Hey everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas. I know we did. We spent a lot of time with family on both sides, and I’ll say it, we all got some amazing presents. I love gift exchanges, and seeing everyone’s smiles after opening what we picked out for them makes me a happy girl.
Now, I figured I’d just jump right in with the conclusion of the 3 part series: Our Philadelphia Adventure. I’ve really enjoyed sharing these experiences with you guys, and I hope that you enjoyed reading them as well. Let me know in the comments section below!
In case you missed it… Part 1 & Part 2!
MONDAY
Waking up on Monday was hard. I was so dang tired. We were all So. Dang. Tired. I just wanted a few more minutes, or even hours of sleep, but no can do. We had another pretty big day planned, including renting a car and getting out of the city ti venture into New Jersey to see the town where I grew up and called home for over a decade. SO EXCITED. So somehow, we mustered the energy to get dressed, and walk the few blocks over to Enterprise where we got ourselves a sporty little Ford Fusion for the ride.
And then a mere 20 minutes later, we found parking on Main St. in Moorestown NJ, and it was amazing.
It was like the town hadn’t changed one bit, but at the same time, everything was like new. I felt like a little kid again, walking down the brick sidewalks, looking around and seeing all the little shops and feeling those same feelings of I don’t even know what. I just know that I loved being back on Main St., and I loved being back in Moorestown.
We were hungry, being that we hadn’t stopped for breakfast at the hotel or the market as usual. Instead, we planned on visiting a coffee shop that opened only a week or two prior to our visit, The Cubby Hole. The Cubby Hole was recently purchased, renovated and is now owned and operated by my childhood best friend, Aimee and her husband. I couldn’t contain the excitement.
We made our way to the Cubby Hole, stepped inside, and I squealed. There she was! My long lost BFF!
It was so exciting to see her, meet her husband, catch up a bit, and introduce my little family. It was AWESOME.
While we were there, we ordered up some warm and cozy drinks, as well as some breakfast for our hungry tummies. Pro Tip: The salted caramel hot chocolate and the Chai Tea Latte are terrific.
The little one wanted banana pancakes, while Michael chose a breakfast burrito. I went with – get this – an egg and cheese bagel. Wow. Different.
Anyway, the food was spectacular, and the atmosphere was comforting and welcoming and perfect for our first stop in my hometown. And guess what? I got to see Aimee’s mom while we were there, which brought on a whole new wave of joy and memories. I love mini reunions like this, and it made for a wonderful start to our New Jersey visit.
After we cleaned our plates and our mugs, and hugged our goodbyes, we headed back out into the late morning and decided to go for a walk down Main St., and check out the shops, and the scenery. We visited a place that has been a staple of Main St. for over 30 years, The Happy Hippo.
It’s basically a small, yet amazing toyshop, full of toys and games from the super obscure to the super popular. I loved this place growing up, and I could see that our little one loved this place just as much. We ended up with a few items we just couldn’t live without: a Crazy Cat Lady action figure, a “parachute guy,” and a Dr. Seuss book. That place is so cool, and pretty much hasn’t changed a bit since I was last in there.
Next, we went to visit my old school down the street, Moorestown Friends School. I attended this school for ten years, so it was very special to me to be able to go back and show my family this place that I spent a huge chunk of my life.
It was so amazing to walk around and see the place as it is now.
It’s pretty much exactly the same, but with some modernization with a 3D printer, robotics department and new athletic and English wings. It was a ton of fun, and I’m so grateful to have been able to go back and walk down some serious memory lanes.
I loved MFS so much, and it was so fun to see it again.
Next up: My old house, the house I called home for so long. It was my home, my safe haven and my fortress. I have so many memories in that big old house at the end of the street, and I could NOT wait to see it. I had heard rumors that the current owners had changed it a bit, but I was NOT PREPARED for what I was about to see.
I was able to navigate us to the house without guidance, hooray memory, but once I got to the end of the street where my home, my beautiful home, stood… I was aghast. Horrified. Astounded. ANGRY even.
My home was no longer the way it once was. It was… green. And the trees, they were… gone. It wasn’t the beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright inspired cedar home in the forest. It was a green mess with a pitched roof and grass. Pissed. But hey, I guess that’s just how the cookie crumbles.
The street was still beautiful and I was still able to show my family where I come from, which was extremely special and important, green house and all.
By the time we made it back into town, our tummies were grumbling anew, and decided to stop for some lunch before heading back to Philly. And I knew just the place. Passariello’s Pavillion, a pizzeria that serves not only amazing pizzas by the slice or by the pie, but also a whole gamut of pastas, sandwiches, salads and desserts are available for your eating pleasure.
Passariello’s opened up when I was just a young kid, and I used to go for lunch and dinner pretty frequently growing up. I was in love with their pizzas, baked ziti and salads. I have a few awesome and specific memories from Passariello’s, including the time my mom and I went and each got a bowl of spaghetti marinara. We must have sat there for over an hour, eating, non-stop, and still we had yet to put a dent in our bowls. We just laughed and laughed, dubbing them the magical never ending pasta bowls. It was wild.
Anyway, it seemed like the perfect place to grab a bite, and a perfect place, it was. We each grabbed two huge slices of their delicious pizza. I went with a slice of cheese and a slice of white with broccoli (I am still craving the crap out of broccoli…), while Michael and the kiddo both got pepperoni slices. We enjoyed our pizza immensely, and honestly, it was better than I remembered. It was toothsome, flavorful, and super outstanding.
Their slices are huge, so after eating two, we were all STUFFED, and basically ready for a nap. But we had to make it back to Philly, so we mustered up the strength to press on.
We were soon back on the road and back to the city, where the hotel beds beckoned us, and called us each by name.
Naps were in order, especially after the longest night ever the night before, and lots of good food and walking that day. Ahh, relaxation for my tired body! I could not wait.
For dinner, we landed at the cutest and most serious Italian comfort food restaurant I’ve ever experienced: Little Nonna’s. Literally translated as Little Grandmother’s, Little Nonna’s is what’s up for simple yet amazingly layered Italian food. The space is small and adorable, and the menu follows suit in being concise. With offerings like handmade gnocchi, spaghetti and meatballs made from beef, veal and pork, and swordfish saltimbocca, there was no way to go wrong here.
We ordered mussels to start, and they were fantastic. Just perfectly done, simple and divine. There’s not a lot to say here about those, other than they were what I’ve come to expect of mussels when they’re done properly. Unfortunately, we haven’t had much in the way of well executed mussels in our recent history, so it was really nice to get some for a change. Thanks, Little Nonna’s.
The kiddo wanted just meatballs, nothing else, for his main course, so just meat balls it was. Michael went with the Sunday Gravy, slowly braised beef short rib, beef + veal + pork meatball, Fiorella Bros. hot fennel sausage and broccoli rabe in a 4 hour San Marzano marinara. They serve the Sunday Gravy over macaroni, with the meats on the side. Sensational. I went with the spaghetti and meatballs, because you know what? Spaghetti and meatballs sounded amazing. And guess what? It was.
Those meatballs were amazeballs, and I want them again right now. Anyway, if you are in the area, and you want a great spot for a girls night out, a romantic place to take your date, or even just a family dinner spot, Little Nonna’s is an excellent pick.
But after eating all that food, all of us were beyond ready for sleep. We walked back through the cold winter’s night to the hotel, ready for slumber.
TUESDAY
Our last day in Philly came too soon, in my opinion, but looking back, we did a TON of stuff, and packed a ton in to our week long trip. After we packed up our stuff and made sure nothing was left behind, we stored our bags at the front desk of the hotel while we wandered over to Reading Terminal Market for our last meal. Michael returned to DiNic’s for a beef brisket sandwich, the little one got a crazy gourmet grilled cheese at Meltkraft, and I went for something that I’d been craving the whole entire time we were in Philly: an incredible Italian hoagie. I found my masterpiece over at Spataro’s Cheesesteak. It was GLORIOUS, and exactly what I wanted to end our epic journey.
After we finished our breakfast/lunch, we decided to end our time in Philly with Macy’s famous light show, Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol Village, and of course, meeting Santa. The lights were fun, and the village was cute, albeit a bit dated, but meeting Santa was awesome. He was probably the nicest Santa I’ve ever met in my life, and the kiddo was so fired up about meeting him.
But we couldn’t leave just yet. No. We hadn’t gone to America’s oldest ice cream company, Bassetts Ice Cream. Located just steps inside the front of Reading Terminal Market, we couldn’t think of a better or sweeter end to our amazing vacation.
The ice cream was to die for, and I do believe the flavor I got, The WHYY Experience, was the best. All the yumminess with chocolate covered pretzels and other good stuff could NOT be matched in my book.
It was a perfect end to a perfect trip, and I am so thankful and grateful we were able to go and spend so much time in the City of Brotherly Love.
