Photo Diary | Pittsburgh

A few weeks ago we (MK, JD, Andy and I) took a road trip to Pittsburgh for a good friends wedding. We had the best time, and even joked with the bride about all moving back to her hometown with her! I've included a few pictures from our trip below if you're interested...

The Mt. Washington Incline - a Pittsburgh must! We almost skipped this and were all glad we didn't! Our Uber driver all but demanded we do it and took us to the Monongahela incline pictured above. The views were gorgeous overlooking the downtown area and it really gave you a feel for the city as a whole. If you're headed there anytime soon there is also the Duquesne incline. It takes you up the mountain in front of the point so depending on the view you're looking for it may be a better option.

View on top of Mt. Washington, across the Monongahela river, looking at Pittsburgh.  MK already mentioned how cool the entrance to the city is but this is why this occurs - you're driving through this mountain to get into Pittsburgh.

You guys this picture cracks me up! We had NO clue until the moment we walked out on to this observation deck, MK is super afraid of heights! She would not go beyond this point until we forced her backwards for a group selfie. She was frozen - too funny!

Fun fact - Pittsburgh, the city of bridges, is located at the point of three rivers (hence the old baseball stadium) the Monongahela, Ohio and Allegheny. You can see the point here on the left and across from that, Heinz field and the newish PNC park behind the buildings. So cool!

We stayed at the William Penn hotel and would definitely recommend it. I'm not a hotel person, usually whatever is cheapest is fine with me, but this hotel was impressive from the historic building and gorgeous ceilings, to the convenient location and huge room, just perfect! 

We really enjoyed the mix of architecture throughout the city. The modern skyscrapers mixed with historic buildings and churches made for a gorgeous city.

Friday evening we ventured to the strip district for dinner at Kaya and a welcome party afterwards at Bar Marco. Both were wonderful! We returned to this cool area on Saturday to check it out during the day as well. The area once used for various steel mills now is covered with small vendors and markets on Saturdays. It was so lively and the perfect place to spend a Saturday.

Another Uber diver recommended this place, The Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, and guys it was awesome! For Italy/food lovers we were in heaven. We spend a good bit of time walking through the aisles and had good intentions of stopping by before leaving town but never made it back. Definitely put it on your list if you're in this area. 

We took full advantage of our short time here and fit lots in our day, including a stop at the famous Primate Bros original location in the Strip district. We all split their famous sandwich topped with fries and slaw! 

A quick stop by PNC Park located right along the Allegheny river and brunch at Meat and Potatoes and we were off to the beautiful wedding. 

Two things I realized from this quick weekend. One -  you can do a lot in short amount of time. We arrived around 7pm on Friday and every single photo here was taken on a Saturday packed full of fun. We were out of there early Sunday morning and back home in time for Masters coverage! Two - underrated/smaller cities are where it's at! I have no clue how long it would have taken me to get to Pittsburgh if not for this weekend, but I cannot express how great of a city it was. It definitely made me take a second look at so many lower profile cities in the future! 

Update - I forgot to mention this originally but I want to point out that Pittsburgh is a very proud city! I knew that going into this weekend as both of my friends from this area really love their hometown but after visiting it all really clicked for me. Everywhere you go people love Pittsburgh! Even the cab/Uber drivers, I swear they need to be paid by the tourism board because they spoke so highly of the city, made great recommendations and were overall just awesome. Such a great quality in a city don't you think?!

Thanks of having us in your hometown Missy, we all clearly loved it!

- Heath