Philadelphia

Last weekend the boys and I packed up and headed to Philadelphia. I've been wanting to go ever since Katie and Aaron moved there last fall, but finally, we actually did it. We always fail to factor in how absolutely ridiculous traffic is in the DC metro area so it took us a little longer than we expected (2 hours longer....) to get there but the important part is we made it. When we arrived Katie and Aaron had some tasty pizza for us (crispy thin crust+potato+corn+feta+rosemary = AMAZING!) and we got to meet some of their friends from church/school.

Saturday we had a leisurely morning filled with plenty of pumpkin bread then the boys and I got on a bus (on which we were the only three white people...) and headed downtown to do some sight seeing. We lucked out and hit some perfect weather, so walking around was incredibly pleasant. We visited Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and a couple of other little spots in the area.  

Liberty Bell

The Boys at Independence Hall

After a little history we headed over to Reading (pronounced Redding) Terminal Market where we met up with Katie and partook of much goodness. The market was totally overwhelming, hoards of people filled the inside and outside of the market along with tons of vendors selling everything from fresh fish to handmade candles. It was so cool! We shared an amazing fresh pretzel and found a couple tasty samples as well. Let me tell you fresh pickles taste nothing like the ones we eat from a jar. After collecting a few goodies from the market we walked over to Jim's Steaks for a taste of an iconic Philly Cheese Steak. It was pretty delicious and I hate to say it even better with cheese whiz on it. 

Jim's Steaks = Yummy Cheese Steaks

After lunch we walked to the waterfront and Benjamin Franklin's grave, among other places, then met up with Aaron for dinner at Han Dynasty. I haven't had good Chinese food in a while so dinner tasted fabulous. Sadly, William was quickly loosing it so we finished up dinner and gladly accepted a ride home with Aaron. 

The poor little guy was pooped!

Once the small cranky man was asleep Aaron and Katie introduced us to the Kinect. After a few games, Aaron kindly stayed with sleeping William while Katie took us to the best gelato ever. Sweet Potato Praline, Thai Coconut Milk, Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Apple Pie were in our bowl. Oh my goodness. It was beyond delicious. We may have to go back just for more gelato.

Sunday morning we went to Katie and Aaron's branch. I've never been to a branch before, so meeting on the upper floor of an office building in such small numbers was certainly a new experience. After some delicious roast with veggies and baguette with homemade ricotta and nutella we had to head home. 

It was a fabulously low key weekend. I had a lovely time relaxing with Greg, visiting with Katie, getting to know Aaron, touring Philly and eating lots delicious food. Katie's apartment is gorgeous (hello roof top deck with city view!) and both Greg and I really enjoyed Philadelphia. We'll definitely have to make it back there again sometime soon! Thank you Katie and Aaron for such a lovely weekend!