Our feet were pretty tired at this point, and we didn't want to stray too far away since we had called for a cab to pick us up at 3pm, so we decided on exploring the waterfront area as it was really the only place we hadn't been yet. We saw Welcome Park, the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Becuna submarine, the four-masted Moshulu, and the Christopher Columbus Memorial before walking down to the Headhouse Square area. There was also an MS Walk going on so there we a lot of people milling about providing drinks and encouragement.

The one thing I had to experience was an authentic Philly cheesesteak. I always order cheesesteaks at restaurants when they are on the menu and I am simply a huge fan of beef with melted cheese on italian bread. Geno's Steaks seemed the perfect place to attain my cheesesteak goal so we walked to 9th Street and down through the Italian Market stalls filled with fresh fish, vegetables, and other random goodies. Since it was Sunday afternoon, the sidewalks were packed and I can't even imagine trying to drive through there with people crossing the street in between parked cars. I ordered my provolone cheesesteak "wid" for $6.25. Eric amusingly watched me scarf down my lunch which turned out to be tasty but not the religious experience some folks make it out to be.

We walked back to Headhouse Square to get Eric something to eat since he's not a cheesesteak fan and settled on a local chain restaurant similar to Panera called Cosi. The description of the pesto chicken sandwich implied it would be hot, but alas, it was not to be. We hung out here for a bit resting our legs and then strolled around the residential areas of Pine and Spruce streets taking in the scenery and taking more photos of architecture. We still had an hour to kill before we had to be back at the B&B to catch our cab, so we grabbed a bench in Washington Square and people/dog/bird watched and enjoyed some more of the beautiful weather.

Around 2:30pm we walked back to the B&B to collect our things and wait for our ride to the airport. Since no one had mentioned anything about paying for our room the entire time, we figured our credit card (which was on file) would be changed the appropriate rate when the woman returned from her trip. Boy, were we mistaken. We were informed by the wife of the guy who let us in on Thursday, 20 minutes before we were supposed to leave, that the credit card machine went down the week before and could we pay by cash? Excuse me, but I don't carry around $350 in cash with me, thankyouverymuch. So after a mild argument with the husband on a cell phone on the differences between a private bath and bathroom down the hall. (I say a private bath should be in the room, he said there was no one else using it so it is private AND added that in fact, none of the rooms had an attached bath.)

All this essentially proved the host lady lied to me when I made the reservations since she quoted me two different prices - one for the 3rd floor room with a shared bath and a higher price for the 4th floor with what she called a private bath.) Ultimately we paid less than expected and did (technically) have our own bathroom, but I was still not thrilled about having to run to the Wachovia ATM down the street to withdrawal a few hundred dollars to pay these people. Then the girl had the audacity to look surprised when we requested a receipt. Like I'm going to hand someone that much cash and not get a receipt! Of course the receipt book was nowhere to be found, so we settled on a handwritten note while Eric was waiting outside with our cab driver.

Needless to say, our B&B experience was sorely lacking. This experience was compounded by the fact that the original B&B reservation we booked in July was inexplicably cancelled by the owner a week before our trip because "she hadn't heard anything from us in weeks." Her courtesy call came after she had already given our room to someone else. That's how we even wound up at this place. Out of ten places I checked, it was the only one that still had room available, I should have known. If I am ever back in Philly I am staying at a well-known B&B or a hotel with real breakfast options.

All in all I think the trip was generally good. I liked the walkability of the city though I was admittedly very sick of walking by the end of the trip. I learned a lot of interesting history and I think Eric got some good photos. The weather was beautiful and there were many nice places to stroll through and rest when our feet needed a break. But of course, no matter where you go, it's always nice to be home again.

Total walking distance: about 20 miles :)

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