I think @urphillypal says it best: “It’s quite easy for Philadelphia to always be at the receiving end of jokes during holiday celebrations since we are right in the middle of New York and D.C. but not on July 4th. If there is one time people from Philly should be proud, it’s today. We have a birthright. Happy 4th of July from the city were Independence was born, Philadelphia! ??????” How COOL is it to be in Philly for Independence Day? The city really does go all out! So what better place for me to begin the festivities than in the middle of it all in the city at Jessica and Jennifer‘s apartment with another staycation?

I had such a great time at their place over Memorial Day Weekend when it was just me and Jennifer, but this weekend there was more company!

On Saturday night, I hung out at Suburban Square to leech on Jack Wills’ guest wifi from 8:00PM to 11:00PM and do the last of my Internet rituals (drafting blog posts, replying to blog comments, checking out your blogs, seeing what y’all are up to, catching up with my Bloglovin’ feed, planning my Instagram feed, etc.) before I’d put it away for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday afternoon I met up with Ami and we did a little shopping at Trader Joe’s before we headed over to meet Kristabel at the SEPTA station and make our way to Jennifer and Jessica’s apartment. We left with a beautifully latticed raspberry tart, a box of vanilla merengue cookies, and some juicy red strawberries to bring to our hosts.

At Jefferson station, Ami, Kristabel, and I met up with Jessica and Ashley, and we headed over to the Historic Philadelphia Block Party at 5th and 6th Streets between Market & Chestnut Streets: “The streets surrounding Independence Hall & the Liberty Bell transforms into a block party our forefathers would approve, complete with food, music, and fun for all ages!”

We played dress-up at the Independence Hall Visitor Center. I amused myself by pretending to strip. (I was really wearing shorts underneath.)

There was live music, Cha Cha Slide and all. There was a guy on stilts beside a long line of people waiting to take pictures with the Liberty Bell. There were some really talented teens who got down and showed us some moves. There were some people dressed up in historic clothing, teaching kids how to use historic tools, playing historic flutes. There was an obstacle course for kids that I initially thought was for dogs.

Jennifer, Modupe, and Tobey joined us in the evening for dinner back at the apartment, watching 27 Dresses while prepping a buffet of Vietnamese summer rolls, with che and the Trader Joe’s goodies for dessert. (James Marsden is v attractive :3 I haven’t watched a chick flick in awhile. It’s kinda fun.)

After a hearty breakfast of eggs and salsa on toast, toast with almond butter and apricot jam, strawberries, and vanilla merengue cookies, we headed to the Independence Day Parade which was taking place throughout Historic Philadelphia: “Reflecting the words of our Constitution, more than 4,000 participants including colorful floats, military, marching bands and cultural groups, perform along the 1.2 mile long parade route.”

This is very important.

These women slayyy. Legs ?

AZNS ♡

When I grow up I wanna be her.

There were also two teeny little ponies that were drawing a wagon and they were SO CUTE. There was also a little boy who was being pulled along on a wagon and he was fast asleep on his stomach, his diaper butt tooched up for everyone to see. #mood. If you were following me on Snapchat you would have caught it!

The heat and humidity started to get to us, so we rested at Washington Square, but we made the mistake of sitting down because we didn’t want to get back up! It was such a beautiful scene with the fountain at the center of the Square. Pictured is the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier.

Kristabel and Ami wanted to rest some more, so Jessica and I let them be while we kept trooping along. Just across the street was Independence Hall where some people had just finished singing the Star Spangled Banner and someone was giving a speech. I think that Jessica and I had perhaps stumbled upon what the schedule said was the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony at Independence Hall, 6th & Chestnut Streets: “The City of Philadelphia invites residents and visitors to pay tribute to our great nation through inspiring remarks, patriotic music and a reading of the Declaration of Independence from notable guests, including Mayor Jim Kenney and Hamilton‘s Leslie Odom, Jr.”

But what we were really looking for were the free cupcakes from the Termini Brothers Bakery, who had set up at the Independence Hall Visitor Center. The advertisement said all you needed to do was sing Happy Birthday to the USA for a free cupcake, but when Jessica and I arrived, the line was so long, and we could see that the people ushering the line were just trying to get people through the line as quickly as possible, which meant nobody sang Happy Birthday! The line was even longer than the line for the Liberty Bell, which was just a few paces away. Jessica and I didn’t line up for either; no time to waste! We did, however, get free flags!

Jessica and I reunited with Ami and Kristabel back at Washington Sqaure, and together we made our way to Chinatown for a late lunch, passing by a few idyllic streets.

The us[ual]. Ami and I shared a bowl.

Sidenote: How do you spell us[ual]?? I looked it up and it looks like people spell it in a variety of ways including youzhe, youzh, yuzh, uzh, and uzhe, except I don’t like a single one of those. We should just all use IPA: /juʒ/.

Of course, noodles were followed by bubble tea. Ami also got some sweet potato fries for us to share, God bless her soul. After all this eating, I was really starting to feel the zzz’s. We decided to take another long rest at Vivi. Kristabel worked through The Introvert’s Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World by Sophia Dembling, which Ami had lent her. Then they ended up playing Jenga together while I accidentally took a nap and Jessica started vlogging. We lost track of time at Vivi and missed Party on the Parkway at Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 21st Street to Eakins Oval: “Celebrate with tasty food and 10 hours of FREE fun, including the ultimate live family concert experience with The KIDZ BOP Kids: Life of the Party Tour and performances by some of Philadelphia’s top local talent. Grab a bite to eat or visit our beer gardens!” Kidz Bop tho T_T

But it wasn’t too late for the Wawa Welcome America! July 4th Concert at Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Eakins Oval (same place as Kidz Bop): “The concert kicks off with performances by Philadelphia’s Leslie Odom, Jr., Yazz the Greatest, Brotherly Love & more special guests followed by a high-energy celebration of the music of Gamble & Huff performed by TSOP favorites The O’Jays, Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes & The Intruders. The Philly POPS returns with the full 65-piece orchestra for a patriotic performance, with special guest performers.”

Benjamin Franklin Parkway is so beautiful, and with an even grander fountain than the one at Washington Square. I later realised I felt so at home there because the fountain smelled like chlorine haha (once a swimmer, always a swimmer). Kids were hopping around in it, and if I had gotten the memo, I would have packed a swim suit too! A fountain swim was exactly what I needed to remedy the gross sweaty griminess I was feeling.

Rachel met us here, and the lot of us took in all the street performances, concert performances, and food trucks. I of course left with lamb over rice.

We ended our night early at 7:00PM, which meant we missed the Wawa Welcome America! July 4th Fireworks at Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Eakins Oval (same place): “The grand finale takes us on a journey from July 4, 1776 to today, showcasing patriotism and significant movements history.” I know, I know. How could we celebrate Independence Day without seeing fireworks?! It was forecasted to rain that evening (apparently it always rains straight through July 4th, unfortunately), so we wanted to escape that, and we were all already pretty tired out anyway. Also, I’m personally unfazed by fireworks because I’ve seen them quite a number of times in my life and they all look the same to me, but that’s probably just my untrained eye.

But this weekend was far from jaded. It was so fantastic to see our city so full of life, people from all different cultures celebrating together. It definitely was the place to be, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

PS: Memorial Day Weekend, Magic Gardens