My 3 Day Plan

I would like to thank all of you who have helped with my trip planning so far.

I would also like to apologize to all of you who have recommended that I forget about a rental car since I have decided to keep my cheap rental. You have convinced me to bring quarters, hopefully a roll will be enough. Milwaukee is tough on parking enforcement too, so I am trained to pay attention to the time and read all the fine print on signs.

Here is my current outline. I am traveling alone.

My flight arrives around 11am Thursday, October 18th. After picking up my rental I would like to grab a cheesesteak. You have convinced me that the pilgrimage to Pat or Geno%26#39;s is unnecessary, so other suggestions would be appreciated.

I am going to head straight to the Phila Museum of Art for the Renoir exhibition after lunch. I intend to look for parking in the park behind the museum per info in previous posts.

I will then check into the SheratonCity Center and park my car. I plan to walk around city Hall/ Rittenhouse Square area early evening and eat dinner somehwere there.

Friday morning I will walk to the Historic area as early as possible to get a reservation for an Independence Hall tour and then spend the balance of the morning walking around. I am planning lunch at Reading Terminal and I want to go to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in the afternoon.

On Saturday I have a 1:00 reservation at the Barnes. I may try to get to the Melrose diner for Scrapple and drive around Fairmount Park on my way to the Barnes.

I do not think this is an over ambitious schedule. I am easily distracted, so I don%26#39;t like to overplan.

I also don%26#39;t like to plan dinners, but I have been looking at Monks, Cuba Libre and Warmdaddys among others.

My flight home is Sunday morning, so I expect I will go direct from the hotel to the airport.

I recall when I was in Philly about 6 years ago there was a tourist information center in or near Love Park. I have not found any info about it, so I am thinking it may not be there anymore. Perhaps it was closed when the new Independence Visitor Center opened?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

My 3 Day Plan

Your schedule sounds great! My only suggestion ( if you decide that you really want to eat there) is to make a reservation soon for Cuba Libre. CL tends to book up on the weekends. You can make a reservation right on Opentable.

My 3 Day Plan

Yes, the Visitors Center is now within Independence Park.

Cheesesteaks - Campo%26#39;s on the 200 block of Market is probably most convenient to your plans.

Fairmount Park - It%26#39;s huge and borders on some more dangerous areas of the city. Know where you are going.

Melrose - don%26#39;t make a special trip. he Melrose is a great piece of nostalgia but doesn%26#39;t have great food. Eat scrapple in the Reading Terminal Market.

PA Academy of the Fine Arts - Check ahead for any guided tours that day so you don%26#39;t miss something good. I like the tours that include discussion of the building itself.

Another place/tour to consider - the City Hall Tour at 12:30 on weekdays.

Cuba Libre - better for drinking than for eating. Better options in that area - Plough and the Stars, Ariana, Karma, Philadelphia Fish %26amp; Co., Buddakan, Mandoline (cash only), Fork or Amada.

Lynn

I second everything that Lynn said.

I can also assure you that you will have seen your fair share of Renoirs. Moving from one room to another at the Barnes, I kept thinking that there couldn%26#39;t possibly being any more Renoirs in the collection only to discover what seemed like another roomful. You have a luscious weekend in store.

Heather and lynn,

Thanks for the suggestions. I will keep the list of restraurants and maybe forget Cuba Libre if it gets that crowded and I just don%26#39;t want to make advanced plans for dinner. Of course dining alone (and I often eat early) I might have better luck just showing up and maybe even eating at the bar.

I got hooked on Cuban restaurants in Miami so whenever I see the word ';Cuba'; in a restuarant name it draws my attention. Sounds like Cuba Libre, like many similarly named restaurants don%26#39;t necessarily serve the kind of Cuban food one gets in Miami.

A City Hall tour would be great and maybe I will just walk back to the Reading on Saturday morning for Scrapple. Hmm, one more reason not to need a car.

Renoir has been my favorite for a long time. That%26#39;s why I have been dying to get to the Barnes ever since I heard of it. Then I read in the Milwauee Art Museum magazine that one of our Renoir%26#39;s was going to be included in the exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. So, when Midwest Airlines (The best care in the air, and they live up to their slogan) was offering a sale for less than $200.00 on non stop flights to Philly I decided there would never be a better time to come.

Perhaps you should consider Alma de Cuba. Website: almadecubarestaurant.com

Lynn

I 2nd (or 3rd) what everyone else has said, except about the Melrose. If you ';collect'; diners, definitely go. If you just want to try scrapple, then the Reading Terminal Market is the place.

If you follow my earlier directions to The Barnes, you will be fine.

One roll of quarters will be enough- for half a day :) Rates are .25 for either 15 or 20 minutes, no more, and most have time limits (most are 2 hours). Do NOT go over the limit! Feeding the meters is not allowed.

Cuba Libre is a very good restaurant. Exactly how ';Cuban'; it is... that%26#39;s up for debate. I suspect it will pale in comparison to Miami Cuban restaurants. If you do go, let us know how it compares.

Owlyn,

I saved the directions you provided to the Barnes. Thank you again. I have also looked at Yahoo maps and was thinking of deviating from your route to drive thru Fairmount Park to Wnnefield Av. I think someone told me Dr. MLK Drive is closed to traffic on Saturday, but as long as I can drive on other streets listed on the map thru the park it looks like it might be a pleasant drive. I am not one to only rely on Mapquest directions, I like to look at a map and visualize. I also find if I get confused by Mapquest directions I can find my way by looking at a map.

I really don%26#39;t plan on parking on the street that often. I appreciate your concern, but my rental will be parked in the hotel garage or nearby garage that is cheaper and described in one of the hotel review posts. I can walk to the historic area and will only use the car to go ouside the center. I am sure I will find myself driving around at night too, but if I park it will be legally and for only a short period of time.

I will check alma de cuba. Thanks again.

I second Lynn on Alma de Cuba. Based on your plan, you could eat there on your first night, as it is between City Hall and Rittenhouse Square.

You won%26#39;t be able to get to the other park streets on Saturday. Well, you can, but you have to hit it from the Kelly Drive and head up to the Girard AVenue bridge, cross the river, and the make a right. It%26#39;s pretty tricky, and not for those who haven%26#39;t done it before. You don%26#39;t want to get lost in any of those areas.