Pittsburgh, PA

So I'm finally getting around to posting some photos from my visit to Pittsburgh. I was there for a work conference a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time I had ever been there, and I wasn't sure what to expect! Doing conferences are always such long days, but one of the things I like about going to trade shows is that I get to see places I've never been.

I didn't know much about Pittsburgh before I went, but I learned that Pittsburgh is the home of Carnegie, Heinz, and Andy Warhol. So it actually has quite a bit of history. Our hotel was right downtown and had an amazing view of the hill that overlooks the river and pretty much the whole city. The area was called Mt. Washington, and we actually got to go up onto that hill one night! I'll get to that in a bit, though.

The hotel was very nice, and so were the rooms.

Here was the view from my room the first morning we were there. It was foggy, especially right over the river.

I took more photos of the same spot in the afternoon, and you could gradually see more and more as the fog lifted. It was pretty cool.

We learned from our taxi driver that there are 3 rivers going through Pittsburgh - 2 of them meet and form the Ohio River.

From our hotel, we had a view of Heinz Field, where the Pittsburgh Steelers play. Right next to that is the Carnegie Science Museum. From the hotel restaurant we could also see the baseball stadium that is home to the Pirates.

Here's a better view of Heinz field once the fog cleared.

I worked at the company booth just 2 hours the first day, then from 8-5 the next two days. So it was pretty exhausting, but we had a good show.

The top picture of me is from the first day, and the bottom one is from the last night. By then I was so tired and worn out! I was definitely ready for the plane ride home. :)

There was this really cool church up on the hill that I had a good view of from the hotel room. I just couldn't get a good photo of it from my phone! And the streaks in the windows didn't help much, either.

At night it was all lit up in a golden light. It was really cool.

There was a big Christmas tree all lit up by the river, and some small blue ones outside.

My favorite night was when we got to go out to dinner at this restaurant called Monterey Bay. That was when we got to go up on the hill overlooking the city. The view was amazing!

We could see the hotel we stayed at - we were on the other side of our hotel view! The hill was so high up that my ears literally popped on the way to the restaurant.

Who knew that Pittsburgh was such a beautiful city, especially at night?

We stayed at the overlook for a view minutes before going into the restaurant just to take in the few a little longer. It was a little chilly at night, but we had great weather for being December. There was no snow at all, and it was unseasonably warm, just like in Illinois. Highs in the fifties. Can't beat that!

From inside the restaurant, we had a 360 degree view. It was all glass windows all around, so you really get the full effect.

It was a seafood restaurant, so I was a little limited on what I could eat, since I don't eat meat or fish, but there was a really good vegetarian pasta, and the dessert was unbeatable. We all said it might very well be the best dessert we've ever had.

It was called Angel Food Grilled Cheese Sandwich. I wish I would have taken a picture of it, but there is one in the restaurant's gallery page on their website. We got two to share at our table.  It apparently won first place for a dessert in some restaurant competition. It was amazing!

If you are ever in the Pittsburgh area, I highly recommend eating at Monterey Bay. It is so elegant, and the food was great. We had no complaints at all. In fact, it made our whole trip! :)

My boss and coworkers and I all traveled back on Saturday morning, flying via O'Hare back to the good old QC. Trent picked me up at the airport, and we ate a late lunch at Qdoba and headed home. I was exhausted and went to bed at 7:30 pm.

It's always a long couple of weeks preparing for and attending conferences. But I've had some great experiences so far, and I love seeing new places. So it's definitely worth it. 

Stay tuned, because I have more Christmas-y pics for you all soon! It's getting closer! :)