Who doesn’t enjoy a well planned, walkable, historic city with affordable boutique hotels and wonderful restaurants?
For most people in the Northeast corridor of the United States, The City, refers to New York City, however there is a small yet mighty sliver of North-easterners for whom applying a capital ‘T’ to an utterance of “The City” refers only to the red brick, colonial palace that houses Philadelphia city limits. Yes, Readers, today’s WIOW minis is devoted to our recent trip to Ben Franklin’s home turf: Philly.

Full disclosure, my father, the Lynch part of my last name, is from Philly, and I did indeed attend university there so I do have a bias toward and a great familiarity with the Pennsylvanian city.
For those who have not had the pleasure of visiting Philly, first you must understand: Everyone calls Philadelphia Philly, it just is the way of things. With that, try to blend in and say Philly. Next, the city, along with its colonial cousin Boston, gets a bad reputation for mean local inhabitants, this is simply untrue. Philly locals are gruff, interestingly diverse both ethnically and internationally and really kind, they just do not put up with, dare I say, BS. This they share with Bostonians and New Yorkers, Philadelphians are just not here to waste time, they would rather be watching one of their sports teams in the basement of a friend’s house, drinking a beer in a local pub or even climbing the ‘Rocky’ steps at the PMA rather than have you waste their time. So similar to calling Philadelphia ‘Philly’, don’t go wasting locals' time with silly questions, loitering in crosswalks, not closing the door behind you on a winter’s night at a restaurant, taking too long to order your food or looking the wrong way when crossing a one-way street.
With that out of the way, let’s tuck into our trip to Philly.
(almost) Everything I Packed for Philly
A winter trip lasting 3 full days in a carry on? Easy. I packed light, which literally never happens and brought the basics to dress what I deemed, University Chic. This meant layers, classic colors like neutrals, grey and navy blue, comfortable shoes and minimal accessories. With that, here’s the highlight reel of what was in my luggage in Philly.
Apparel
Grey pleated Uniform Dress, Thom Browne
Ivory cotton Kilt, Alexander McQueen


Two turtlenecks, one ivory cashmere and one white cotton (from Wemple’s closet and the other Calvin Klein)
Villanova University Rugby Shirt
Courier Pants, Imperfects
329A Jeans, Imperfects


Outerwear
Navy Trench Coat, Mango (now sold out but similar in style to this coat)
Sherpa Shepherds Shirt in Waxed Tartan, Imperfects


Grey wool coat, Magee 1866 (mine is no longer available but see here for a similar style)
Footwear
Knee high, platform boots, Feners


White Chuck Taylor Allstar from Converse
Black Tassel Loafers w/ gold bits from GH Bass (mine sold out but see here for similar pair)
(almost) Everywhere I Ate in Philly
Parc
If you have ever visited or lived in Philly chances are you have eaten at Parc. It is a Philly classic and always teeming with locals, business colleagues and travelers. French bistro energy and classics scatter the menu, the bread basket is generous and lighting is romantic.


The Dandelion
Wemple and I used to go to The Dandelion for hygge and happy hour, as no one quite delivers on cozy, casual, wonderful-ness like this British-at-heart-Rittenhouse-based favorite. Sit on the second level, order the house green salad with avocado and a glass of Austrian wine. In the autumn/winter time, the fire place will be roaring.
K’Far
My dear friend, AC, recommended K’Far and I am so pleased she did. So pleased that I went back two days in a row. Do you enjoy perfectly foamed coffee and tea lattes? Do you appreciate savory, buttery, well laminated pastries? And is a bagel always on your breakfast list? If you’re answering ‘yes’ to any of the above queries, K’Far is for you. When you visit tell them Lauren Lynch Wemple sent you. That will get you nothing by way of discounts, but I’d love to somehow wiggle my way into a partnership with them. Call me K’Far Management!
Bar Lesieur
Another lovely recommendation from my dear friends, the ever-dynamic Burke Duo <3. Bar Lesieur is the sister establishment to Giuseppe & Sons, a yum Italian spot that remains on my to-patronize list, and the ambiance is just right. Bar Lesieur is perfect for post-dinner cocktails or apéritifs. Again, their bread basket is delightful and housemade butter feels extra indulgent. Locals tell me their sommelier is constantly rotating the orange wine options…
(almost) Everything I Saw in Philly
Independence Hall

Fan of National Treasure? Or just Nick Cage? Independence Hall in Independence Plaza is lit. Not lit in any real or debaucherous way, but in the historic-American-pride type of lit. I have visited here several times in my life and it never ceases to feel like the ultimate celebrity sighting.
Carpenter’s Hall & the Second Bank of the USA


Most visitors to Philly don’t bother to walk past Independence Hall, but those who wander East will be rewarded for their curiosity. Also operated by the National Parks Service, are several colonial buildings and their surrounding complexes that paint a more vivid picture of what early years in Philly and America were like. My favorite stops were Carpenter’s Hall and the Second Bank of the United States of America. Both stops give a sense of how Philly led the way for commerce, culture and community in the USA.
Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art, or PMA as locals and museum people say, is large and beautiful and an absolute must visit. There is such an array of art you will need to visit a second or third time, but the building, space and collection are well worth your time. Some of my favorites in the collection? Cy Twombly, Degas and the decorative arts galleries featuring 18th century furniture (don’t knock it until you try it).

p.s. the steps leading up to the art museum are also the same iconic steps run by Sylvester Stallone aka Rocky Balboa.

Barnes Foundation


My favorite museum is the Barnes Foundation, and for reasons you will soon find out. This entire trip to Philly was planned around an interview with the Deputy Director of the Barnes Foundation. Subscribe to 21st & 18th to read the Art Apéritifs article come spring.
Schuylkill River & Boathouse Row


The most difficult river name to pronounce in all of the world? What is: The Schuylkill River. Took me a while, when I was at university, to figure this one out. Tip: It’s pronounced skoo-kl. While this body of water may be difficult to pronounce, it winds itself through Philly and the city’s suburban neighborhoods and plays host to high school and university rowing teams, locals and tourists alike who use the banks and river trails to enjoy the city. It’s an easy and scenic walk from the PMA and is fun dose of non-colonial history.
Honorable Mentions
Amtrak


Amtrak is of course not Philly specific, but dang they do make it easy. Philly is an excellent location from which you might move to and from Washington DC, the Newark airport, New York City and Boston. 30th Street Station is particularly efficient to navigate, clean and beautiful. Plus the Amtrak team based there are surprisingly lovely and helpful - they always wish you well when you’re getting on the trains AND the local accent is excellent for calling out stops, what a thrill to hear a man in uniform yell, “Treee-N-ton New JERsey Next. Treee-N-ton Newww JERsey!”
Soft pretzels

In college we housed soft pretzels after all Greek life events - it’s the snack that keeps on giving. The best pretzels, in my humble opinion are: Philly Pretzel Factory.
Walkability
Philly is incredibly lovely for walking. It’s well planned and easy to get around most parts of the city. I stayed in Rittenhouse Square, which provides easy access to most neighborhoods. Alternatively, given Philly’s cozy size, Uber and Lyft rides are only about $10-15 to get from one side of the city to the other. All of my California and NYC based Readers are surely shouting, “What. A. Deal!”
Lovely nod to a beautiful city everyone should visit at least once in life.