2004-07-19 - 9:08 a.m. Warning: Philly Sucks Okay, here is the deal. I had an awful trip. I will detail it as shortly as possible because no one like to read about awful things. Let me preface this with saying that I usually love traveling and flying and the whole bunch of bananas. My Trip to Philadelphia Day 1: Get up really early because I have to go to work before I leave. I leave work at 9:30, which is normally 45 minutes before I arrive at work. Worthless. Head to the airport to discover my flight has been canceled. After getting bounced around in lines I get the rudest ticket clerk ever, who I tell to get her manager after she tells me that the solution to having my flight canceled is that I �just have to deal with it.� Flight canceled due to weather. I get on the next flight and sit with a co-worker which was okay, but I forgot his name, and had to dance around that for two hours (flight supposed to be 1 hour). Have you ever had a bad sinus flu/sickness when in a plane? Don�t fly. That�s all I will say. He loses his luggage, I head to the hotel. Hotel looks nice, but fire alarm goes off, and said bad weather destroys me as I wait outside. Go upstairs, grab dinner, rent hotel movie for 10.99 because I am so sick at this point I didn�t want to move. Second fire alarm. Finally after missing the movie and getting more wet I pull down the sheets to get in. As I get in my legs feel something so I get out and I discover 1) a pen cap 2) an open bottle of medicine, and 3) a stethoscope. As I wait in the lobby for them to fumigate my room, I go get medicine because I feel so sick. Get up, ready for the day to end, get into bed. 3rd fire alarm. Day 2: The training way actually nice. The food in Philly sucks. I went to 7 or 8 different places and didn�t find a single thing I would go back to eat. Mind you I was sick, but it just wasn�t good quality. And it was goddamn expensive. The cheapest beer I bought the entire time I was there was 5.25. Which is too bad because I needed to get drunk. This day I went to an Italian restaurant and got chicken parm. A nice comfort food. They screwed that up big time. First of all they had 1) no sauce. Second only drops of a cheese that was neither mozzarella or Parmigiana. The stupid pasta had no sauce either, just sliced tomatoes. For this I paid 15.95. I could add a side salad for only 4.50. Regardless, I would say that Philly is the worst city I have been to in the world. I saw two drug deals, and I was in the nice area. There wasn�t anything that looked interesting to do, the liberty bell is boring, and the freaking place was like a run down area of Boston�s combat zone back in the 80�s. I am sorry if I am offending anyone from the area, but there was just nothing I would ever want to go back for. I have been all over this country and to several other cities in the world as well and this is the only place I have ever been where I just felt like blowing it and starting again up might be a good idea. Pittsburgh looks like paradise compared to Philly. Day 3 Skip to day 4, with knowing that the most exciting thing that happened this day is I had to make 5 calls to the front desk for my hotel room to get properly cleaned, and I had more bad expensive food. Day 4 Finally the last day, when I got to leave. I was giddy. The fool I am. My flight was canceled again. Reason: Wing fell off. At least it was on the ground. I won�t tell you the airline but it�s a major one. So I got to spend some quality time in the Philadelphia international airport. Also known as the worst airport I have ever been in INCLUDING Mexico. First of all the walls are kicked in. I am not kidding. There are shoe marks and bashed in walls all over the place. The seats next to me were slashed up, like at a bus stop. But the problem with this is �IT�S AN AIRPORT! HOW DID THEY HAVE A KNIFE!!!� None of the power outlets worked, and frankly every minute spent in that horror of a place was time that I will never get back, and instead I will be forced to remember for the rest of my life. This flight back was late, and the cancel flight replacement flight was delayed. But when I got home I was still sick, and plenty tired. Disclaimer I was sick, so remember I might be wrong, but let me tell you this. If you live in Philly, its time to move. There are better, less expensive, more friendly place out there. If you think your food is good�you are wrong. If you think your town is nice, again, you haven�t traveled. YOU CAN DO BETTER. I would rather live in Tijuana, the city of tomorrow. | |||||||||||
