Philadelphia, PA

I met Sarah and Jimmy in New Zealand in 2013 when we were both working for a hotel in Franj Josef Glacier. Since then we've made a point of meeting up in various cities in the world, Philadelphia being the newest addition to the tradition. 

This time around Sarah and Jimmy were living just out side of Philadelphia in a neighbourhood called Manayunk. They welcomed us to stay as long as we wanted and took us on tour around their city. 

Playing Jenga at a beer garden in Fishtown

Our first weekend there, they took us on a driving tour of Philadelphia, out for lunch downtown, to Reading Terminal Market and then to a beer garden in Fishtown.

 During our stay Sarah was going to school at a nearby university and Jimmy had just started a new job. It was nice to have a few days to relax and stay in one place for a while and go out in the evenings when our hosts were free.

We also visited Valley Forge. the place where Washington's army waited out the winter of 1777/1778 during the American revolution. 

These are what the soldiers lodgings would have looked like

Train station at Valley Forge

The house Washington stayed in.

Nearby church that hid soldiers

Inside the church

There's quite a bit of green space around the Manayunk area, it's also quite a hilly neighbourhood. We spent some time walking in 

Wissahickton Valley Park

This bridge is one of the oldest stone structures in America

After four months on the road, Bill's hair was starting to get a bit overgrown. So we went to a nearby barber to get it cut.

Before the haircut

after the haircut

Blowing up the air mattress

There were lots of good eats around Manayunk but before we left we had to try a Philly Cheese Steak. Dalessandro's has some of the best.

Eating a Philly Cheese Steak