- Grace B
Travel & Stationery: PHILADELPHIA

Hello! Welcome to TRAVEL & STATIONERY! I’m constantly itching to travel and here’s what I look for when I've decided on a place:
- Best touristy things to do i.e Historical Sites and Beautiful Urban Locations
- Best Food and Drinks
- Book Stores, Comic book stores, Indie Bookstores, Famous bookstores and Libraries
- Indie Shops
- Last but not least STATIONERY.
Philly is the perfect place for all the American history you could want. With some surprise awesome places to visit, come with me on a day trip to PHILADELPHIA!
How to get to Philadelphia :
I took a Greyhound bus from Port Authority here in NYC. There are other options and I usually use Wanderu.com to find the cheapest bus tickets.
Brunch:
Cafe Lift- A yummy menu, we picked out Mexican inspired dishes when we went. There was a little wait but for the food and seasonal drinks, I think it's worth it.
*Tour Bus Time*
Making my way downtown. Seeing famous places, neighborhoods and cute cats in windows. I recommend a nice tour bus ride. I learned that WaWa is the Ojibwe word for the Canada goose!
Philly Cheesesteak:
Jim’s Cheese Steak Sandwiches - Delicious! The line moves quickly, so I felt as if I need to know what I wanted but you know what take your time haha. Don't feel pressured :p
Fav Places:
Elfreths Alley - We passed this alley on the tour bus and I made sure to walk back. Regardless if you're going for your Insta photos or just admiring the architecture, I think it's worth visiting this historic alley.
The Book Trader- Cool thrifty bookstore with a shop cat!
Amalgam Comics and Coffee House - A female black-owned business, YES. The comic shop is spacious, with a cafe, a back area for card games, and a bathroom(which is always a PLUS).
Magic Garden’s Mosiac Murals (South Street)- I was surprised to see this art form spread around this area. I'm used to beautiful graffiti but now I got to see beautiful mosaics! Definitely a must-see!
Coffee Stop:
Menagerie Coffee- Cozy, good menu and delicious. What else could you want from a cafe...OH! Also, they have a bathroom.
WaWa- This particular location was very big, and I just bought $1 coffee and my boyfriend bought $1 tea! If you're on a strict budget, WaWa seems like the place.
Stationery/Shopping:
OMOI Zakka Shop / Omoi Zakka Shop | Rittenhouse- The Omoi Zakka Shop in Old town is slightly bigger and the picture below of from that location. Regardless you can definitely hit up both locations. OMOI is a fabulous shop full of well... EVERYTHING. You'll be stationery satisfied if you stop here.
Philadelphia Independents- A cute small shop filled with local Philly goodies.
Never Too Spoiled- This cute shop is right by Philadelphia Independents(Pictured above)! My only regret is not buying the jumpsuit pictured below. So don't skip out on cute clothes from here.
Dinner:
Farmacia- A restaurant that I would say is about 2 and a half dollar signs. The food was delicious and we left satisfied. From farm to table!
Dessert:
The Franklin Fountain- Couldn't leave Philly in January without dessert! No matter how cold it is, I will still eat icecream. The Franklin Fountain has classic yummy American flavors, so don't forget to get some dessert here!
*Written based on a day trip I did to Philadelphia in late January 2019*