Last weekend, my friend from college, Beth, came to visit Pennsylvania and brought along her mom, dad and sister. They stayed with us and, since they had never visited Philadelphia, we decided to play tour guides on Saturday and show them around. We did our best to give them the Philadelphia experience.

They arrived around 7 p.m. on Friday evening, so we just kicked back at our house, enjoying dinner and laughs. Since they had to leave very early Sunday morning, Saturday was the only day we really had a chance to show them around. We spent the whole day in the city, so, unfortunately, we were unable to drive them around Bucks County and give them a glimpse of the beauty of the surrounding suburbs.

The day started early. Our first stop, in typical tourist fashion, was an 80-minute Philadelphia Ride the Ducks tour. We drove all through the historic center of the city — past Independence Mall, Betsy Ross house, Elfreth’s Alley and more — before plunging into the Delaware River for a quick ride. After the tour, we visited the Liberty Bell and took a quick peek around the Constitution Center.

After our tour, we left the historic area and headed over to the Reading Terminal Market. We wandered around for a bit, then piled into the car for a drive through my favorite part of the city. We drove them up past The Franklin Institute, up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with its country flags, up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We drove around the museum, past the Rocky statue and down Kelly Drive, past Boathouse Row. It is a beautiful, scenic drive.

Then, it was off to the Italian Market, where we purchased fresh pasta and delicious Italian pastries from Termini Brothers. And, of course, while in South Philadelphia, we had to stop for a Philly cheesesteak. We chose Geno’s over Pat’s, but the lines at both shops were long. We taught my friend’s family how to order their cheesesteaks — “wiz wit”, “wiz witout,” or insert the applicable cheese selection. After the cheesesteak stop, we headed over to Citizen’s Bank Park for the Phillies game.

After the game, vendors sell Philadelphia soft pretzels on the street corner. That was our last goal of the night — to get our guests some authentic Philly soft pretzels. Alas, torrential downpours led to the game being called in the eighth inning, and we were also unable to get them pretzels. All in all, though, I think we gave them a pretty good taste of the City of Brotherly Love.

–Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive