Pages

10.03.2012

A US HISTORY DAY IN PHILLY


so, i have a giant crush on philly now.

we spent saturday poking around the historic sites in philly,
sampling some cheese steak sandwiches,
and otherwise torturing our cranky toddler. ;)

...downtown...
...old town...
...the dang liberty bell...

...ben franklin's place...
...independence hall...
...betsy's house!...
...cheesesteak!...
...the fa-reakin adorable neighborhoods...
...and gelato!

my favorite was the betsy ross tour,
brandon's favorite was the cheese steak at pat's,
and henny's favorite was the iron kitty he got to pet in betsy's courtyard.

50 comments:

  1. you definitely took a photo of ed's (no longer living) uncle's townhouse. awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. we were in philly last weekend too! our friend lives right around the corner from capogiro's too! on 20th and walnut... i think i walked past it at least 4 times going to for drinks at public house and sabrina's for brunch :)

    (you totally need to try sabrina's next time you go!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. love the cowl! where is it from?

    ReplyDelete
  4. So jealous of that trip and those houses! Also of your perfect fall scarf- where is it from??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it's from urban outfitters! and it's old... a year or two?

      Delete
  5. ok, so i love you. and i live in utah. so my odds of running into you are slim- BUT I was in philly friday and nyc saturday- secretly hoping to see you and the little guy strolling along taking pics of yourselves in a mirror- so I am SO sad we were in opposite cities on opposite days! maybe next year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. oooh Philly... my favorite city EVER! I think I might have to make a trip into the city this week now...

    ReplyDelete
  7. My hometown :) I'm looking for reasons to move back there too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. ahh philly. where i spent my college years. a city that is way under-appreciated - glad you guys had a good time there! and that you went to pat's - so much better than genos. way to go holbrooks - you did philly right!

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's been a few years. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love that you guys took a "nerdy" family vacation. Those are the best! I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to Philly. It's a very under appreciated city. I can't wait to hear more about your trip!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful photos! Your son's outfit is adorable :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Do we need to sing Happy Birthday to Nat yet? Photos are lovely !!! I've never fancied Philly before...now I do!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Huck is really starting to look like his dad!

    ReplyDelete
  14. My husband and I visited Philly over the summer, and we loved it so much! We've definitely added it to the shortlist of places to move in a couple years!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Natalie! You should DEFINITELY move to Philly! So glad you hit up Capogiro! It's my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh it looks like such a lovely time. I love your photographs! You have really almost convinced me to move up north, except for the snow. Fix the snow & I will move!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There really isn't much snow in Philly! We hardly ever get really big storms!

      Delete
  17. ESPECIALLY since aborted babies look nothing like the photos they continue to wave around. (They continue to propagate the idea of that near full-term babies are being aborted).

    We're from Canada (weeew!) and did our own little US history tour down to DC last month. Loved the architecture, the trees and the people and would love to check out another historic US city soon! Maybe Philly's the one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Near full term babies are being aborted you idiot. It's called after birth abortion and happens around 7 months. Do your research.

      Delete
    2. FYI, 'after birth abortion' would be infanticide. What you are likely referring to are the rare late term abortions, sometimes referred to as 'partial birth abortions'.

      Name calling is really unnecessary and unbecoming.

      Delete
    3. Wow, really, J+K? It might do you some good to do some of your own research, perhaps looking into non-biased research supplied by a group without an agenda.

      And for the record, calling someone "you idiot" when trying to correct what you percieve to be their error is a really, really poor way to try to prove a point and change someone's mind. All you're proving with name calling is that your debate skills are feeble enough to need supplementation.

      Delete
  18. I recently moved from Philadelphia to Omaha, Nebraska and have honestly been so sad since I got here. I've been craving my Philly. You are so right, the row houses (I lived in one!), the cobblestone roads in the historic district and the cheesesteaks (I hope you also tried Jim's on fourth and south!) are wonderful and just a few of the things I miss. I felt a little weepy but couldn't help smiling as I read this post. Oh Philly I love you. So beautiful. Thank you for sharing Nat.

    ReplyDelete
  19. what a FUN trip! i am dying to get back east- it's been almost ten years since i've visited!

    it just FEELS like home, ya know.. (especially with all those aborted fetus pictures.. i mean, my home is CLUTTERED with them. i can't believe your's isn't..?)


    (;

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gorgeous pictures Natalie! Now your making me itch to move there.

    ReplyDelete
  21. My favorite is the iron kitty too! It made me laugh. I've never been to historic Philly, but it sure looks a look like historic Chestertown MD!

    www.dailycatie.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a lovely family trip! Gelato dinner sounds amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. i love philly soooo much, SO much so it almost makes me want to become american. almost!

    ReplyDelete
  24. i loved looking at these pictures! i visited philly while i was student teaching in washington, d.c. it was so much fun! your pictures are so lovely and are a great reminder that i need to go back!

    ReplyDelete
  25. true story: i've been to independence hall a few times. it's so great.
    about 10 years ago i went with a bunch of friends. we walked up to the door, and i began pulling and pulling on the handle. we were lauging, and finally i realized it was a push. but i pushed too hard and we all came tumbling in. and there was a huge tour/presentation happening. they weren't too thrilled with the group of rowdy early 20-somethings.
    and that's the story of how i almost got kicked out of independence hall

    ReplyDelete
  26. So you and your fam are adorlable.
    This post made me want to go to Philly stat.
    And I am dying that you took a pic of that guy with his hand in his pants! Hilarious!!

    Kirsten
    {travandkirk.blogspot.com}

    ReplyDelete
  27. WARNING! Totally unrelated to your initial post but not interesting enough to warrant an actual email... I just read an article on blogher.com about when bloggers are recognized by readers, and I laughed because I was in NYC in August (from Texas) and I saw you in Washington Square, but I was way too shy to approach you and say hello. And yet, somehow, when I saw Matthew Broderick the next day, I totally geeked out and scared the Ferris out of him and asked for a photo. And not only that, I told him how to pose (with hand up blocking his face from the camera like when he's washing his man parts in FBDO.) Anyways, yes. I reckernized ya.

    ReplyDelete
  28. What a fun trip Natalie! Such a beautiful place.The iron kitty sounds like something V would have loved..lol! Those amish...they make a mean pie;)
    And you are looking stellar of course!
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  29. so all the pictures are great and make me want to visit philly immediately - but nothing tops the guy with his hand down his butt crack. i'm dying. and just the fact that you took a picture of it makes me die harder lol. i know a few older gentlemen who seem to like that stance and it makes no sense to me. i mean, it doesn't even look comfortable?

    ReplyDelete
  30. back in 1996 I was an au pair in Delaware(not very far from Philadelphia....DC and NY....a great spot indeed...your pictures remind me of such good times spent in Phillie...and the amish county also....I did great pictures there...did you guys go to Delaware????

    ReplyDelete
  31. This place is absolutely stunning! Who wouldn't want to live there. With all of the cobblestone, brick buildings, perfect!
    Look at how precious little Huck looks in his Philly outfit ;)
    xo TJ

    ReplyDelete
  32. I'm so glad you enjoyed Philly - my home town! We really love it here too. And excellent choice on the Pat's Cheese Steaks and Capogiro! YUM

    ReplyDelete
  33. Next time you should go into Underdogs! They have the best hot dogs you'll ever eat! I'm so glad you enjoyed my city! If you moved here I'd always be available to babysit! ;) haha

    ReplyDelete
  34. If I'd written a Philly recommendation list, I'd have put basically everything you guys did on it. Especially Capogiro's gelato, petting the kitties outside betsy ross' house, drooling over the ADORABLE neighborhoods, and checking out Franklin Place. Just two things I'll add for anyone who hasn't already taken their nerdy history trip here yet: 1. Try a steak from Jim's on South Street. It's less crowded & quite pleasant. 2. Check out Elfreth's Alley... the oldest continuously inhabited street in the country! Super charming with tons of history :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. that looks awesome. i have loved looking at your pictures from this trip. next time, invite me, k?

    ReplyDelete
  36. How do you edit your pictures?? I love them! Looks like you had fun!

    ReplyDelete
  37. i never knew philly was so pretty.

    and the ice-cream looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Thank you, Natalie, for showing the lovely side of my city!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Loving your Philly pics. We did a US history tour in 2010 and this is feeling like a trip down memory lane. Ever since our day in Philly, I've been convinvced that I neeeed a red brick house someday.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Making me a bit nostalgic for Philly - moved to NYC just last week after 4 years as Philadelphians. It's a fun little city that certainly grew on us. But I still think Brooklyn is better :)

    ReplyDelete
  41. that is so crazy, we just took the exact same trip but we started in pittsburgh, went to lancaster, bird in hand, then philly, then washington dc on a sunday and then back home. your pictures are like exactly the same as ours. next time you go to philly make sure you go to reading market, it was our favorite stop. independence hall was our least because the rude tour guide glared at our kids so much during her little intro speech that we ended up walking out on the whole tour!

    ReplyDelete
  42. I've only gone to Philly to visit my friend so I've never done any of this stuff. I'm missing out. That gelato looks incredible.

    nicole @ I am a Honey Bee

    ReplyDelete
  43. Love it, I live in Philly but am abroad for a few months and you made me super homesick! My favorite silly thing about Philly that I totally know your quirky self would have loved: The streets perpendicular to Broad all have historic names on little plaques and the one that is titled Betsy Ross is actually spelled Besty Ross! On both sides of the sign!

    That was my first thought about you visiting Philly - wondering if you spotted that :)

    ReplyDelete
  44. Uhhh recently moved away from Philly, after a magical year there as a graduate student, and man alive does my heart ache! This time of year was when I really fell in love with the city. There is something about red bricks, changing leaves and historical spots that makes my heart go pitter patter!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated because mama ain't no fool.