philly winter blues and cheesesteak confusion
well, so i'm in this city called philadelphia now. after like 8 hours of delayed flights and a taxi driver who definitely took the scenic route, i'm finally here. my feet are numb and i'm pretty sure i saw a squirrel that was smarter than me. the hotel room smells faintly of regret and microwave popcorn.
first thing i did when i got here was check the weather. because obviously, why wouldn't i? i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. like, literally zero degrees but feels like negative four. perfect time to visit a city founded in 1682, right? william penn probably didn't plan for this.
so this place spans like 142 square miles, which is huge. mostly land with some water, but 6% water feels like a lot when it's frozen. it's between two rivers - delaware to the east and schuylkill to the west. if you get bored, camden and chester are just a short drive away, and bensalem too. though honestly? after this weather, i'd rather drive to antarctica.
someone told me that the cheesesteaks here are life-changing. okay, had one today. it was...bread. with meat. i guess? maybe my taste buds are frozen. also tried this scrapple thing. pork fried crisp. someone told me it's an acquired taste. i think i acquired nausea.
the city's got this whole 'brotherly love' vibe going on. saw that big red LOVE sculpture. cute, i guess. population's 1.6 million with a mix of everything - black, white, hispanic, asian. mostly just tired tourists like me.
someone told me that wandering around north philly after dark is a bad idea. took that advice seriously since my hotel's there. also told me the traffic's brutal. took septa today - bus was 20 minutes late but at least it wasn't me driving.
this place is where america started, apparently. independence hall, liberty bell - haven't seen them yet. too busy trying to not frostbite my toes. benjamin franklin's from here. so is bill cosby. weird mix.
the city's got this grid system laid out in 1682. huge. like, really big. more murals than i can count. first zoo in the us too. right now i'm mostly just trying to find a coffee shop that doesn't charge $7 for a latte.
so yeah, philadelphia. it's...cold. and big. and has cheesesteaks. if you come here, bring a coat and maybe a map. i'm still figuring out how the whole 'city of brotherly love' thing works when everyone's shivering.
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