The Song Fight Bulletin Board

So I reserved entrance tix to the King Tut exhibit next weekend, not realizing that 4th of July weekend in Philadelphia is perhaps a tough time to get a room.

Who knows of some nice, but off-the-beaten-track hotels that they can recommend with reasonable proximity to The Franklin Institute?

We went to this, um, two weekends ago (1 June). Don't know a lot of hotels, but the one we stayed at was near the airport and reasonably priced:
Hampton Inn Airport
Not too hard to get to the Franklin from there. Be warned, though, it's awfully hard to figure out how to leave Philly, or at least for us it was. Also, do enjoy the rest of the museum while you're there, especially if you have the kids with you.
-bill

No idea about hotels, but July 4th in Philly is pretty spectacular. (Chaka Khan is playing at Penn's Landing on the 30th, if you're into that sort of thing There's lots of good free stuff going on too.)

And the King Tut exhibit is super awesome.

I've always stayed at the Adam's Mark when in Philadelphia, which was nice enough but is apparently not there any more. Must have been sold or something because their web site disclaims all knowledge. Perhaps that's why the World Open is in Bjamtown this year. I guess that isn't much help, but, dangit, there is this twenty-story hotel out there somewhere and it probably has rooms available if you can find it.

It's the July 4th weekend. Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress and Ben Franklin and all that. Betsy Ross, Liberty Bell, the Whiskey Rebellion. And so, naturally, King Tut.

Rooms have been hard to come by for under $200. We'll be out by the airport, which is like almost right down town, so cool.

Thanks for the help, and thanks for the events listings, Bjam. Looks like we'll have ourselves some fun. I love stuff like Chaka Kahn in that kind of environment. The kids will be plenty busy. Psyched!

The Republic Lives!

So, we go on Friday.

Can Anyone recommend off-the-beaten-path restaurants or sights we should check out? We figure a nice meal Saturday night before music and fireworks, after a day at the Tut exhibit. Then a fun breakfast place Sunday morning.

roymond wrote:So, we go on Friday.

Can Anyone recommend off-the-beaten-path restaurants or sights we should check out? We figure a nice meal Saturday night before music and fireworks, after a day at the Tut exhibit. Then a fun breakfast place Sunday morning.

You should eat (and drink) at Monk's Cafe on 16th St. You could have Sunday brunch there. Mussels, burgers, fries and exclusive Belgian beers. We were there this past Sunday.

Or, for an awesome experience, go to Amada on Chestnut and order the roast suckling pig. Actually, I think you have to call ahead to order and you need a minimum of 4 people at $25/head. If you want to do that, my wife and I would happily join you. We always welcome opportunities to eat the pig at Amada and elsewhere (most recently, Madrid). If you're not into the pig, there is a great tapas menu.

Sights-wise, you should go to the Mütter Museum on 22nd St. It is a medical anomalies museum featuring the likes of Chang and Ang's conjoined livers! It's not for the squeamish, but is a spectacular and definitely "off-the-beaten-path."

P.S. Here's your hotel: http://www.quikbook.com/getprofile.asp?Code=1303
You can walk to the Franklin Institute and it's only $129/night through Quikbook.

South Street is always a fascinating place. Not sure how interesting it'll be for your kids though.

Please Touch Museum is awwwesome, especially for kids, although I don't know if it's 'too young'(I have fun there though )

Seconding Frankie's recommendation for the Mutter Museum. Wildly fascinating, though kinda gross if you're not into weird medical stuff.

Valley Forge Park is pretty cool, it's about a 30 minutes drive East, but it's super pretty, lots of hikes, lots of deer, lots of historical educationy stuff.

Cereality is a fun place for breakfast. It'll be more fun if you and the family are into cereal(well, really, that's more a necessity if you wanna eat there ) but it's a nice gimmicky thing. Lots and lots of yummy cereal.

Wandering around the Society Hill/Historical section of Philadelphia means you're likely to run into some cool older buildings and pretty parks. It's a really good city for tourism, as there are signs pointing you in the direction of most of the major attractions on most of the major roads.

And of course, as with Frankie, if you wanna grab lunch/breakfast/coffee/etc with stueym and I just send an e-mail/PM my way. I'll probably be rocking out to Chaka Khan with some friends(well, rocking out might be the wrong term), so I may see you('though it'll probably be busy, so I doubt it )

Have fun!