Travel Tuesdays-- Mounting the Rocky Steps

I'm not sure if it is real, or just something I've imagined, but there seems to be a bit of rivalry between Baltimore and Philadelphia. It would certainly make sense if such a rivalry existed-- separated by less than 80 miles, the two cities share a similar vibe, a similar love of food, a similar rich history, and, admittedly, a similar layer of grime over the beautiful city scape.

I've always decidedly known where I fall on the Crab Cakes vs. Cheese-steak debate, preparing the back-alley-Poe-death type of history to the pristine the-Consistituion-was-written-here variety, but recently found a new face on Philly. I am there at least four or five times a year for work, but often saw only the walk from the train station to the office. A few weeks back, my boss sponsored a team building event in the form of a city night lights tour, and guess what, Philadelphia is awesome.

On the night life tour, I learned about former speakeasies, the city's superstitions around William Penn, that M. Night Shamalyan growing up with such creepy thoughts might have have been impacted by his proximity to one eerie abandoned prison, and that lots of night life happens outside of South Street.

My loyalty is intact-- if you get to spend two days on the east coast, I vote Baltimore first, DC second, but if you have a third day, trek up to Philly. It's more than just cheese-steaks, as this night view from the Rocky Steps (also known as the Art Museum) proves.