Her Philly

A lifestyle blog for young women dining, shopping, playing & living in the city of Philadelphia.

  • About
    • Behind the Blog
    • Meet Emily
    • Disclosure Policy
  • Chit Chat
    • Philly Girl Life
  • Dining
  • Living
    • Moving to Philly
  • Playing
    • Travel
  • Shopping
    • Gift Guides
    • Emily’s Amazon Favorites
  • Shop my Instagram Stories
  • Contact
    • As Seen In
    • Work with Me
    • Get in Touch

December 3, 2014

Charms of Fairmount Holiday Tours

Last year, in the midst of a festive holiday season, I was lucky enough to win two passes to the Charms of Fairmount Holiday Tour from HughE’s blog. My friend Tara & I had such a fun day exploring these beautiful Philly homes, but I didn’t get a chance to report on my experience before the season was over. Well – GREAT NEWS: the tours are back! Starting today (12/3) and running through 12/30, Woodford, Cedar Grove, Laurel Hill Mansion, Lemon Hill, Mount Pleasant, and Strawberry Mansion will “once again be decorated in their holiday finest for the beloved annual Holiday Tours” (I couldn’t have said it better myself).

To give you a little background, these homes, located in Fairmount Park and currently owned by the city, were once the summer villas of rich families living in Philadelphia during the 18th & 19th centuries. It took them two to three hours to get out to these babies, so they had to be fabulous. Many important people rolled through these homes during their prime (we’re talking Ben Franklin and John Adams important), and they’re a really great snapshot into what our city used to be.

Mount Pleasant Philadelphia // Her Philly

Continue Reading…

Posted by admin 6 Comments
Filed Under: playing Tagged: fairmount, fairmount charms, history, holidays, tours

January 30, 2014

The Chinatown Tour {Part 2}

Happy almost weekend! If you’re just tuning in, earlier this week, I began documenting my Philly Chinatown tour, led by the super knowledgeable Albert Lee. So without further ado, let’s go on with the second part of our tour!

 

Tea-Do (132 North 10th Street)

Where to get bubble tea in Chinatown // Her PhillyDue to my longstanding love affair with bubble tea, a shop was one of my requirements for a stop on Al’s tour. Tea-Do has so many options to choose from, ranging from tea with milk and tapioca bubbles to fruity tea with aloe and lychee jellies. If you’ve never had bubble tea, you drink it with a huge straw which sucks up the little “bubbles” in your drink. It’s basically amazing.

Tea-Do bubble tea in Chinatown // Her PhillyEach tea comes with a plastic seal over the top, and you have to stick the pointy end of your straw through to get to the drink. That was probably the most stressful part of the day. 😉

 
Shanghai Bazaar (1016 Race Street)

Shanghai Bazaar in Philadelphia Chinatown // Her Philly With bubble tea in hand, we moved on to this humongous bazaar, filled with everything from toys to books to jewelry & more. I didn’t look much at the prices of the the items, but there was definitely a plethora of goodies to choose from.Shopping in Chinatown // Her Philly Where to shop in Philadelphia Chinatown // Her Philly

 
Joy Tsin Lau (1026 Race Street)

Joy Tsin Lau dim sum // Her PhillyAfter some shopping, it was finally lunch time! We hurried in the crowded restaurant for some dim sum, which is basically small sized portions of food served in steamer baskets or on small plates. Al explained that dim sum is to the Chinese as tea time is to the British. Dim Sum at Joy Tsin Lau in Philadelphia Chinatown // Her PhillyOur only restriction was no duck (my request), and Al quickly ordered for us off of the wizzing trays filled with food. We tried lots of different things, but I loved the shrimp dumplings & fried rice the best. Yummy fried rice at Joy Tsin Lau in Chinatown // Her PhillyLunch for four of us, including tea & dessert, and until we were literally stuffed, ended up being $27. If that’s not a gem in this city, I don’t know what is.

 
Lucky Chinese Cookie Factory (155 North 9th Street)

Lucky Chinese Cookie Factory Philadelphia // Her PhillyOur last stop was a quick visit to the fortune cookie factory! You can go in & see the cookies being made (so cool!) and pick up a bag of “X-Rated” cookies to take home with you. They also do custom cookies for events & weddings.

That stop signaled the end of our tour. We had sipped, shopped & chomped our way through Chinatown, and I can confidently say I will be back!

Touring Philadelphia Chinatown // Her PhillyI hope this blog inspires you to break out of your comfort zone and explore a new neighborhood or two. Thanks again to Al for being a great tour guide, and my friends Kelly & Colleen for braving the chilly temps with us! If this type of neighborhood tour is something you’re interested in seeing more of, let me know in the comments & I will find a new Philly hood to explore next!

Remember, Chinese New Year starts tomorrow. Get the details on all the Philadelphia festivities & have fun! xx

her philly

Posted by admin 2 Comments
Filed Under: playing Tagged: bubble tea, chinatown, dim sum, exploring, neighborhoods, tours

September 25, 2013

Touring Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary

Sometimes, when you’ve lived somewhere for a long time, you forget to take advantage of the things tourists do every day. In my quest to explore more Philly neighborhoods (and because of my current obsession with La Calaca Feliz), I recently bopped up to Fairmount to spend the day with my parents. After an obviously delicious brunch, we decided to venture down the block to that big, stone fortress looking building – oh yeah, a prison.

Eastern State Penitentiary (2027 Fairmount Avenue), opened from 1829 to 1971 (can you believe that?), is pretty much an amazing piece of history sitting right in the middle of our pretty city. My parents & I visited on a Sunday around 2:00 pm and walked right in to get our tickets. We picked up a set of headphones and made out way outside to start “The Voices of Eastern State” Audio Tour, narrated by Steve Buscemi, naturally.

Eastern State Penitentiary Tour // Her Philly Tour the Eastern State Penitentiary // Her PhillyContinue Reading…

Posted by admin 6 Comments
Filed Under: playing Tagged: eastern state penitentiary, esp, fairmount, haunted, philly activities, tourist to dos, tours

Hi! I'm Emily, a Philly lady on a quest to discover everything lovely, exciting, affordable, and beautiful about my city.

HER PHILLY, DELIVERED!

Join 331 other subscribers

What’s Hot on Her Philly

19 Items You Must Pack for Diner en Blanc
A Look Inside The Shore House
11 Philly Things to do with Your Work Buds
Curvy Size 14 Amazon Swimwear Try on

Good Day Philadelphia

HP on the Gram

Walked out of dinner at @tomatoesmargate into the Walked out of dinner at @tomatoesmargate into the most gorgeous sunset everrrrr. 🤩 

Thanks @calisonx for my photo shoot. Now everyone, help me pick which one should go on my dating profile, please. 😉

#downtheshore #margate #margatenj #jerseyshorelocal #plussizeblogger #curvyblogger #njblogger #ltkcurves #curvyconfidence #datingprofile
survived on rum punch & miami vices. antigua sunsh survived on rum punch & miami vices. antigua sunshine pt 2 ☀️

#antigua #antiguaandbarbuda #curvyblogger #curvystyle #curvyconfidence #birthdaytrip #plussizeswimwear #curvyswimwear #njblogger #royalton #royaltonantigua #stingraycity #vineyardvines #plusblogger
shell-ebrating pt1 🐚🌊 #antigua #antiguaandb shell-ebrating pt1 🐚🌊

#antigua #antiguaandbarbuda #plussizeblogger #curvystyle #curvyconfidence #targetstyle #birthdaytrip #plussizeswimwear #curvyswimwear #curvesarebeautiful
Load More... Follow on Instagram
PHLBloggers

Shop my looks

Shop more of my closet on Poshmark

Theme by 17th Avenue · Powered by WordPress & Genesis