Coming from Maryland, living in New York City has been a blast. I am constantly learning and exploring new parts of the city and in awe of everything about it. I love calling this my home away from home, but my exploration and curiosity don’t end here. I love to travel and see new things, whether it’s a small town I’ve never been to or a new country unlike my own. I am so grateful to have ventured on many travels at such a young age and hope I am able to continue doing so throughout the entirety of my life. With that, if you are in New York, or anywhere you can access transportation here (like near DC, where I’ve done this trip before), I invite you to explore with me in Philadelphia for a day.
1st Stop: I live an hour out of Manhattan and we want to make the most out of this trip, so we will start it very early. Make sure you get plenty of rest the night before as we will wake up at 4 am to catch the bus and train at 5:30 am that will take us to Moynihan Train Hall. Early trains typically cost less, especially if they are one-way (like we will be doing today). We will take the Amtrak train out of New York City at 7 am sharp to start our journey to Philly.
2nd Stop: We arrive at Philadelphia’s William H. Gray III Train Hall around 8:30 am. Throughout the train ride, we saw the views of New Jersey and Pennsylvania scenery. We get out and find a local restaurant to have breakfast. Personally, I went to the Walnut Street Cafe, which opened at 9 am, and ordered their chicken and waffles to eat. Although it was more pricey than I would have hoped, it was good. As long as you fuel up and have a good meal to start the day, you’ll be good to go.
3rd Stop: We’re going to visit my best friend at her campus at the University of Pennsylvania. I love this campus and visiting this school, however, I’ve never been a student here, so I’ll never fully know this school, just my outsider perspective. Once we reunite with my friend, we take the trolleys and train to Temple University, where we find various schools, including ours (UPenn and St. John’s) competing in a fencing tournament. We watch for about an hour until we’re ready to go eat lunch.
4th Stop: Pho in Philly! Other than my best friend being here, I would have to say the food, especially the Pho, is my favorite part about Philadelphia. Every time I visit Philly, I always eat well. A few blocks off Broad Street, you can find my all-time favorite Pho restaurant, PhoToday. On the walk there, you can find glass murals that are all over the city and beautiful to take pictures in front of. If you can, this is a must-visit, 10/10 restaurant for me, and is very affordable. My go-to order has to be the A1- Crispy Spring Rolls and the P10- plain Pho and Broth. I always leave this restaurant very satisfied and always find myself coming back to it.
5th Stop: Although we are very full now, it’s time to stock up on snacks and food to go to the Reading Terminal Market. This place truly has it all. It’s a huge market full of food vendors and restaurants that never ends. Here, you can find sandwiches, pasta, sushi, cheesesteaks and plenty more to choose from. Whatever your heart desires, you will find it.
6th Stop: As I mentioned, Philly has great food. And other than the beautiful scenery you will find just walking through this city, I couldn’t possibly let you finish your trip without a cheesesteak! Now I’ve tried a few places, and the journey to find my all-time favorite spot has not finished, however, my current favorite place that I recommend is Jim’s Steaks. It was simple, it was classic, and it was very delicious. They have good portions, and the price was a little high, but I heavily enjoyed their cheesesteak and would definitely go back again!
7th Stop: Now the day is over and it’s time to head back, to save some money, we’re going to take the Peter Pan Bus from Schuylkill and Walnut to Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York to end the trip.