Pittsburgh in style

Usually "Pittsburgh" and "style" aren't used in the same sentence, but we were definitely living large. Laurel and I drove up to Pittsburgh this weekend to watch our Nationals take on the Pirates at PNC Park. Yes, we're stalking our team on the road now. Luckily Pittsburgh is fairly inexpensive (especially compared to DC), so we were able to stay at the super fancy Omni William Penn hotel. Built in 1916, the hotel is an excellent example of Gilded Age architecture and style.Our room had lots of nice amenities...even a plasma tv!

We walked around the city a bit right after we arrived. It's actually a pretty compact city - at least the downtown area is. It has some really interesting architecture. This gothic skyscraper is my favorite.

And then as we walked closer to the building, we realized it was a whole complex of similar buildings.

I'm always fascinated by the juxtaposition of old buildings and new buildings.

We then discovered that Pittsburgh has a public arts project similar to what DC did with the Party Animals and Pandamania. Theirs is called Dinomite Days!This next one I saw at the Heinz History Center. It's supposed to be General Washington.

Another cool building
An oasis in the city.

We then walked over to the North Side, which is where PNC Park is located. We had to cross Roberto Clemente Bridge, which is closed to traffic on game nights.

We met up with Laurel's coworker for dinner (he's from Pittsburgh), and his brother-in-law joined us later. We went on to a bar for pre-game drinks, and while we were there we saw a football player who apparently is very famous. The guys were shocked that we didn't know who it was. Whatever, I don't know the first thing about football. I just know Tom Brady cause he's hot.

So because of the connections that Laurel's coworker has, we had club seats for the game. For free.

Cushy seats? Check. Cupholders? Check.

And we had access to a private club. It was sweet.

We had a great view of the city.

And we had a good view of our boys warming up.

The Pirates' mascot kept mocking Ryan Church. But I have to admit, it was pretty funny.

This is a terrible picture, but they had a pierogi race. It was hilarious. (P.S. I was determined to eat some pierogies while in Pittsburgh, but I couldn't find a place that served them! At least I know where to get them in DC.)

Laurel and I got some dirty looks for cheering for the Nats.

The buildings looked so pretty as the sun was setting.

There was a large fireworks show after the game. It was quite impressive.

Pittsburgh had another public arts project called Festival of Lights (no, it had nothing to do with Hannukah). Several buildings downtown were lit up with artistic displays.

Our hotel had an amazing light display - it looked like stained glass.

The next day we walked around the Strip District (no, not that kind of Strip District). It's kind of like Eastern Market, but bigger. There are lots of vendors and ethnic markets and fresh produce.

That sign on the right that says "pierogies" is a little deceiving. I was all excited about getting pierogies for lunch, but I found out that the place doesn't serve them ready-to-eat. Boo!

I walked around the Heinz History Center while Laurel had lunch with relatives, and then we drove back to DC. We were only in Pittsburgh for 24 hours, but I had a great time.