city of brotherly love

We spent last weekend in Philly sightseeing, baseball watching and relaxing. Here's a little recap of our visit in the city of brotherly love. 

We took Friday off and took a leisurely drive up to Philly. We checked in to the Rittenhouse Hotel and enjoyed their afternoon tea. I love a good high tea, and this was one of the best ones I've had stateside.

That night we went to the Nats vs. Phillies game. Another ballpark crossed off our list, but unfortunately, it was overcast, chilly, and the Nats lost. We went to a second game on Saturday night and it was a repeat of night one. Luckily, the colder weather kept a lot of Phillies fans away so we didn't have to deal with any hecklers. Despite being the city of brotherly love, Philly sports fans aren't exactly known for their love....unless you count their love for booing and heckling.

Saturday morning we started with lattes to fuel up for a day of historical sightseeing. I've never done any of the touristy things in Philly so it was fun to take it all in on a sunny, but breezy day. There was more to see than I thought. We walked A LOT. However, because we did this trip a little more spur of the moment, there was no real planning involved. This is very unlike us...and it reminded me why we usually plan. By the time we strolled over to the old city, Independence Hall tickets were already sold out. Oops. Jon assures me it's just a room so I'm assuming I would have been unimpressed anyway.

Midway through the day, we stopped for cheesesteaks at Sonny's. They were delicious, but I think one cheesesteak every 4-5 years is probably enough for me.

I know this doesn't look great, but it was. I could only eat about half of mine. Cheesesteak: 1. Katie: 0.

Jon finished his like a champ. I definitely recommend Sonny's if you are ever in Philly.

don't be fooled. tis the city of brotherly love in name only.

We brunched on Sunday before crossing the river into New Jersey. I've briefly been to NJ before, but I wanted to make it a little more official.

We randomly picked a park on the riverfront to walk around, but we stumbled upon the USS New Jersey, which is apparently the most decorated US battleship. I wanted to take the tour, but we didn't have time. Again, we probably should have planned better. Maybe next time.

Last, but not least, we did a quick drive-by of the Rocky steps before heading back to DC and cherry blossom madness. On our way back home, we literally saw a mile-long stretch of cars parked on the interstate shoulder. People will stop at nothing to see those trees.