The BLT Guidebook

If the title is any indication, we packed a lot into our long weekend in PA. It was our first time travelling to the east coast together and we were spending time with family, so we had the luxury of having the insider’s scoop.

Our trip was 5 full days, but we could definitely condense it to make a perfect 3-day weekend and still have enough leisurely time.

Arrival/Day One: Philly & Phoenixville

We took a red eye from San Francisco to Philadelphia, landing at 7:30 in the morning. If you’ve been to this blog before, you know that we live in Oregon. We travelled to California for the holidays and stuck around for our flight to Philadelphia because it was a more inexpensive option.

Stop 1: Philadelphia’s “Little Italy” AKA The Italian Market
In South Philly sits an Italian Market, filled with merchants, eateries, vendors, anything you could possibly need in shops and on the street like a larger Farmer’s Market. Not all of the shops were open yet, but we didn’t miss the hustle of shop owners getting ready for the day. We lingered in Anthony’s Italian Coffee House for some catching up over cappuccinos. The last time the 6 of us were together was one year prior in Florence, which made this place very fitting!

Stop 1 ½: Rocky Steps
As we were driving, we crossed paths with the famous Rocky steps! We didn’t have a chance to stop, since we were headed out of the city, but we did see it! ½ credit for that.

Stop 2: Dalessandro’s
Being in Philly was part of a foodie adventure (need to try that at least once, right?) Dalessandro’s has over 12 thousand Google Reviews and even I’ve heard of it! It was 1 of 2 iconic cheesesteaks of the trip and worth the stop. (No photos, unfortunately.)

Stop 3: Philadelphia’s Lower Northwest Neighborhood: Manayunk
15 from city center is Manayunk, quirky main street that, much like South Philly, is packed with things to do. The perk of being close to a major city! We stopped here for a bite to eat and drinks at The Goat’s Beard before heading to our final destination- Phoenixville.

Stop 4: Phoenixville, PA
Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County roughly 30 miles from Philadelphia. It’s less than 20 miles from my sister in law’s house, so it put us in the prime location for the Airbnb we were sharing with my in-laws.

I read online that Phoenixville at one point had the most breweries per capita, being that it was only a small town of 20 thousand and you can walk out of one brewery and be looking at your next destination. Whether or not that’s true, Phoenixville was exactly the type of town we would visit on any vacation. We were walking distance from Bridge Street and could have any type of food we wanted. Living in southern Oregon has its perks…but food is not one of them, so we were excited about that fact alone!

That afternoon, we settled in, jogged some of the Schuylkill River Greenway and had beers at Molly Maguire’s Irish Pub and Rec Room, complete with a ping-pong tournament.

Day Two- Phoenixville/ Surrounding Area

Our day started with breakfast at Your Mom’s Place, coffee at Steel City Coffeehouse & Brewery, and a peek at the beer selection in The Foodery.

Then we took off to explore my sister-in-law’s house, neighborhood, and a local farm/cidery! For the sake of privacy, I will keep the town and some other locations out of this post. The area outside of Philadelphia had way more foothill/nature vibes that I would have expected. We weren’t even that far from the city!

Around lunchtime, we went to a local favorite- Hidden River Brewing. This was very fitting because we past a sign that said “Amityville” and that kicked off a discussion about horror films. Turns out- this brewery is inside the Brinton Lodge that the website calls a “quirky and haunted 300-year-old mansion”! They even do ghost tours. The brewery itself had several different rooms-two with a bar and others were set up like parlors with fireplaces and antique decor. It was like you were exploring an old house. That alone made the trip worth it!

Back in Bridge Street in Phoenixville with dinner at Bistro on Bridge and our last stop- Bluebird Distillery.

Day Three- Center City Philadelphia

Bright and early, we had a quick coffee and set off to Philly to check out the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All of these sites are part of the larger Independence National Historical Park. For breakfast, we had delicious Irish coffees and pizza! (Yes, pizza!) at the Society Hill Hotel across from the Museum of the American Revolution.

It was game day and the recommended place to watch was at McGillin’s Olde Ale House in Midtown Village. The vibe, people watching, and service made it a fun place to be to watch the Eagles.

After this, we did a quick stop at Wissahickon Brewing Company on our way to back to Phoenixville. Our nighttime stops were Root Down Brewing, The Boardroom Restaurant, and Stable 12 Brewing CO.

Day Four- Valley Forge National Historical Park

Somewhere along the trip, we saw on a map it was 6 miles on Schuylkill River Greenway to Valley Forge from our Airbnb. Since day 1, a plan formed where we would attempt to run the length of it, check out Valley Forge, and get picked up. After discovering bikes in the Airbnb garage (for guest use), we decided to bike there and back.

I’ve written about hiking on this blog quite a bit, but biking is something I don’t have a ton of experience with. Our worst case scenario was getting picked up or walking our bikes home. We set out, coffee from Sweet Brew in hand (sorta) and successfully biked 12 miles RT and the 5 miles in the park (and were exhausted by the end of it.)

Afterwards, we had a late lunch at Sedona Taphouse and a dinner with extended family at a restaurant in a nearby town.

Day Five- Back to Philly

Our last morning in Phoenixville and our last day in Philly awaited us. We walked Bridge Street with cappuccinos from Soltane Café a final time while I took some early-morning photographs.

Our day in Philly was filled with food- cheesesteaks at Uncle Gus’ in the Reading Terminal Market, one of the best pizzas in my life (no exaggeration) from Dough Head Pizza, and a fun family-style dinner at Osteria.

From here, we parted ways from family to our hotel by the airport for our early morning flight. The hotel had a restaurant, but it was isolated, so we stayed in and got some much-needed rest!

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As I mentioned earlier, we have only been to the east coast together once. Separately, we’ve each been there three times. What’s your must-see or must-visit recommendation?

Cheers!

C