Touring Philly Part 1

Day 1:

Mia and Grandma Lund flew in on Grandma's birthday so within an hour of their arrival we were heading downtown to celebrate. We ate at FARMiCiA, a restaurant in the Independence Park area that specializes in fresh-local-organic deliciousness. They also had Hank's root beer which was a bonus since it is awesome-good.

We then went just around the corner on a ghost tour where a lady in a cloak led us with a lantern through the Independence Park and Society Hill areas and told us ghost legend mingled with history. Turns out Ben Franklin was somewhat of a ladies man (or horn dog, not sure which one exactly) and his ghost will still try to bump into unsuspecting cleaning ladies at Library Hall. Also there are 11,000+ people buried beneath Washington Square from the Revolutionary War. Makes for some great fertilizer, it's a very green area.

Day: 2

The next morning was kicked off by Riding the Duck. It's a tour on a bus that turns into a boat, so we learned about the city by both land and sea. We also got crazy quackers which the girls enjoyed--and us adults also. On the tour we went down South Street and the guide pointed out a cheesesteak place, I think Jim's, and said it was good. We later tried it out after Mia and Grandma had taken off, and it is the best place for cheesesteaks--fact.

After the Ducks we went to the Franklin Fountain. Probably one of the coolest ice cream parlors ever. One of the founders majored in history so they have recreated, using antique machinery and handmade ice cream, a parlor straight from 1905.

Close by was the Betsy Ross House. Cool history, hot and muggy house. It was not a hit for the prego wife needless to say. On the duck tour we learned that Betsy didn't even design the flag, she was the seamstress. Francis Hopkinson was the designer. That's a good little fact to know if you are on a duck tour and the tour guide asks if anyone thinks they know a lot about history and you raise your hand and he asks you who designed the first U.S. flag. So here's Mialooking at Betsy's grave and the Philly mascot also lives in the House's courtyard for some reason.

That night we were treated special by Grandma Lund taking us out to one of the top restaurants in the nation, Le Bec Fin. Now I have never eaten French before, and especially not at a place as classy as this, so I decided to be adventurous and try some exotic foods and go with the waiter's recommendations. Anyways my four course meal went like this:

Foi Gras. Translation: "fat liver." And not just any liver it was duck liver. Risky but oh so rewarding because it was delicious.

Hawaiian Opha. I don't usually like fish, but I'm telling you this chef knows how to cook and I enjoyed this.

Rabbit Tenderloin. Cute little bunnies taste pretty good.

Creme Brule. Ok this wasn't risky or new, but I couldn't pass up my favorite desert at a French restaurant where it is in it's element. The birthday celebration continued as Grandma got a little surprise from our server for her desert.

Check out some of the more professional pics from day 1 and day 2 here.