Philadelphia has long been the overlooked middle child between New York City and Washington, D.C.  Chances are if you’ve visited the city you did so for one day and saw Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, ran up the “Rocky steps” and ate a cheesesteak or soft pretzel.  In Philly, we were ok with this type fo tourism as we had the rest of the city to ourselves – the amazing plethora of art museuems (Philadelphia Art Museum, The Rodin Museum, The Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to name a few), the emerging restaurant scene with over 200 BYOBs and the outdoor spaces.  We like to complain and don’t quite know how to be as awesome as we are – it’s just what we do.  We’re always “this close” to success. But now, we have a huge spotlight shining on us and fingers crossed we will be happy to step on the stage and say “you like us, you really like us”.

World Meeting of Families – The Pope is Confirmed!

In the past few months, Philadelphia has exploded on the National and World’s stage – we’re not much of a secret anymore.  Starting with the announcement over a year ago of the World Meeting of Families and the hopes that The Pope would visit, we got confirmation that Pope Francis will visit Philadelphia, his first U.S. visit this September.  Yes, he will go to NYC and D.C. but his main focus will be Philadelphia. He will celebrate mass on the Parkway with about a million plus faithful followers. Having grown up Catholic in Philadelphia (Catholic grade school, All Girls Catholic High School), the Pope’s visit is definitely a big deal.  The world will be watching Philadelphia, many learning about it for the first time and the city is bracing for the influx of pilgrims and conference attendees.

Having done a few queries on hotel rooms right now, they are tied up in conference room blocks, I’m not sure when (and if) they will be released.  I did find a hotel at the airport which normally charges $150, and now is asking close to $600 a night!  That’s insane!  The points redemption rate was a steal given the rate in effect. The Archdiocese is asking residents to open their homes and host attendees during the week, allowing folks to list their entire homes or rooms for a price.  I’m thinking of hosting but couldn’t charge a fee, it doesn’t seem right it’s the Pope and while I haven’t been to church in a long time (save weddings and funerals), I think living by the golden rule might rule here – I shouldn’t profit from this but rather be charitable and welcoming to those from around the world. The nuns might tell me I’m going to hell otherwise!  Note that the volunteer application isn’t available yet.

If you are planning to visit Philadelphia for the Pope’s Mass celebration on Sunday, September 27th, I’d advise you to start planning now.  Look at using award miles for hotel rooms (time to see if you Platinum status gets you anywhere), check out AirBnb or the World Meeting of Families site for home stays.  Book that Amtrak seat now from NYC or DC!

The Politicians of the DNC

Last week, the Democratic National Convention for 2016 was awarded to the City of Philadelphia.  No surprise that we can pull this off as we successfully held the Republican National Convention in 2000.  But how the city has changed in those fifteen years. The attendees will be surprised as many are what they will find when they visit the city – they may want to book Amada, Vetri and Laurel now!

Now when it comes to hosting the Politicians, I have a bit of a different take on being charitable (the nuns might be ok with this too).  I will happily abide by the laws of supply and demand to earn some money (a girl needs travel money).  It seems fair that my taxes have supported the government regime and I haven’t quite benefited much from the impasses.  My taxes are higher, my healthcare costs are higher and many of the social programs that I support for the good of the inner cities, like Philadelphia, continue to be cut. I’m definitely disillusioned by both parties and the fact that they are acting like children who won’t share toys or compromise for the good of the country. It will be interesting to see who emerges as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

Making the List

In January, the New York Times, awarded Philadelphia the number 3 spot on their 52 places to visit in 2015.  What an accomplishment for the city. Citing the increasing outdoor spaces – pop up parks, outdoor public spaces and an upcoming bike share, the city won a top slot on the list.  No mention of the Philly cheesesteak, the restaurants, the chefs, the arts, the sports, the history or even the Rocky steps.  Not even a peep on the Pope! We won it on all the new stuff you haven’t discovered yet!  Finally my friends around the country (and world) were saying “hey, we might visit you now” – despite my years of saying that the city is a hidden gem, it needed to be on a top 5 (or 52) list to get traction.

Upcoming To Do List

So in preparation of the Pope’s Visit in September and the Democratic delegates in 2016, I’m going to get out and explore more of Philadelphia in the upcoming months to feature on the blog.  As always, if you have a Philly question, just use the contact form or tweet me @philatravelgirl and I’d love to help you plan your visit to Philadelphia.