<p>I am helping my daughter schlep things cross-country to her semester at The Philadelphia Center and getting to visit my college roommate who lives there? Any local sites this crew would recommend we not miss while I am there. (Daughter and my roomie will have all kinds of time there but I only have the weekend.) What are some non-touristy places you’d highlight? Or dining spots that are good for vegetarians. (How my daughter can go there and not eat cheese steak amazes me, but that is the moral fortitude of youth!)</p>
<p>My D’s and I spent an overnight in Philly a few weeks ago. We did the open top bus tour in the evening. A great way to see all the highlights of the city and we all really enjoyed. Spent the first afternoon doing the usual tourist things, Independence Hall, Liberty Bell etc
We were there in the heat wave, so the next day we headed for air conditioning and had an unexpected great morning in the Jefferson institute.</p>
<p>Last March, while watching a basketball game in a hotel bar downtown, H and I met a young woman and her boyfriend who were rooting for the same team, so we chatted with them. She owns and runs Philly’s only Segway tour and it sounded like a lot of fun. Sounded like a fun way to hit all of the historic highlights, in a shorter amount of time than it would be to walk it all.</p>
<p>The Flash bus is a great way to get around. You pay one price and it circles around the city. You can get on and off as often as you want to.</p>
<p>The National Constitution Center is really great. There is a new Jewish American Museum.
I love the story benches. They are scattered all over the historic area, you can find a map of them somewhere. You sit at the bench and someone in period clothing tells a story about something that happened near that spot.</p>
<p>For vegetarian food, one of my coworkers swears by a food truck that parks on the Penn campus between about 11 am - 2 pm. It’s called the “Magic Carpet”. She’s not even vegetarian, and she raves about the food from that truck.</p>
<p>It’s not for everyone-- but we had a great time at the Mutter museum. I had heard of it before, but didn’t expect such an extensive collection. Fascinating if you’re interested in medicine or history.</p>
<p>[mutter</a> museum](<a href=“Home - Collphyphil”>Home - Collphyphil)</p>
<p>The Reading Market is an amazing food hall, but might be off-putting for vegetarians.</p>
<p>Essene Market and Cafe, near South Street, has a vegetarian buffet that can’t be beat.</p>
<p>[Essene</a> Market - Home](<a href=“http://www.essenemarket.com/]Essene”>http://www.essenemarket.com/)</p>
<p>The Golden Empress Garden, in the same general area, has good vegetarian Chinese food.</p>