Valentine’s Day Getaway to Philadelphia

I love experience gifts. Last year, I took Johnny on a scavenger hunt adventure that led us to the Wilmington Train Station, with a train heading for NYC!

This year, I wanted to  keep our new tradition of a Valentine’s Getaway, so I planned a fun trip to Philadelphia. I used to live near Philadelphia, so I’m well-acquainted with the area, but Johnny had never visited the city before, so I wanted to give him a good overview of the area with a special Valentine’s twist.

We started with a romantic dinner at City Tavern — the staff dresses in colonial attire, there are musicians to entertain on strings, and as a special for Valentine’s Day, there were great menu combinations and options.

We both had a first course and a salad course and this was my main course: delicious steak served with potatoes and squash. Excuse the shrimp on top — fear not, I have not turned into a seafood-lover. These were decoration in my mind. (Yes, yes, I’m a Maryland girl who refuses to eat seafood, let’s move on).

As a special touch, dinner reservations included a long-stemmed rose and complimentary champagne!

Here’s one of the musicians that serenaded us for the evening.

One of my new favorite things about City Tavern? The inside foyer looks identical to Cantwell’s Tavern – the caterer we’re using for our wedding in October!

Dinner, and the whole evening really, was perfect. We ended our final course (taking dessert to go) just before the beautiful snow started to fall. Here’s a view of it from our hotel, right in the middle of Independence Park:

The next morning, we got up early, enjoyed complimentary breakfast at the hotel (waffles! With the Liberty Bell in the middle!), and then bundled WAY up to endure the -11 wind chill of the day.

First stop, the Visitors Center! I wanted to take Johnny here first to start our adventure. Fun fact: Jan, Feb, and March you do NOT need timed tickets (they are still free) to visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell! They were also not super packed, so that’s a major plus.

Next stop, Independence Hall, where we dutifully listened to all the stories in each room, and ventured to Congress Hall to hear more.

Johnny loved the entrance to Independence Hall. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Next, we went to see the Liberty Bell. We watched the History Channel special on the bell and wandered through the entire hallway of exhibits.

After the Liberty Bell, we went to the Constitution Center, where we followed the exhibits and listened to Freedom Rising, their 20-minute performance of the story of the Constitution.

We’re both big fans of hearing the stories and history surrounding a place, but I knew the MAJOR interest of Johnny during this trip was to try an authentic Philly cheesesteak from Pat’s…the original cheesesteak place!

There were no lines because of the bitter cold, which was awesome. Keeping our fingers warm by the delights of the cheesesteak, we both enjoyed a “wit provolone” sandwich. Ordering from this place is fascinating – you have to use the correct language or you’re asked to move to the end of the line. Luckily, there wasn’t a line when we ordered but we both dutifully researched how to order before coming – ha!

I can’t wait to take him back to Philadelphia when the weather gets warmer – there’s so much to do and it’s really so close to home.