in the streets of philadephia

Since Philly is so close to NYC it was worth a little jaunt over to visit some friends and check out the city.

When we got off the bus at around lunch time our number one priority was to get a Philly cheesesteak sandwich stat.  We were strictly advised not to get one from any of the touristy locations, as we’d be surely disappointed AND we wanted nothing but the real deal.  Directions were given to go directly to Paesano’s in the Italian market. So that’s what we did, and this is what was ordered; The Paesano -beef brisket, roasted tomato, sharp provolone, horseradish mayo, the signature fried egg all stuffed into a hot and fresh hoagie bun.  A delivery of hot buns arrived as our order was being taken, so you knew everything was going to be fresh and melty good.  Steve took one bite of his sandwich and nearly died right then and there -it was so damn good!

Besides the awesome sandwich, and fantastic Italian market, Philly is rampant with about a million murals that spread throughout the city.  It’s actually really gorgeous, and a lot of them depict specific historical figures and events that occurred in that particular area.  One of my favourites was this pixelated mural of trees in blossom coinciding perfectly with Philly’s early spring tree blossoms.  You can see some of the fabulous murals of Philadelphia here -you gotta love cities that invest in community and art projects like this one: The Mural Arts Program.

We ended our afternoon in the city of brotherly love in an gorgeous 1800 Victorian themed brew house called the Farmer’s Cabinet, where deliciously unique and exquisite beers were sampled.

I definitely want to come back again to Philadelphia to spend a little more time checking out all of its history and secret dug-out spaces.