downtown sites. We found the hotel a bargain for the money. My advice is to go and bring ear plugs if the interstate concerns you. All trip information is based on our one-time experience in November, 2007.
The Italian Market (Day 2)
The view of downtown Philadelphia from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (Day 2)
Arriving at Pendle Hill (Day 3)
The Arch Street Friends Meeting House (Day 5)
The Masonic Temple (Day 2)
The exterior and one of many ornate rooms inside
Sharples Dining Hall at Swarthmore College (Day 3)
Reading Terminal Market (Day 4)
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The sun emerges from behind City Hall in downtown Philadelphia
Day 2 After the complimentary hotel breakfast we take a taxi to the Camden, NJ side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge; our cab driver rips us off by claiming a bridge toll for a total fare of $12. We walk across the bridge back into Philadelphia. Great views of the skyline. Back in Philadelphia, we stumble completely by accident onto Elfreth’s Alley (off Front St. between Arch St. and Race St.), the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country. A narrow brick street and beautifully renovated rowhouses. We take our hotel shuttle south of downtown to the Italian Market (starting at 9th St. and Christian St.). We’re still early and a lot of vendors are still getting set up for the day. It is quite a site, mostly food vendors of every variety, including lots of fresh produce and seafood. We walk back to downtown for lunch at Jones (7th St. & Chestnut St.), a reasonably-priced sit down restaurant with funky seventies décor. Friendly service and delicious food. I have a grilled chicken sandwich, Julie has a turkey club, with 2 beverages the total is $22. We walk part of downtown to the Masonic Temple (Broad St. & JFK Blvd.), a truly extraordinary building that looks like a gothic mansion outside and contains a variety of architectural styles inside. As I understand it, this temple is like Mecca for Freemasons in the U.S.; it is still in regular use as a Masonic meeting place. There is a tour scheduled for 2PM, $8/person. Our tour guide is American but has a sense of humor that would be at home in a Monty Python movie. He openly admits that all of the Freemason’s “secrets” can easily be found on the Internet. Many of the country’s founding fathers were Masons and their history is well preserved here. Next we walk through Reading Terminal Market (12 St. & Arch St.). It’s late enough in the day that the market is quiet and a lot of the food vendors have left for the day. Then a long walk back to our hotel to rest. For dinner we take the shuttle downtown; with no restaurant in mind and looking for something low-key, we settle for Jake’s Pizza & Grill. I didn’t record their address and that’s a good thing. We had a blah stromboli and calzone with 2 beverages for $30. The service was absent-minded, at best. Don’t bother. We called our hotel shuttle to pick us up and called it a day. Day 3 We take the hotel shuttle downtown and have breakfast at Kibitz in the City (Chestnut & 7th Streets), which describes itself as a New York deli. I can’t promise that, but our breakfast of 2 ham and cheese omelets, a bagel, home fries, pancakes, and 2 hot beverages comes to $20 and it tastes quite good. We check out of the Comfort Inn and head to PHL to join a group that represents the primary purpose of our trip. A group of 20 Quakers (aka the Religious Society of Friends) from Florida have come here to tour the birthplace of American Quakerism. (For some background on Friends, see www.quaker.org.) We meet our group and head a few miles southwest of Philadelphia to Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for spiritual study and retreats. You do not have to be a Quaker to visit Pendle Hill. It is a beautiful setting in semi-rural Pennsylvania and we arrive as the leaves are changing during a late autumn. Our entire group goes to lunch at the Country Inn Delicatessen near Pendle Hill. Nice country diner type of restaurant. They handle our large group with skill and the food is delicious. Julie and I each have a large sandwich and a beverage, all for $20. After getting settled at Pendle Hill, we visit the Swarthmore Friends Meeting House on the Swarthmore College campus. We gather briefly in the meeting house then walk across the Swarthmore campus to Sharples Dining Hall. Primarily a dining hall for students, guests are welcome. Dinner is served cafeteria style for $7.50/person. We have an ample supply of chicken, vegetables, fruit, desserts, and beverages. It is bustling and noisy and reminds me of my college days, except the Purdue University campus I attended did not have quite such a nice student dining hall. We return to our simple but comfortable room on the blissfully quiet Pendle Hill grounds. Day 4 The room rate at Pendle Hill includes breakfast. All the food is organic and meals are prepared by Pendle Hill residents. We have some delicious cinnamon rolls, granola, and yogurt (all made on site) with some fresh fruit and juice. Our group is traveling in 3 rental vans. We drive into downtown Philadelphia to the Arch Street Friends Meeting at 4th and Arch Sts., built in the 1700s according to Quaker simplicity. Philadelphia was founded by William Penn, a Quaker who believed strongly in freedom of religious expression, so there are a number of historic Quaker Meetings in the Philadelphia area. Anyone can visit a Quaker Meeting for worship, usually held on Sunday mornings. I suggest a little reading up on Quaker faith and practices before doing so, but visitors of all faiths will receive a warm welcome. We walk through downtown to the offices of Friends General Conference (FGC), a group that promotes Quaker awareness and networking for the Society of Friends. After that we all head to Reading Terminal Market, packed with activity during the workday lunch period. The market has a common seating area with food vendors scattered all about. Several of us pick Rick’s Philly Steaks; Julie and I each have a cheesesteak sandwich and beverage, and we share an order of fries, all for $20. I’ve never had a cheesesteak sandwich so I don’t have a reference point. I have no beef (get it?) with Rick’s and I’m glad I had a cheesesteak sandwich in Philadelphia; let’s just say I have no desire to have another. Home Personal Links Image Galleries Journeys The Good Old Days The Movie Quotes Project Fiction Rules of the Road We make a brief visit to Friends Center at 5th and Cherry Streets, a center for Quaker worship and awareness. We tour their facilities, including the lovely Cherry Street Meeting House. Next it’s back to the Swarthmore campus for a tour of the college library’s Quaker archives. Dinner tonight is at Pendle Hill. This costs $11/person and tonight consists of chicken, spinach and a hearty salad. Dinner here is served family style, with large plates served to tables of 6 to 8 people. The food is plentiful and the company is good but dinner does not live up to this morning’s excellent breakfast.
We were this happy to visit Philadelphia