Day trip to Philly

Not being a local and with embarrassingly little knowledge of the location of American cities outside the obvious -  I had absolutely no idea that it was such a short trip from NY to Philadelphia ... It was therefore fortunate that I checked before responding to a request to attend a meeting there...  

From Manhattan's Penn Station to Philly's 30th Street station it only takes about 11/2 hours - so totally doable in one day - which I did. However the place was so lovely I wouldn't have minded some time to look around. It was a just a flying visit really but we managed to sneak in a quick lunch and wee shoppette with a friend before heading back to NYC. Worth a trip if you have a spare day in the city and need a break from the hustle bustle - I loved seeing these dollhouse-like abodes on the way through. Really felt like I was in the US of A...

of course there was a fair bit of this too...

But when we arrived - we found the most delightful little city centre full of green and sunshine and people enjoying a quiet day in the park - such a different energy to bustling NYC.

Very easy to get around as you can see from below.

Apparently there is some great Italian food worth hunting down but as we were lacking time we made do with a charming cafe - lunching on some simple but flavoursome salads and kick-arse ginger ale. I wish I could recall the name of the place... I will find it somewhere and update this at a later time but it was very close to Rittenhouse Square. Where there are is also a strip of french bistros/cafes all looking onto the park. Charming.

The station is stunning too...  

All aboard!!!  time to choof back to NYC! Fleeting  but nice.