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Originally we had planned on staying at the hotel Jen's conference was located. However, that really didn't go over too well with us when we found out how pricey it would be to do so. Trying to be a little money-conscientious, Jen searched online and found The Rittenhouse. The Rittenhouse is a small little boutique hotel, kind of like a bed and breakfast. Jen liked it because it was an older building near Rittenhouse Square, a park that Jen was able to walk through while Jeff was in New Jersey and play with some local dogs (Jen was very homesick for our pooches). During the evenings they had little mingling groups, and the staff was very helpful at telling us where things were, like late-night diners and the banks. It was also pretty close to the downtown area in Philadelphia, so we were close enough to Jen's conference (less than a mile away) and still close enough to do some sight seeing!
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Here you see the backs of several people. You're probably wondering why we only got this. That would be Jeff's fault ;-)While touring the monuments of Philadelphia, outside of Independence Hall, we noticed there were several groups of young college kids running around. Some had numbers like a runner in a marathon would wear, others had weird shirts. While we were taking photos, the guy with the #20 shirt approached Jen and asked if she was a local or a tourist. She said we were from California, and he took her over to the group. It turns out that all these people were there for a scavenger hunt, and there task was to find someone from out of state to take a photo with them. The pose they did was from the movie, Rocky, and everyone did the pose with their hands over their heads. Unfortunately, the downside of this was that, after Jeff had taken everyone else's pictures, he forgot to take one with OUR camera. But we did get this of them walking away from us (possibly slightly inebriated). So if anyone recognizes these people's backsides, let me know; I want a copy of the photo!
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We had quite a few more adventures in Philadelphia. It took us a few visits before we saw everything in the historic portion, because the hours were limited and clashed with Jen's conferences. We did manage to go through Independence Hall, but they limit the number of people that go in, so you have to go to the information center, get tickets and then take your tour. We also got to see some of the older buildings, see where the Declaration of Independence was written as well as the Constitution, and check out the Liberty Bell (the photos on the right should be up now, and should show you what we got to see there!).
Philadelphia is also where we had our "big dinner". Usually on vacation, we'll treat ourselves to a nicer dinner than the typical vacation food we pick up on the road or at a quick pit-stop. In Philadelphia, we decided to go to Fogo de Chao. It's a Brazilian churrascaria steakhouse, were servers bring out your food to you. If you've never had Brazilian churrascaria, basically they roast different meats on long swords, just like the gauchos do, and carve off your portions for you. It's a lot of meat, and it's very simply seasoned, but it was delicious! At this particular restaurant, they were very quick to keep the drinks topped off, keep offering us food, and to clean up to prepare for the next customers but still were very friendly. Jen actually timed it; it took 45 seconds for them to remove the dishes, linens and change the place settings on a table!
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Well, that's one bit of our big vacation. Hopefully by the end of the week we can get everything shared, because next week we're off again for another much shorter trip!
Take care, all!
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