so, i have a giant crush on philly now.
we spent saturday poking around the historic sites in philly,
sampling some cheese steak sandwiches,
and otherwise torturing our cranky toddler. ;)
...downtown...
...old town...
...the dang liberty bell...
...ben franklin's place...
...independence hall...
...betsy's house!...
...cheesesteak!...
...the fa-reakin adorable neighborhoods...
...and gelato!
my favorite was the betsy ross tour,
brandon's favorite was the cheese steak at pat's,
and henny's favorite was the iron kitty he got to pet in betsy's courtyard.
you definitely took a photo of ed's (no longer living) uncle's townhouse. awesome.
ReplyDeletewe were in philly last weekend too! our friend lives right around the corner from capogiro's too! on 20th and walnut... i think i walked past it at least 4 times going to for drinks at public house and sabrina's for brunch :)
ReplyDelete(you totally need to try sabrina's next time you go!)
love the cowl! where is it from?
ReplyDeleteurban outfitters!
DeleteSo jealous of that trip and those houses! Also of your perfect fall scarf- where is it from??
ReplyDeleteit's from urban outfitters! and it's old... a year or two?
Deleteok, so i love you. and i live in utah. so my odds of running into you are slim- BUT I was in philly friday and nyc saturday- secretly hoping to see you and the little guy strolling along taking pics of yourselves in a mirror- so I am SO sad we were in opposite cities on opposite days! maybe next year!
ReplyDeleteoooh Philly... my favorite city EVER! I think I might have to make a trip into the city this week now...
ReplyDeleteMy hometown :) I'm looking for reasons to move back there too!
ReplyDeleteahh philly. where i spent my college years. a city that is way under-appreciated - glad you guys had a good time there! and that you went to pat's - so much better than genos. way to go holbrooks - you did philly right!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a few years. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love that you guys took a "nerdy" family vacation. Those are the best! I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to Philly. It's a very under appreciated city. I can't wait to hear more about your trip!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! Your son's outfit is adorable :)
ReplyDeleteDo we need to sing Happy Birthday to Nat yet? Photos are lovely !!! I've never fancied Philly before...now I do!
ReplyDeleteHuck is really starting to look like his dad!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I visited Philly over the summer, and we loved it so much! We've definitely added it to the shortlist of places to move in a couple years!
ReplyDeleteNatalie! You should DEFINITELY move to Philly! So glad you hit up Capogiro! It's my favorite.
ReplyDeleteOh it looks like such a lovely time. I love your photographs! You have really almost convinced me to move up north, except for the snow. Fix the snow & I will move!
ReplyDeleteThere really isn't much snow in Philly! We hardly ever get really big storms!
DeleteESPECIALLY since aborted babies look nothing like the photos they continue to wave around. (They continue to propagate the idea of that near full-term babies are being aborted).
ReplyDeleteWe're from Canada (weeew!) and did our own little US history tour down to DC last month. Loved the architecture, the trees and the people and would love to check out another historic US city soon! Maybe Philly's the one!
Near full term babies are being aborted you idiot. It's called after birth abortion and happens around 7 months. Do your research.
DeleteFYI, 'after birth abortion' would be infanticide. What you are likely referring to are the rare late term abortions, sometimes referred to as 'partial birth abortions'.
DeleteName calling is really unnecessary and unbecoming.
Wow, really, J+K? It might do you some good to do some of your own research, perhaps looking into non-biased research supplied by a group without an agenda.
DeleteAnd for the record, calling someone "you idiot" when trying to correct what you percieve to be their error is a really, really poor way to try to prove a point and change someone's mind. All you're proving with name calling is that your debate skills are feeble enough to need supplementation.
I recently moved from Philadelphia to Omaha, Nebraska and have honestly been so sad since I got here. I've been craving my Philly. You are so right, the row houses (I lived in one!), the cobblestone roads in the historic district and the cheesesteaks (I hope you also tried Jim's on fourth and south!) are wonderful and just a few of the things I miss. I felt a little weepy but couldn't help smiling as I read this post. Oh Philly I love you. So beautiful. Thank you for sharing Nat.
ReplyDeletewhat a FUN trip! i am dying to get back east- it's been almost ten years since i've visited!
ReplyDeleteit just FEELS like home, ya know.. (especially with all those aborted fetus pictures.. i mean, my home is CLUTTERED with them. i can't believe your's isn't..?)
(;
Gorgeous pictures Natalie! Now your making me itch to move there.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the iron kitty too! It made me laugh. I've never been to historic Philly, but it sure looks a look like historic Chestertown MD!
ReplyDeletewww.dailycatie.blogspot.com
What a lovely family trip! Gelato dinner sounds amazing.
ReplyDeletei love philly soooo much, SO much so it almost makes me want to become american. almost!
ReplyDeletei loved looking at these pictures! i visited philly while i was student teaching in washington, d.c. it was so much fun! your pictures are so lovely and are a great reminder that i need to go back!
ReplyDeletetrue story: i've been to independence hall a few times. it's so great.
ReplyDeleteabout 10 years ago i went with a bunch of friends. we walked up to the door, and i began pulling and pulling on the handle. we were lauging, and finally i realized it was a push. but i pushed too hard and we all came tumbling in. and there was a huge tour/presentation happening. they weren't too thrilled with the group of rowdy early 20-somethings.
and that's the story of how i almost got kicked out of independence hall
So you and your fam are adorlable.
ReplyDeleteThis post made me want to go to Philly stat.
And I am dying that you took a pic of that guy with his hand in his pants! Hilarious!!
Kirsten
{travandkirk.blogspot.com}
WARNING! Totally unrelated to your initial post but not interesting enough to warrant an actual email... I just read an article on blogher.com about when bloggers are recognized by readers, and I laughed because I was in NYC in August (from Texas) and I saw you in Washington Square, but I was way too shy to approach you and say hello. And yet, somehow, when I saw Matthew Broderick the next day, I totally geeked out and scared the Ferris out of him and asked for a photo. And not only that, I told him how to pose (with hand up blocking his face from the camera like when he's washing his man parts in FBDO.) Anyways, yes. I reckernized ya.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun trip Natalie! Such a beautiful place.The iron kitty sounds like something V would have loved..lol! Those amish...they make a mean pie;)
ReplyDeleteAnd you are looking stellar of course!
Anna
so all the pictures are great and make me want to visit philly immediately - but nothing tops the guy with his hand down his butt crack. i'm dying. and just the fact that you took a picture of it makes me die harder lol. i know a few older gentlemen who seem to like that stance and it makes no sense to me. i mean, it doesn't even look comfortable?
ReplyDeleteback in 1996 I was an au pair in Delaware(not very far from Philadelphia....DC and NY....a great spot indeed...your pictures remind me of such good times spent in Phillie...and the amish county also....I did great pictures there...did you guys go to Delaware????
ReplyDeleteThis place is absolutely stunning! Who wouldn't want to live there. With all of the cobblestone, brick buildings, perfect!
ReplyDeleteLook at how precious little Huck looks in his Philly outfit ;)
xo TJ
I'm so glad you enjoyed Philly - my home town! We really love it here too. And excellent choice on the Pat's Cheese Steaks and Capogiro! YUM
ReplyDeleteNext time you should go into Underdogs! They have the best hot dogs you'll ever eat! I'm so glad you enjoyed my city! If you moved here I'd always be available to babysit! ;) haha
ReplyDeleteIf I'd written a Philly recommendation list, I'd have put basically everything you guys did on it. Especially Capogiro's gelato, petting the kitties outside betsy ross' house, drooling over the ADORABLE neighborhoods, and checking out Franklin Place. Just two things I'll add for anyone who hasn't already taken their nerdy history trip here yet: 1. Try a steak from Jim's on South Street. It's less crowded & quite pleasant. 2. Check out Elfreth's Alley... the oldest continuously inhabited street in the country! Super charming with tons of history :)
ReplyDeletethat looks awesome. i have loved looking at your pictures from this trip. next time, invite me, k?
ReplyDeleteHow do you edit your pictures?? I love them! Looks like you had fun!
ReplyDeletei never knew philly was so pretty.
ReplyDeleteand the ice-cream looks amazing!
Thank you, Natalie, for showing the lovely side of my city!
ReplyDeleteLoving your Philly pics. We did a US history tour in 2010 and this is feeling like a trip down memory lane. Ever since our day in Philly, I've been convinvced that I neeeed a red brick house someday.
ReplyDeleteMaking me a bit nostalgic for Philly - moved to NYC just last week after 4 years as Philadelphians. It's a fun little city that certainly grew on us. But I still think Brooklyn is better :)
ReplyDeletethat is so crazy, we just took the exact same trip but we started in pittsburgh, went to lancaster, bird in hand, then philly, then washington dc on a sunday and then back home. your pictures are like exactly the same as ours. next time you go to philly make sure you go to reading market, it was our favorite stop. independence hall was our least because the rude tour guide glared at our kids so much during her little intro speech that we ended up walking out on the whole tour!
ReplyDeleteI've only gone to Philly to visit my friend so I've never done any of this stuff. I'm missing out. That gelato looks incredible.
ReplyDeletenicole @ I am a Honey Bee
Love it, I live in Philly but am abroad for a few months and you made me super homesick! My favorite silly thing about Philly that I totally know your quirky self would have loved: The streets perpendicular to Broad all have historic names on little plaques and the one that is titled Betsy Ross is actually spelled Besty Ross! On both sides of the sign!
ReplyDeleteThat was my first thought about you visiting Philly - wondering if you spotted that :)
Uhhh recently moved away from Philly, after a magical year there as a graduate student, and man alive does my heart ache! This time of year was when I really fell in love with the city. There is something about red bricks, changing leaves and historical spots that makes my heart go pitter patter!
ReplyDelete