Day 8. Philadelphia: Reading Terminal Market. City Hall. IKEA. Sonny’s Famous Steaks. [City House Hostel Philadelphia]
I woke up with a start, hoping it wasn’t already the afternoon. I checked my phone which was lying next to me. 1:21 pm. Awesome. Just slept through about 4 hours of my daylight fun.
Philly Food
It was nearly 2 pm when I left the hostel. And it was raining. The kind that would normally require an umbrella, but I decided against going back to get one at the last minute. I had to use up my fare in the SEPTA Key Travel Wallet anyway, so I took the subway to Reading Terminal Market ($2.00).
As one of the largest and oldest market, Reading Terminal Market was bustling with tourists and locals alike. There were stalls selling local fresh goods as well as food stands with specialty meals. Since it was highly unlikely that I needed any fruits or vegetables, I headed straight to the section with ready-made food.
Fresh produce at Reading Terminal Market. 
Dining area at Reading Terminal Market.
Apart from cheesesteaks, Philadelphia has some other unique food, including sticky buns and soft pretzels. So when I walked past bakery sticky buns, I turned back to check them out. Though I figured that sticky buns weren’t my thing, I still got some pastry from Beiler’s Bakery just in case I get hungry the next few days: 6 bagels ($3.99), 1/4 pumpkin pie ($3.99), 1/2 lemon tin bread ($5.99).
I don’t think I’ve ever had fudge before. At least I cannot recall what that is. So when I saw fudges at Sweet As Fudge Candy Shoppe, I bought two squares ($6.50), hoping they would be decent. Right next to the candy shop is Miller’s Twist, selling soft pretzels. It seemed like a good time for some food as it was half past 2 pm. I got a soft pretzel ($2.75) and jumbo cheese dog roll ($3.75). The dog roll was way too savoury, but that is just the same with hotdogs, and if overlooking the fact of being too salty, it was good. The soft pretzel was way better. It tasted very buttery with some salt chunks, and was delicious.
Jumbo cheese dog roll. 
Soft pretzel.
My roommate at UIUC loves honey sticks. Since I never had one, I bought some at Bee Natural (5 for $1.00). The wrapping was indeed like straws, and there weren’t much honey in each stick. But it was worth the experience.
It was a little past 3 pm when I decided to leave. I walked past the City Hall on my way to the subway station as I wanted to visit an IKEA here for a while now. The location of IKEA South Philadelphia was more accessible than other branches, so I took the subway ($2.00), then a bus ($1.00 transfer) there. All in the rain.
City Hall and Christmas tree. 
This seemed familiar.
More Cheesesteak
IKEA here was similar to those back in Taiwan, and therefore just as enjoyable watching other shoppers building their homes. Unfortunately, I had to do laundry again today, so I head back at 5 pm and had my first lyft ride (shared $8.00 excluding tips) alone.
The greatest downside of City House Hostel Philadelphia was that the laundry room was at another address, namely City House Hostel Old City Philly, which was about 2 blocks away. The cost of doing laundry ($1.50 per machine) was lower than other hostels I’ve done laundry at, but the space was a really sketchy basement outside the building. It reminded me of the Underground Tour in Seattle. I hung out at Old City Philly for about 1.5 hours, and then went to grab dinner around 9 pm.
I had another cheesesteak (beef + Mozzarella) at Sonny’s Famous Steaks ($9.00). The flavour of the bread stood out more than Campo’s, something I didn’t particularly like, but the overall taste wasn’t as strong as Campo’s, so that was a plus. Also, the beef had less tendons. Regardless, both cheesesteaks were great. I love this kind of fast food. I could have it every meal.
Summary
Since I slept through most of my day, I could only hope that I get up earlier tomorrow for more last-minute sightseeing. I will leave Philadelphia early afternoon and continue on with my journey.
Have you been to Philly? What is your favourite cheesesteak shop?
