I’ve always lived in the Philly area. I was born here, I grew up here, and I’ve spent a considerable amount of time exploring the many sights and activities unique to the city. Now, as an adult in college with money and easy access to SEPTA transportation, I’ve been able to explore the city on a whole new, more independent level over the past year, and these have been some of my favorite experiences:
August 2021: Summer’s Last Hurrah
On a warm morning in early August, my sister and I made our way to the SEPTA station in Doylestown to acquire our first SEPTA Key cards. At the time the cards were a fairly new program for SEPTA and they function as a reloadable “tap-on-tap-off” transit pass that makes taking the train a breeze. The same morning we bought our cards, we hopped on a train to Suburban Station in Center-City and proceeded to take the beautiful stroll down the Ben Franklin Parkway to our first destination of the day; The Philadelphia Museum of Art. After spending about three hours wandering through the massive maze of rooms in the museum and thoroughly enjoying the wide variety of exhibits, including, of course, the ever fascinating “period rooms”, we made our way back along the parkway to a Whole Foods of all places. But not just any Whole Foods because inside this one were a bunch of restaurants akin to what might be found inside Reading Terminal Market. We made our way towards Goldie, a Falafel stand that also makes Tehina (ground sesame) shakes and smoothies. Our final stop of the day was Independence Mall. Even though we were a good forty minute walk from the mall, we were determined to make it over there for more than one reason. Not only did we want to sit and enjoy the peaceful beauty and openness of the mall, we were also hoping to pay a visit to the world’s largest Wawa. Located adjacent to Independence Hall right on Chestnut Street which encompasses 11,500 square feet, this Wawa is huge and carries a significantly larger variety of snacks and drinks than any other location. We ordered our dinner and had a thorough walk around before sitting and enjoying the mall and making our way to Jefferson Station to catch the train back to Doylestown.
September 2021: Collegefest Freedom
During the second weekend of the school year, many of the city’s museums participated in CampusPhilly’s annual CollegeFest. This event lasts all weekend and allows college students who register to gain free admission to many popular museums as well as free events and food trucks around the city. On the second day of the event, on Sunday, two of my friends and I ventured into the city to see what the event was all about. Being that they are both from the Pocono’s and hadn’t really ever been to the city before, we decided to make a beeline for the Franklin Institute. Even though the institute is designed more for kids, that didn’t stop us from having fun interacting with all of the exhibits. Afterwards, we decided to opt for a more adult activity. We decided that we would make our way to the Barnes Foundation and make a stop for lunch at Pizza Verti on the way. The Barnes Foundation, located just off of the parkway, showcases a private collection of European art, consisting mostly of impressionist works, including those of Cézanne, Renoir, and Monet. The museum building itself could frankly be an art piece and the works it contains are some of my favorites, being a fan of impressionist art myself.
February 2022: Enticing Riverside Entertainment
Just a few months ago, I got to explore an area of the city that I’d previously not seen. My sister and I had, for months, had tickets to see “And That’s Why We Drink” Live; a comedy podcast that tells true crime and paranormal stories who were on tour at the time. The show was at The Fillmore and instead of driving we both decided it would be easier and safer to take the train and walk most of the way before Ubering. We hopped off the train at Jefferson Station and were able to walk most of the way to the venue, through gorgeous Old City, before deciding we should Uber the rest of the way to avoid walking across busy roads. As someone who had never seen a show at The Fillmore before, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the area of the venue was actually really nice. Located just across the street from Rivers Casino Philadelphia, The Fillmore is part of an entertainment complex that includes The Fillmore, The Foundry, and Punch Line Philadelphia. This adventure was also my first time Ubering anywhere and, unsurprising to most, it was really simple and painless to get to and from The Fillmore and Jefferson Station.
March 2022: Unconventional Convention Center
My most recent trip to the city was actually just last month for the Philly Auto Show. My Dad and I have been attending the auto show since I was about seven and this year was no exception, especially since there was no show in 2021 due to Covid. While the auto show was fairly underwhelming compared to previous years, we still decided to make a whole day out of it. After spending only about an hour and a half at the actual event, we made our way across the street from the convention center to Reading Terminal Market to get lunch, which consisted of delicious chicken and waffles and ribs, as well as some truly massive ice cream cones. It was after lunch that we realized we still had about two hours until the next train home. Instead of just sitting around, we spent our time walking around the newly constructed FashionDistrict mall that is connected to Jefferson Station. The mall is surprisingly large and is home to a variety of typical clothing stores as well as a bowling alley, AMC theater, and Wonderscapes, an interactive art exhibit mostly designed for people to get cool Instagram pictures at. While we didn’t shop around too much, we had just as good of a time sitting and people-watching while waiting for the train.
In the future, I’d love to explore the city more thoroughly. Places like the Mutter Museum, full of medical history and oddities, and Elfreth’s alley have always piqued my interest and would make great, easy day trips sometime soon.
