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Published: April 1st 2009
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The Liberty Bell
Personally, I thought it would be a lot larger. Either way, it was pretty cool to see such an iconic symbol of our country. (I FINALLY got the pics from my friend 4 years after this trip, so pardon me for the delay)
"Damn bro, how would you feel about going to Philly for two days?" my friend David said.
"Pssshhh... are you even asking me this question?" I replied. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm always down for traveling. Especially if it is one of the most historically pertinent cities in the country.
In case you didn't read the accompanying blog..... my friend David was doing an internship for the National Science Foundation. He spent a summer working/interning in DC while living with a roommate in East Falls Church, Virginia. He was starting to get a little homesick and I was itching to get out and explore the country, so I decided to visit him for 10 days. The first 8 were spent in DC, the remaining two were spent in Philly.
Philly has a little mix of everything..... old and new, traditional and cutting edge, and of course..... the cheese steak, which may fall into any of those categories depending how you view it.
While interning for the NSF, David heard about a conference in Philly. The
NSF was willing to pay $165 to pay for our hotel room. We tried the Marriott and other hotels with no avail. On a whim, David called the Ritz Carlton hotel. "There's no F'in way they have a room for that price", I said. Luckily, I was dead wrong. Apparently, the Ritz has a "government rate" that applied to organizations like the NSF. Coincidentally, the price was $165. Essentially, we stayed at one of the "ritziest" (no pun intended) hotels in Philly for free.
While my friend spent his time at the conference, I set out to explore the city. I checked out the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, etc. We also partied it up on State Street (I think that's what it was called).
We even tried the cheese steaks. Oh, by the way. That reminds me of kind of a funny story. So, obviously, we had to try the world famous cheese steaks in Philly. So I had this grand idea for us to get a large cheese steak from Pat's Steaks and one from Geno's Steaks. We could then split each one half and half and try both of the most famous cheese steaks in the
world. Anyways, I believe I went to Pat's and got mine rather quickly. My friend David had to endure a bit of a longer line than I did. As we got to the front, the gentleman working the counter stopped with a scowl on his face. "What the fuck is that shit?" he asked. Kind of confused, my friend and I asked "what are you talking about?". He pointed at the cheese steak from Pat's...... "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT? GET THE FUCK OFF MY SIDEWALK!". Apparently, they take their cheese steak rivalry really seriously. Now, anyone that knows me, knows I'm not gonna go down that easily. My motto is that it's always better to be a smart ass than a dumbass haha. So I turned around and retorted, "Oh, you mean this? Don't get mad because their cheese steaks are far superior to yours" (in different verbiage of course). The gentleman's look embodied two emotions simultaneously. One of utter contempt for my shit talking and bias for Pat's cheese steak (which I had never tried in my life), and ........perhaps........ confusion about what the word "superior" meant. He was not a rocket scientist if you know what
I mean, but I digress.
Anyways, the proper way to order a cheese steak in Philly is "I'll take a cheese wit", or "i'll take a cheest without". THe with or without indicates whether you want cheese or not.
I'm writing this four years after the fact, so the memories are a bit fuzzy. I do, however, remember thinking that the liberty bell was quite a bit smaller than I anticipated. I don't know about you, but I figured it would be quite large.
Another great memory I have of this trip is walking in the streets of South Philly with beers in our hands and smiles on our faces talking about life. Dave even stopped by a stoop to "initiate it" if you know what I mean. Well, if you don't, you'll see a picture for yourself haha.
Also, I remember reading the book ''The Da Vinci Code" in the two days while I was there. Very rarely has a book ever captivated me to that extent. The day before we left back to Los Angeles, I just couldn't put the book down. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.
Anyways, after
The Liberty Bell
The Bell and some damn random tourist that jumped in the shot at the last moment. two days of exploring the city, the time had finally come for me to return home to Los Angeles. I knew I was returning home with a new found appreciation for our country's history and a little bit better understanding of the East Coast life style. Needless to say, this would not be my last time on the East Coast.
Till next time.........
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