I know what you may be thinking. Pittsburgh? Really? Yes, indeed. If you have been there and are already a fan of the 'Burgh, then you are not surprised by the statement I am making with the title of this post. If you haven't been there and are not convinced of how great this city is, I am going to let you know why I think that it is definitely one of the best cities I have been to, and one you should put on your list to visit. Since there is so much to cover, I am going to do a "Part II" (and maybe III? we will see) of this trip in order to give the city and all it has to offer its due.
Before I talk about Pittsburgh, I want to qualify my city experiences. I am not the type of person who has lived in my hometown for my whole life and only travels within driving distance (although a lot of cool places can certainly be within driving distance, as some of my future posts will show). I have had the privilege of living in Sydney, Australia, for two years, and Austin, Texas, for three and a half. I have visited cities throughout England, Mexico, and Canada, and all across the United States. I would not call myself a world traveler by any means, but I have to been to enough places to know when I have found a really cool one. And Pittsburgh is definitely one of those places.
My husband (Tim), kids [son Cee & daughter AJ (not their real names; just watching out for them)], and I picked Pittsburgh to visit because we like to go to a new city each time we get to go away. Last year we were in Baltimore, Maryland, New York City, Point Pleasant in New Jersey, and Wells, Maine. Since we needed to make the most of our days off this year, we wanted to stay within only a certain number of hours' drive. We had never been there as a family before, and I hadn't been there since I was a teenager, but remembered enjoying myself a lot. The clincher was Cee's newfound fanaticism for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Once it was suggested as an option, he was all about it. Pittsburgh it is.
We drove out to stay for the first weekend in June, which turned out to be a really cool weekend to be there. Since our hotel was to the west of the city and we were coming in from the east, we were able to drive all the way through on our way there. When we came upon the city skyline I got very excited. I had a feeling we were going to have a good time.
Since we only had three real days to work with, we knew we were going to have to pick our most important activities and places so we could get them in. I wanted to have fun, but not be run ragged in the process. On Saturday we decided to go down to the South Side where the Duquesne Incline is located. We parked by Station Square and walked to the incline. The kids were really excited to go on it. Me, not so much. The last time I rode the Duquesne it was at night and I couldn't see much apart from the lights of the city. This time it was broad daylight. I was a bit nervous as I'm not a huge fan of heights. We paid to take a round trip (both up and down the incline), so I knew I needed to go through the torture twice, haha! Once we got to the top, however, we were rewarded with a really great view of the city.
Another touching feature of the top level is their Mount Washington Height Veterans Memorial. Our family comes from a long line of military, and we have a great appreciation for those who have served. When we saw the memorial I was very grateful to see it be a focal point on this historic landmark.
When we got back to the solid ground at the bottom (thank God!) we decided that it would soon be time to have lunch. The first place that sprung to mind was one of the most iconic Pittsburgh eateries, Primanti Bros. Any food item that includes french fries is right up my alley, and Primanti's loads them on pretty much all of their menu items. We began the trek toward their location on Market Square, checking out some cool landmarks along the way. They included the Pittsburgh Hounds Soccer Field, Three Rivers Heritage Trail, and the Station Square Fountain.
We always try to walk as much as possible wherever we go. This time our route to Primanti's took us over the Smithfield Street Bridge. This was even worse than going on the incline for me since it was not only high, but also above water! Cee and I held hands across the whole way and just looked straight ahead. Tim and AJ weren't bothered at all, and made their way across the bridge at a much more leisurely pace. :-)
We made it to the other side in one piece, then turned toward Market Square, enjoying the buildings along the way. We made it to Primanti's before too long, and only waited in line for about 10 minutes. Our kids basically got cheese fries and drinks, then mooched off of us for the rest of the time. I got a salad...with french fries on top, of course. It was my kind of salad.
There are so many great places to go on Market Square! I spotted a sign for a place that sold macarons and local ice cream called Gaby et Jules, and we wandered over to grab dessert. The Pride Fest was going on that Saturday, so there was live music going on all weekend. We heard a band playing and headed down toward the music to eat our treats. I wish I could remember what kind of ice cream they sell, because it was delicious. Tim and I shared a scoop of rhubarb crisp ice cream, and the kids had strawberry and mango sorbet. They were all amazing and very refreshing on a hot day.
Tim spotted a coffee shop around the corner, and we walked in that direction. We headed into Nicholas Coffee Shop, which was Tim's happy place, for sure. They have every kind of coffee and tea you can imagine, and retro treats for the kids. AJ was introduced to Pop Rocks that day because of our visit. I don't know how she feels about them, but she was entertained at least.
We stopped at the fountain by PPG Place. That is such a cool building to see, and it is certainly an impressive Pittsburgh landmark. The kids enjoyed running through the fountain. It was a lot of fun to see people of all ages getting in on the action or being entertained by the other people who were.
The kids were getting tired from walking for about 6 miles at that point, so we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. We crossed the dreaded bridge once again (haha!) and headed back to our car at Station Square. Of course we stopped for one more photo in front of the Monongahela Incline, since we were right there.
Overall, our first day in Pittsburgh was thoroughly enjoyable, and we got a lot out of the time we were Downtown. Day one was a success. On to day two! In the next post, that is.