I have lived in Philadelphia for three years now. It has been a rough transition, partly because I had only lived outside of Louisville for one year (the previous year in Chicago) and because Philly is completely different from the midwest. While I have many problems with the city, here are the top five things I like.
1. The Italian Market: Only 14 blocks from my house, the festival of all things Italian is a once every week or so must-see. Here are the highlights: the chocolate cannoli at Isgro's bakery, the fresh buffala mozzarella at Claudio's, frozen Italian dishes at Talutto's, DiBruno Bros House of Cheese, Anthony's Chocolate House, Sarcone Bakery fresh bread, and my favorite, the sauces and pastas at Superior Ravioli. Hungry yet? A perfect Sunday includes brunch at Sabrina's cafe (best breakfast in town), wandering through the market, and then grabbing some cannoli on the way out. Only criticism: the southern end of the market breaks down into stores selling cheap plastic crap and black market DVD's. The absolute tacky-fest that is Geno's Cheeseteaks is complemented by the more subdued Pat's King of Steaks, which my in-laws manage to visit at least twice a trip. For a view of the Italian market, picture Rocky running up a narrow street with fire barrels, and that's it.
2. Fairmount Park: While not as impressive as the Olmsted parks of Louisville, this area of greenery surrounding the Shuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek is a fantastic area for recreational activities. Famous landmarks include the Belmont Plateau (featured in Summertime by Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff), boathouse row, and yet another place where Rocky trained (see above). It is my favorite place to train, and the site of my two (possibly three) triathlons this summer. It also hosted the Philly International Cycling Championship yesterday (despite the 99 degree heat).
3. Philadelphia Phillies/ Philly Phanatic: Easily the most ignored of the pro teams here (don't try to argue this one, the only time anyone has cared recently is when the Mets collapsed last year). Games are relatively cheap, bike parking is at the gate, and veggie dogs are actually available. There's also dollar dog nite several times a year. Chase Utley is an amazing player to watch (how he has not won the mvp while Howard and Rollins have is a total mytery, which will likely be rectified this year). I am still a die-hard St. Louis fan, and I did see the Cards hand Philly their 10000th loss, but it's nice to have a team here that people don't get suicidal over (see: the Eagles). The Phanatic is also the best mascot in sports, period.
4. King of Prussia Mall: Not so much a mall as a, well, a really big mall (third largest in US). Also, not really in Philly, but in the western suburbs. But everything is there, parking is easy, and it's a fun place to people watch. Criticisms: for some reason, the Court section of the mall is not attached to the main mall, meaning you have to walk outside to get to Macy's and Banana Republic. Even weirder, you walk into the Court through the men's department at Macy's. Still worth the 3 gallon of gas drive, though.
5. Channel 6 Action News: I'll admit it, I mostly like this channel because of the opening music. It's awesome. I couldn't even tell you a single name of one the of anchors, but I'll watch the whole newscast waiting for the music at commercial breaks. It's like they wrote the theme in 1972, realized it was golden, and never changed a thing. You can search youtube for different montages over the years, and that theme song never varies.
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