Philadelphia Unveiled: Budget Touring America’s Revolutionary Roots
Day 1 of my visit to Philadelphia — Staying at Aloft in Center City
Day 1 of my visit to Philadelphia
I started the day by changing my hotel room from an upgraded King suite to two queens because I wanted a tub. Philly is a walkable city, meaning it’s preferable (easier and cheaper) to take public transportation and walk rather than drive. As somebody who walked 16,000 steps today, I’m glad I made that choice. My feet hurt so bad. Soaking helped. I’m super happy I made that one of my deciding factors for choosing a hotel. Also, the King suite had mirrors everywhere facing the bed. The room I moved to did not. It’s a business hotel catering primarily to men on business trips. I’m assuming they love the mirrors. Having watched too many horror movies when I was younger, I don’t.
It’s a nice place. I chose it because of the location. While I’m a bit of a penny-pincher, I didn’t want to take the train in every day because I like to stop at my hotel when I can for unpredictable breaks (like needing a battery charger for my phone or a midday nap). Staying by the airport could net sub-$100/night stays. My stay was closer a little about $175/night. The other benefit about staying in slightly nicer hotels is they work with you, to get you your tub. Many of the bargain hotels know they’re cheap and pretty much tell you to deal with it. When I couldn’t splurge, I would have (and did) stay at budget hotels rather than stay home. There’s no shame in being careful with money. I used my GoCity pass (If you purchase with this link and type in my name Victoria Brooks at the checkout, you’ll get 5% off) to cover most of my site seeing. I plan most of my domestic vacations around these cities because I save quite a bit of money and get to do most of the tourist traps.
I started my adventure, heading to Big Bus, where you can jump off or jump on at any of its stops. I like to start my trips with these tours to help me get familiar with the city’s layout. The tour guides usually have tips and tricks to maximize your time. ChatGPT now plans my vacation itinerary after a few trips where I designed my trip alongside ChatGPT. We came out with similar itineraries, while it took me hours to plan. It took ChatGPT seconds to do the same and grouped the days in similar geographical locations to minimize travel time. I still like to stay flexible based on what I learn. For example, I learned of the Italian market in Philly and took a detour out there later in the trip.
I pass by Trader Joe’s, which I love. On many of my trips, I like to have food in the hotel fridge — mixed-cut fruit for breakfast. I keep energy bars, nuts, and seeds packed because I don’t know when I’m going to eat. I often pack my schedule, and a Kind bar can keep me going for a couple of hours. Before the trip, I planned to get most of my groceries there. I like to eat healthy and keep food costs lower by making my food. But who I was kidding? This time, I wouldn’t. Philly is a foodie haven, so I went in another direction and hoped my body wouldn’t protest too much. I can’t eat like I did in my 20s without severe consequences: energy degradation, feeling sick, etc. Philly has named chefs, and the food is affordable (less than $20, sometimes less than $10). They elevate cheesesteaks and french fries to high art and I’m all for it.
I passed Reading Terminal on the way and decided to pop inside. It has excellent food of all varieties, and the prices were very reasonable. An attractive CSI forensic investigator ordered food in front of me at the Thai/Indian Hybrid booth. From the sounds of it, he’s there almost daily. I wanted to ask him questions about his job, but I didn’t. Day 1 breakfast was shrimp phad thai — don’t judge.
The hop-on, hop-off bus was right outside. A young black achievement march encouraged black youth to get educated by their community. I loved that the rally was a positive inspiration, by the black community for the black community.
I rushed to the Constitution Center because I didn’t realize it was open all week. In many places, the museums are closed on weekends, not Philly. While I didn’t get through it all because I wanted to catch the Founding Fathers tour, it has a compelling theater show in a circular theater room. It points out the inherent flaws of our government. It also covers how it was designed many years ago to try and overcome the issues they had dealt with under British rule.
Since I’ve been to New York City several times, I expected that there would be a subway on every corner that we could hop into and go up the block. That is not the case. They do have a subway system, but there isn’t the kind of intense coverage like Manhattan. Philadelphia is sprawled out. I was surprised by the amount of sprawl because it’s not nearly as dense or concentrated as Manhattan. It’s something in between. I’m still figuring out the transportation system.
There’s excellent food on almost every corner, and it’s reasonable compared to Austin. I shouldn’t be surprised because the food is yummy and cheap whenever I visit New York.
I attended the Founding Fathers tour. I’m big on tours because I like to learn the history of places, and the guides often recommend less touristy places to hang out. While I’m a tourist trap collector, I also enjoy spending time with the locals to understand what a place is like.
We walked past the grave of Ben Franklin at Christ Church burial ground and learned about the Quakers and their role in the fight for liberty. We also spent time at the first capitol of America before it eventually moved to Washington D.C. We visited Ben Franklin’s home and workplace, bringing new insight into working from home. He printed his newsletter right next to his home in a different building, then opened a post office beside his printing room.
The tour guide wasn’t very knowledgeable nor entertaining, and we had very tight timelines when we had time to look around ourselves. Sometimes you score, sometimes not so much. I still had more background than if I had done a self-tour. There was a Hollywood type and his son that were rather entertaining. Especially his son, who was still at an age that couldn’t comprehend the richness of history he was experiencing. He thought it sucked and wanted to go back to L.A., because it’s the best. His son and I will have to agree to disagree on that.
I went to the Independence Hall Visitor Center, watched a few videos, and talked to the visitors’ people because I was like, “What is there to do in Philadelphia?” It seems like everything closes at five.” They recommended seeing the Liberty Bell. The lines die down after 5, so I did. I heard it was tough to get into, but there was no line.
I went back to see Independence Hall and now planned to take as much time as I wanted even though it was near closing time.
Then I had a chicken Philly cheesesteak sandwich from Sonny’s. That bread is just incredible. It reminded me of Nola’s po’boys, so good. Most cheesesteak places only have steak, no chicken, so I was delighted to try it. It’s also one of the more famous cheesesteak places. It’s like a diner and they have the NE accents. One of my favorite things about the NE is the regional accents.
I took an Uber to the Philadelphia Museum of Art late at night. They do that on the first Friday of the month — many museums are open late (until 9 pm). It’s where the infamous Rocky training running up the steps took place. I understand why. That is one heck of a training regiment. It had so many A-list painters. They have a ton of Monets. They have some Manets as well. I believe they also had Degas. It’s too big to get through in a couple of hours. I missed out on a floor and a half.
I took a picture of the Rocky statue, but it didn’t turn out well because it was at night. The lighting is awful there. I didn’t bring a light source. Next time I might bring a couple of flashlights. Since I now post my travel pics, I’ve gotten way pickier about how they look.
I captured beautiful images of Philadelphia at night. Unfortunately, my phone was about to die; otherwise, I would have stayed out. In later days, I brought my laptop battery brick with me so I wouldn’t worry about losing the phone charge before I was done with the day.
It didn’t surprise me that they complained about British rule and how the Brits were unfair. In the same breath, they talk about how our founders were slave owners and violated others’ rights. It hit home that either you fight against the tyranny or become oppressed. Then, there’s the perspective from the beholder’s point of view. One of the ladies I was on tour with, from England said it’s interesting how much they talk about how Boston was the center of everything happening. In Philadelphia, they say everything is the center of everything going on.
It reminds me of an adage I heard. There’s his point of view, her point of view, and then there are the facts, meaning every retelling is biased.
I find it compelling how the Americans felt like the British were violating them yet did the same to others. They violated pacts with the Native Americans and kept slavery. Women were property. John B. Adams’s wife, Abigail, encouraged her husband to think of women in his work. Later, JFK and Lyndon B. Johnson made progress with the civil rights movement after Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X fought for it. Women, too, had to fight for their rights. Today, we’re facing it again. Those rights weren’t granted because it was the right thing to do. It was given because of the consequences, out of necessity.
I visited Atlanta, last year, which still has hard feelings from the civil rights movement. I also visited Albuqueque’s Indian Pueblo Cultural Center earlier this year, which covers how the native American’s were forced out of their culture and mandated to learn Christian religion and adopt western values, it’s easy to see the inherent duplicity in our nation’s values.
History is layered, nuanced and full of grey areas. There are tales of triumph, of subterfuge, of love, loss and broken promises. There isn’t the reductionist propaganda that social media often portrays, creating villains out of ordinary people. If we see each other’s layers, it’s harder to hate one another. It’s easy to create and serve simplistic viewpoints to people who lack critical thinking skills to inspire the divide.
Shortly before Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, he changed his focus from civil rights to classism. He believed that the real issue was between the wealthy and the poor. To unite the poor, would create real change because there were numbers in that. Poor whites faced the same challenges that poor people of color faced with the exception of racism. Poor whites embraced this feeling of privilege so they could feel better than someone else, thereby siding with their oppressors. Without the numbers, the wealthy could continue the system that benefitted them without fear of an uprising. In Philly, I thought a lot about that visit to Martin Luther King, Jr’s memorial in Atlanta and the similarities in America’s fight for freedom.
Those who don’t know history repeat it. Those who do often have watch as it repeats because of the masses that don’t. I’m glad I took the trip. I always am.