The morning arrived as crisp, yellow sunlight through the tall, lofted windows. I stretched my arms, nudged Kyle with my foot, and sat up. Courtney, Kyle’s sister who we were visiting, was rummaging around preparing the rest of her paperwork to finalize her wedding. We stumbled around, folding blankets, sipping coffee. We intended to drive back to Matawan early–Kyle planned on completing an essay; Courtney had a lunch date with their mother. I somehow convinced Kyle to just try and do his work here, at the loft, and within a few hours, he finished!
I made delicious cinnabutter pumpkin-spice pancakes with a side of blueberry Chobani for the two of us. We scarfed it down. The lighting from the windows beautifully lit up our breakfast! We got ready and began our journey.
The trees have bloomed here! I couldn’t believe it; I was ecstatic to see the magnolias and the daffodils and the precious, soft, newly-bloomed leaves! Slowly, this urban landscape was becoming colored by nature. We walked along the Piazza, this side of town is apparently the up-and-coming area, the Bushwick/Williamsburg of Philadelphia. The Steel Factory lofts are in a considerably alright part of town, open lots of grass with a bit of trash, stray cats, lots of parking, strange buildings. Kyle and I walked the Piazza and ended up at PYT Burger!
We both ordered PYT Burgers and a side of cheesy tots. Mmmm cheesy tots. God I love cheese. (I’m having a whiskey sour as I type, happy St. Patrick’s day!) The PYT burgers had “special” sauce on the bun, medium sized burger, a large, crisp slice of tomato and lettuce, and a side of chips! Apparently, within the restroom of PYT, there is another door which actually leads to a club and bar at night. How cool is that??
We went to The Foodery afterwards to find a movie-set being filmed outside. The Foodery is a cafe-beer store that sold mostly craft beers individually. Kyle was like a child in a candy store. We got these DELICIOUS Walnut chocolate chip cookies, Hercules Double IPA and a bottle of Leffe Brune. Delicious.
We explored Fishtown and the area by Courtney’s loft. There were grow-your-own parks, a children’s park, fences painted with giant flowers. Kyle and I took cool pictures of ourselves around there.
There was a chicken behind one of the fences! Such a strange surprise. We walked along, enjoying the sun and the reams of people and children roaming the city.
THIS IS REAL! The garbage bin yells at us! I stumbled upon some interesting street art, and captured those too.
Doors that lead to falling, abandoned buildings. Infectious vines on cement walls. Stickers.
Our day was coming to an end.
We had dinner at Sampan Philadelphia. A high-end, pan Asian restaurant with smaller portions and higher quality food. We ordered edamame dumplings, pork buns, kimchi fried rice, and Korean BBQ. It was all incredibly delicious. We walked off our full tummies, heading back to the Piazza to check out El Camino Real.
In the end, we escaped the crowded bar scene and spent the rest of the night watching The Office and America’s Funniest Home Videos. I’m glad I gave Philly a chance. It’s a city with a lot of potential, and I can’t wait to get back.
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