From Malvern to Philadelphia

What we did:

Philadelphia Hop-On Hop-Off: We’ve made a habit of taking one of these tours in major cities where our time is limited. In that way, you learn about a wide variety of history and culture and can then decide which ones you want to focus on during the next trip around. We just happened to catch the last bus of the day, which happened to be a marvelously sunny one sandwiched between two crappy ones. Our tour guide and bus driver were both knowledgeable and talked almost the whole time about what we were seeing. We did not plan to get off at all this trip as we knew there wouldn’t be another bus coming along, so we just made note of our favorite areas as we drove by. They next day we hopped on right outside of our hotel, but not before learning that they sell discounted tickets to the places we were most interested in visiting. We had a different tour guide this time who told some of the same information as the day before, but she had her own interesting spin on the stories she told. She dropped us at the Penitentiary, and when we hopped back on at the Museum of Art several hours later it was on her bus again and she even remembered our names and where we’re from. Our next Hop-Off was to visit the Mutter Museum and she helpfully told us which stop we needed. By the time we were done at the Mutter we elected to walk the mile or so back to our hotel rather than wait for the next bus.

Eastern State Penitentiary: This was a great thing to do on a cool-ish mid-week day. It wasn’t over-run by school groups, which many of the other “museums” are during the week. From the moment you walk through the doors to buy your tickets and get the audio guide (no extra charge), you’re in the belly of the prison. Having Steve Buscemi narrate the guide was a stroke on genius on somebody’s part, and the voices of previous inmates and guards in certain sections really personalized the experience. I liked that one of the corridors was dedicated to prison art and interpretations and Al Capone’s luxuriously appointed “suite” was preserved. It was the last thing we saw before we left the building and was a striking comparison to how the rest of the inmates had to live.

Philadelphia Museum of Art: We didn’t have time to go inside, but oh how I wanted to. Instead, I satisfied myself with a run up the famous “Rocky steps.” The view at the top is spectacular. Its worth the trip up them just to get a video of yourself doing it and a panoramic picture from the top.

Mutter Museum: We had a limited amount of time to spend and a lot to chose from, but I narrowed my selection to this one and the penitentiary because they’re both unique and small enough to enjoy thoroughly in a couple hours each. I picked the Mutter Museum, too, because I had seen one very similar to it in London and was fascinated by the collection. This collection is not quite as bizarre, but maybe that’s just because of the way the exhibits are organized. All neat and tidy with everything in its place. Neither one of us are grossed out by any part of the human anatomy, inside or out, but the eyeballs gave me the heebee geebees. I don’t like being poked in the eye so seeing them on display like that made me want to close them real tight.

Where we sipped and supped:

Davio’s (dinner, King of Prussia, PA): We’ve eaten at the Davio’s in Foxboro, MA, so knew that we were in for a treat when we learned our business dinner would be at Davio’s in KoP. We were greeted at the reception desk by two lovely young ladies who guided us to our private room and then were attended to the entire evening by a young woman who seemed to be our own private valet of sorts. She made sure we had everything we needed, whether we had asked for it or not. Although our table configuration changed due to several people not showing up, they brought the appetizers out to match the new seating so there was no fighting over who was going to get the spares. The only reason I gave a rating of four over five is because the room was frigid when we got there and the chicken was a little dry.

McGilley’s Olde Grille (drinks): This was our first stop after checking in to our hotel and before catching a Hop on Hop Off for a quick tour of the city. We were only here for a warm-up beer. The place is old and seems to cater to locals and tourists during the day and all that plus the young partiers by night. Even without knowing its history you can tell its an old staple in this part of town. Its definitely got character, and I’m not just talking about the bartenders and locals.

Field House (drinks/snacks): Everything about this place is average, from the beer (flat-ish) to the wings (dry-ish) to the service (surly).

Jamonera (dinner): On warms days, there are tables set up on the sidewalk which expands the total seating by almost half. The space is very small and intimate, so if you have a large party your best bet is to either reserve the entire restaurant for your group, or go somewhere else. I recommend you not go somewhere else. I also recommend you try a variety of their tapas, especially the bacon wrapped medjool dates. They quite literally melt in your mouth. For the main course we shared the seafood paella. Its not on par with the very best that we’ve had in Barcelona, but quite good, generously portioned for the two of us, and filling.

Jack’s Firehouse (lunch): It was a slow rainy day and we were famished after a long self guided tour of the prison digs. It was either this or the dive looking bar a block or so up the street. We were so glad we picked this place. He had the pulled pork nachos and I had the lentil soup. We both devoured the pre-meal biscuits. We were both very pleased with our selections and enjoyed the fire house ambiance complete with the open air garage doors.

The Happy Rooster (drinks): It had been a long and fruitful day of sightseeing and we had a little time before dinner so we stopped in here for a gap beer. We were the only patrons at that time. The staff seemed lively. Not overly friendly at first, but they warmed up. The red candles are a nice touch to the bar.

TIME (dinner): We came early and left late and could not find a single flaw in the entire evening. The only complaint we had was about ill-behaving customers seated at the table next to the band and a woman who was trying to bully the young lady dining alone next to us out of her seat. Neither of these were a reflection on the restaurant so they still get a five star rating from us. From the time we walked into the bar we were given the five star treatment, despite the fact that we were wearing our tourist street clothes complete with ball caps to keep the wind from turning our hair into whips. I can’t even decide my favorite part of the evening. Its a toss-up between the Absinthe sampler (the Grande Absinthe was my fav), the braised chicken bucatini, listening to Pete and Chris, the attentive bartenders, or the people watching. I’m glad we saved this for our last meal of the trip. Otherwise, we might have returned here night after night and blown our travel budget. As it was, we spent five hours here and ended up eating a late night snack on top of the dinner we consumed. We just did not want to give up our primo bar seats.

Where we stayed:

Desmond Hotel (Malvern, PA): We don’t often stay at “off-brand” hotels, but when we do this is the kind we prefer. Its classy and slightly out-dated, but undergoing renovations. We love that they are keeping the four poster bed theme as part of the upgrades. It was truly a unique experience. It takes a bit of a launching to get up in it, but worth the trip. We only stayed one night and had dinner reservations elsewhere, but if we ever make it through this way again I’d like to stay and have dinner at the pub.

Philadelphia Marriott Downtown: Everything you need and want to do is within walking distance from this hotel, and a Hop On Hop Off stop is right outside. Our only two complaints were that the day bartender was grumpy and they didn’t have beer on tap. The fitness center was fantastic, but we never did get to use the pool. We picked this hotel so I could swim, but it was in high demand from fellow travelers and fitness center members. There were people lined up on the loungers waiting their turn in the lap lane and that’s just not how we wanted to spend our limited time in the city. We opted to get the rest of our exercise by walking.