welcome to elfreth’s alley,

america’s oldest residential street. it is just so quintessential colonial america + east coast.. from the cobblestone streets to all of the decorated stoops that are so pretty. you absolutely must stop here if you are ever in philly.

i will say i don’t know how anyone lives there today because it is somewhat busy all the time. it may not look like it in these photos but there are constantly people walking through - big school groups, locals getting their exercise in, maintenance workers.. just nonstop. i am sure the people who live here expect it and are used to it by now but that was the main thought going through my head while i was here.

the other main thought running through my head is probably better expressed in emojis because ALL the fall things were out and about as someone who grew up in southern california.. fall is a big deal when you actually get to experience the real deal. i loveeee how much everybody here loves halloween - from the cats (duh) to the carved pumpkins which were SO detailed it was unreal.. it was so fun to see.

i always tell people who want to travel to the east coast to visit during october because that’s really when you get the best weather and minimal crowds, and seeing how all-out everyone goes to decorate definitely adds to it.

while you are visiting elfreth’s alley, make sure to stop at the book trader and then you can head over to front street for a lot of historical markers (like tun tavern - where the marine corps was founded). old city truly has a TON of historical things to see and explore so don’t forget to check out the betsy ross house and the christ church burial ground (where benjamin franklin is buried), too - all of that is within walking distance.

thank you for reading ♥️