Pittsburgh? Really? Why? Those were the reactions of my friends when I told them we (my husband Jim and I) were going to Pittsburgh for a long weekend. Why indeed, I thought as I stepped out of the airport and was assaulted by the 82 degree temp and 85% humidity in the Pennsylvania air. Ah humidity, old friend, how I hate you so. We were both immediately drenched as we waited eagerly for the Lyft driver to arrive. It’s been a while since all I had to do to break a sweat was breath.
Dropped off in the narrow one way street in front of the Hotel Monaco in downtown Pittsburgh, we hustled in to the lobby. I can’t say enough about the staff at the hotel, they were all very friendly and outgoing, ready with a recommendation for anything you could possible want to do in their city. After changing into cooler clothing, we hit the pavement to explore and look for someplace to grab dinner.
Potato and cheese pierogi 
Reuben Pierogi
Google maps was a little confused amid the close tall buildings, so we basically just wandered aimlessly and eventually found ourselves in the Culture District. That’s where we happened upon Stuff’d Pierogi Bar on 7th and Penn,and in we went for a bite of the regional fav. The Lion King was in town and the theater across the street had just let out, so the long narrow room was packed. We were told 45 minutes for food, the AC was on high, so we squeezed into a couple seats at the end of the bar. Figured it would take 45 minutes to cool down anyway, so we had some drinks and watched the staff race around. The bar tender/waitress was a wise cracking east coast girl and she kept us entertained between serving drinks and running downstairs to bring up food orders. I wish I could remember her name, but alas, it escapes me. How was the food? Well, I got the classic pierogi, potato and cheese, it was okay. There were sauteed apples on top which gave it a sweet taste that I didn’t really care for. Jim, however, got the Reuben and it was fantastic…corned beef, sauerkraut, the works. Portions were huge, six good-sized pierogies and lots of toppings. Was it worth the hour we ended up waiting…eh.
Next day…the zoo! I’m a huge zoo fan and I’d heard Pittsburgh had a good one. It was fine, not huge, but it had all the usual suspects plus a small aquarium. Definitely not flat, your first choice after coming through the gate is: do you take the escalator that does straight up to the zoo, or the fitness trail. We took the escalator, it was flat at the top but as you get farther into the zoo it gets much more hilly. There were still some enclosures that looked like old city zoo cages, but most of the areas looked like they had been redone to give the animals a more natural setting. We spent a lot of time at the Lynx enclosure watching the kittens terrorize each other (forgot to take pics, was just enjoying). We were also entertained at the howler monkey island when a kid started “talking” to them. He was amazed they were answering him and said he didn’t know what he was saying.
Plotting escape?
Friday afternoon was a very enjoyable river cruise. The Allegheny and the Monongahela merge together to form the Ohio. Not really much to say about it except it was relaxing, so I’ll just show you.
Point State Park 
Point State Park 
Heinz field 
In the final picture, the boat is sitting on the Ohio, you can see the Allegheny to the left and Monongahela to the right.
Saturday we rented a car and went to see my in-laws, about an hour and a half drive through pastureland and forests just beginning to show a hint of fall color. Very glad we made that trip because my father-in-law passed away a week later, another reminder to not take things for granted.
And Sunday was the highlight of the trip…the showdown at Heinz Field between the Seattle Seahawks (my team) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (Jim’s team). My brother-in-law and his lady met us at the stadium and we watched the game together. Me and Sharon in Seahawks apparel and Jim and Jeff for the Steelers. I was surprised when the Steelers fans started a mass exodus because they were behind and there were still 5 minutes left in the game. As a Seahawks fan, I’m used to the game going down to the last second…never quit watching! Turns out they were right to lose faith since the Steelers didn’t make a comeback. GO HAWKS!
To sum it up, this is what I learned about Pittsburgh:
- It’s not a grimy, dirty, scary industrial city
- The streets are narrow downtown and the drivers like to lay on the horn (East coast thing?)
- There are soooo many bridges and alot of them are painted yellow
- The subway to/from downtown is free
- They have a light rail system that runs outside of downtown
- The homeless people show you their ID before they ask you for money…not sure what that’s all about
- There were soooooo many Seahawks fans roaming the streets, saw more Russell jerseys than Big Ben.
- A Lyft driver told me it was okay to be a Seahawk in Pittsburgh, just not a Patriot (my nephew confirmed this, said he hid his Patriot gear when he went to a game here)
- The city is basically in the wedge between the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.
- It’s hot and humid in Mid September
- I would be willing to go again to check out the Botanical Gardens and museums…and maybe watch the Seahawks beat the Steelers again 🙂
Never did find a good coffee there, so the first stop after leaving the airport was the coffee stand in Post Falls Idaho to welcome us home.