Day 2: It’s not all about the plans

Second and last day here in Pittsburgh and it was pretty low key. I saw what I wanted to see yesterday so I took the time today to relax and just explore.

Upon recommendation I went to Pamela’s Diner for breakfast. I got strawberry filled crepe style hotcakes with scrambled eggs and bacon and it was quite possibly the best breakfast I’ve ever had. The hotcakes were filled with slices of real strawberries along with cream cheese and cinnamon and they were heaven. Never mind that the hotcake itself was simply scrumptious, you add in that filling and it couldn’t have been any better.

After breakfast I drove around aimlessly for a bit. I stumbled upon the University of Pittsburgh and decided to take a walk around the campus. It was gorgeous. Way way way too huge for my liking, but gorgeous none the less. With chapels and giant academic buildings scattered around the corner and across the street from the Carnegie Museum of Art or the Carnegie Music Hall I was certainly in an intellectual hot spot.

After poking around the campus grounds a bit I decided to go back to my room and chill a bit before going to an early dinner. I knew I wasn’t going to get many chill days in the upcoming week so I decided to take advantage.

For dinner I headed back to the Allegheny River area to a place called Burgatory. Let me tell you, it was fabulous. From the adult Burnt Almond Torte milkshake with Amaretto to the Piggy Butter & Jelly burger (a half ground beef half ground bacon burger with White American Cheese, Candied Bacon, Bread & Butter Pickles, Peanut Butter & Habanero Jelly) it was all creatively delicious.

After dinner I walked back down to my new found favorite spot  by the river. I grabbed my camera and tripod this time and set up shop to grab some pictures. I sat and watched as people walked by. Runners, bikers, walkers. Couples, friends, families. Adults, kids, pets. As I watched people constantly going by I realized that despite the constant activity it never really seemed crowded. A theme that had carried over from the day before. Again as I walked around the city and as I sat here by the river again today, it never felt packed with people. I never struggled to find parking anywhere I went. I never waited more than 20 minutes at a restaurant and in 2 of the 3 cases I simply walked in and sat down. That’s probably what I enjoyed most about Pittsburgh. For me, when I think of a big name city like Pittsburgh, I immediately think it will be something like Boston. You go out in Boston on a day that’s sunny and close to 70 and you’ll be shoulder to shoulder with people just trying to walk the sidewalk. Pittsburgh was not like that. It was low key. It was surprising to me that it could at times be almost serene.

So as I took the last few pictures of the Allegheny, I stopped for a second and just took in the whole scene. Standing there riverside, the lights illuminating the fountain across the way as the wind gently blew, I realized that if the rest of this trip comes anywhere close to the time I’ve spent in Pittsburgh then it is for sure going to exceed my expectations. Everything doesn’t have to be go go go. I spent so much time planning this trip and listing things I wanted to see and wanted to do and already after the first stop I’ve found that my favorite thing wasn’t seeing PNC Park or Heinz Field or Primanti Bros. It was just sitting by the river taking pictures. And that’s fine by me.