A Phanatical Phriday

AT&T Station near the sports stadiums in Philly

Friday July 15.  It was time to take the subway in Philadelphia so we could compare it with the NYC subway.  We were heading town to Citizens Bank Park for a tour and this was probably the easiest way to get there.  We bought our tokens and jumped on the Orange line...all the way until the end.

Part of a gorgeous painting of Phillies now and then

As we got seated in a presentation room at Citizens Bank Park, Dan stated, "Any tour that begins with 'Please take a seat' is a good tour in my book!"  We might have been getting just a little bit weary of all the walking we had been doing already on our trip.  The tour of the ballpark was lovely and included the field, the dugout, several boxes, the press booth, the locker room, and the announcers' booth.  What was really cool about seeing this stadium was all the old, old history of the ball club.  And the Phanatic.  We can't forget about him!


Afterward, we popped over to the ballpark restaurant and grabbed a bite to eat.  Somehow we managed to leave our souvenir photos there but luckily someone turned them in and we were able to retrieve them the next day.  Whew!  Walking back to grab the subway, we checked out the permanent markers in the parking lot of Citizens Bank Park that identify the location of the original home plate, pitcher's mound and bases, as well as the two goal posts, that were part of Veterans' Stadium, where both the Phillies and the Eagles played for years and years.  Have you ever watched the movie Invincible?  If you haven't, I highly recommend it.

The First Bank of the United States

We decided to play the ultimate tourists and take an hour-long horse and carriage ride around Center City Philadelphia.  We were being pulled by a beautiful white horse named Dominick and were guided through the city by our driver, Ryan.  We saw many places, including Society Hill, Elfreth's Alley, Christ Church, the Christ Church Burial Ground, Betsy Ross House, and the waterfront.  After the tour, we walked around just a little bit.  I was very disappointed that Independence Hall was under renovation, and had been for six months.  What does that mean?  That means it will be beautiful when it's repaired, but it means it was covered in scaffolding when we saw it.  Boo hoo.

Marra's pretty streetview

Dinner for the evening was at Marra's Italian Restaurant in South Philadelphia.  The tune from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was in my head the entire taxi drive there.  Our dinner was absolutely delicious!  If you're in Philadelphia, don't hesitate to give Marra's a try!







Returning to the hotel, the kids relaxed by watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while Dan read and I edited photos and wrote blog entries!  Until tomorrow....