Good morning, Toledo!

Philadelphia had been on my list for a while, and in February, I finally got the chance to spend a weekend exploring one of America's most historic cities.

When most people think about Philly, a few things probably come to mind immediately: cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell, Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and, of course, some of the most passionate sports fans in the country. But after spending a few days there, I found a city that has a lot more to offer than just the things that make it onto postcards.

For the first edition of The Toledo Dispatch's travel series, we're heading about 500 miles east of Toledo to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I'll take you through where I went, what I ate, what was worth the money, what I'd do differently and, most importantly, whether Philly deserves a spot on your weekend-trip list.

The Toledo Dispatch is teaming up with The Midnight Blue and Gold Launchpad podcast for a tailgate ahead of Toledo’s matchup against Central Connecticut State. We’ll be set up in Lot 10 starting at noon, so if you’re heading to the Glass Bowl, come by, hang out and say hello. We’d love to meet some of our readers before cheering on the Rockets!

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My first mistake of the trip happened before I even got to Philadelphia: I decided not to take the day off work.

Instant regret.

After wrapping up work, I drove from Toledo to Detroit and flew from Detroit to Philadelphia. The flight itself was super quick and easy, which made getting to Philly pretty painless.

By the time I finally made it into the city, though, it was already late, so any ambitious plans I might have had for the first night were pretty much out the window. I checked into my Airbnb in Passyunk Square, dropped my stuff off and decided there was still enough time to at least get out and explore the neighborhood a little.

I ended up walking over to Second District Brewing, a neighborhood brewery not far from where I was staying. After a full day of working and traveling, a beer flight was about exactly what I needed. It was a relaxed way to start the trip, get a feel for the area and officially check the first Philadelphia brewery off the list.

After that, I headed back to the Airbnb and called it a night. It definitely wasn’t the most eventful first day, but if there was one immediate takeaway, it was this: next time I’m traveling somewhere after work, I’m just taking the day off.

I started my second and final full day in Philadelphia at Function Coffee Labs, which ended up being a great first stop before a packed day. One thing I really liked about staying in Passyunk Square was how easy it was to get out and actually experience the neighborhood instead of feeling like I was just bouncing between tourist attractions.

After coffee, I made my way to Angelo’s Pizzeria, which is known for having one of the most famous cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. There are obviously no shortage of cheesesteak options in the city, but Angelo’s had been high on my list, and I wanted to see if it actually lived up to the hype.

It absolutely did.

The cheesesteak was one of the best things I ate on the trip, and it was one of those meals that immediately made me understand why people talk about Angelo’s so much. I included a picture here because, honestly, this is one of those foods that deserves the visual.

From there, I grabbed an Uber and headed over to Hagan Arena to watch Saint Joseph’s take on Loyola Chicago. Hagan Arena has a completely different feel from a massive professional sports venue, and that was part of what made it fun. It felt close, loud and very much like a true college basketball atmosphere.

Getting to see a game there also gave me a chance to experience another part of Philadelphia that I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Between the neighborhood coffee shop, Angelo’s and the game at Saint Joseph’s, the first half of the day felt like a really good mix of food, local spots and sports without feeling overly touristy.

After the Saint Joseph’s game, I Ubered back to my Airbnb and had a little bit of time before heading out again. I used that window to fly my drone around Philadelphia and get some shots of the city from above.

This ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Philadelphia has such a distinct mix of older neighborhoods, narrow streets and a modern downtown skyline, and seeing it from the air gave me a completely different perspective than I had gotten walking around. I was able to get some photos that really captured the city, and I’ll include one of my favorite drone shots above.

Later that evening, I took the SEPTA B Line from Tasker-Morris to NRG Station to head to Xfinity Mobile Arena for Villanova against UConn.

This was one of the games I had really been looking forward to. UConn came in ranked No. 2 in the country, while Villanova was ranked No. 8, so it had the feel of a major college basketball matchup.

I had originally thought the game would be played at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion, and I was admittedly a little disappointed when I realized it was instead being played at the Sixers’ arena. I had wanted to experience Villanova’s true on-campus atmosphere.

That disappointment went away pretty quickly once I got inside.

The arena was sold out, the crowd was loud and the atmosphere felt much bigger than a normal regular-season game. Even though it wasn’t the venue I had expected, getting to see two top-10 teams play in front of a packed NBA arena was still a really cool experience.

UConn ended up winning by 10, but the game itself was a great way to close out my time exploring Philadelphia.

And then things got interesting.

A major snowstorm was expected to hit the following day, which meant my original flight home was suddenly looking like a very bad idea. I ended up changing my flight and booking the last flight out of Philadelphia on Saturday night so I could get out before the weather moved in.

As soon as the Villanova-UConn game ended, there was no time to hang around.

I had to jump back on the train, head toward my Airbnb, grab my bags and immediately call an Uber to the airport.

It was definitely not the relaxed ending I had pictured for the trip, but it made the final few hours pretty memorable. I went from a sold-out college basketball game straight into a race against the clock to make the last flight out of Philadelphia before the snowstorm arrived.

Thankfully, I made it.

Looking back, it was a hectic way to end the trip, but it also summed up the weekend pretty well: a lot packed into a short amount of time, a few unexpected changes along the way, and plenty of reasons to want to come back.

Was this the most comprehensive trip to Philadelphia? Definitely not. Between my questionable decision to work on Friday and a major snowstorm forcing me to leave earlier than planned Saturday night, I really only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer.

But even with such a short stay, I came away really impressed with Philly. The food was great, getting around the city was easy, and I was surprised by how affordable the trip was overall. It’s also incredibly easy to get to from Toledo, a drive up to Detroit followed by a quick flight, and you’re there.

There is still so much I didn’t get the chance to experience. I barely touched the historical side of Philadelphia, there are countless restaurants and breweries I’d still like to try, and plenty of neighborhoods I never had time to explore. If anything, the shortened trip just gave me more reasons to go back.

I would absolutely recommend Philadelphia for anyone looking for a relatively inexpensive and easy weekend getaway from Northwest Ohio. Just take my advice on one thing: take Friday off work.

Philly, I’ll be back.

Well that’s all for now, thanks for reading.

Hope you have a great week!

Sincerely, Eli