Streets of Philadelphia

My hosts had some top smelling coffee brewing as I descended the stair that morning. I spoke with Alisha briefly about her work as a nutritionist and the problem of food deserts. Then I headed back into Center City. Mooching around without any real purpose I stumbled over Reading Terminal Market, that was basically a big indoor farmers market. The Dutch Lancaster County influence was pretty strong, but the market had all bases covered. I had a Melt from the Valley Shepherd. I also picked up a Cheese Patch for my Battle-vest.

Just on from the market, lay the big historical sites; the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Constitution Center etc. Frankly, the Queues put me off waiting to get into any of these. I had been told Northern Liberties and Fishtown were worth a visit, so I continued North on foot. On route I accidentally passed Edgar Allen Poe's House. There was a Raven statue beside it and a mural of his face on a building opposite.

By the time I had walked to Northern Liberties I was a sweaty mess. I stopped to shelter from the heat in a bar called Gunners run, where I ordered my first Yuengling (very drinkable local favourite lager). Then I staggered around Fishtown in the heat for longer than was advisable. Still on my own and with no firm plans I ended up back in the City Center. The Locust was just around the corner, so I headed there to sit out what looked like another approaching storm. I ended up getting talking to a guy called Pedro. He'd been to Edinburgh for Hogmanay one year and we ended up sat boozing for way longer than either of us had intended. Before he wobbled home, he furnished me with suggestions for other bars worth a visit. One of which, Dirty Frank's, was only a short hop away, so I decided to head there.

Dirty Frank's was another great spot. The barmaid fed me some rather stale pretzels (but free pretzels, that's the main thing) while I sat and people watched. Philadelphia's bars seemed reassuringly down to earth, compared to some of the places in NYC. After a few more beers things were getting fuzzy, so I took my drunk arse home.

[Pic:Entrance to China Town, Philadelphia]
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