Philadelphia, Day Two

Our second day in Philly was low-key, and centered around brunch. We slept in a bit, stashed the bags at the hotel’s front desk, checked out and headed for Morning Glory, a gourmet diner on the edge of South Philly. The weather had turned dramatically overnight – it was now in the 30s with buffeting winds – but we decided to walk nonetheless. I was reminded how much I liked the character of the city. It’s very walkable, and the neighborhoods flow right into one another. Colonial-era townhouses intermingle with utilitarian International Style high-rises. This might strike some as unfortunate – the beautiful historic architecture being polluted by the worst that urban renewal of the 50s and 60s had to offer. To me, however, it spoke of the city’s vibrancy and its preoccupation with the present at any given moment in its history. It was a sign of a desire to make a place where a wide variety of people could live and function.

The walk was long but largely pleasant despite the weather. We arrived at Morning Glory to find a crowd of intimidating size waiting for tables. Our friend C.S., who suggested the place, warned us of this, and recommended going early, which we didn’t. But it wasn’t as bad as it looked – most groups were large, and we were seated in a little less than a half hour. The brunch was well worth the wait. I had an amazingly delicious egg scramble with smoked salmon, sautéed onions and goat cheese. In addition to the usual choices of bread for toast, olive bread was on offer. It was excellent – fresh, seriously crusty, and chock-full of moist, salty black olive slices. J. – the world’s biggest lover of pancakes, I think – ordered the version that came with granola and bananas. They were very good as well. Even the coffee was top-notch, and came in metal mugs.

After brunch, we walked around South Street a bit, stuck our heads into a couple of shops, then walked back downtown to claim our bags and take the subway to the train station. The subway proved to be much nicer than the street car – quieter, cleaner and more spacious. Our train was late, but we did eventually make it home in time for a late dinner at the neighborhood Vietnamese noodle shop, happy to have got a change of scenery, but sad that we couldn’t stay longer.