Life in the Pitts, Part 2

Out and About in Pittsburgh

So much to do

So much to eat

So little time!

The Strip District

The strip district is crowded with shops and sidewalk vendors from around the world.

First Stop: Pittsburgh Macaroni Co

Everything that I've seen on the Food Network but never found...cured katamala olives, fresh lobster raviolis, and my first cannoli.

Second Stop: A souvenir t-shirt for Steve. For $1 I purchased a t-shirt I though had a 4 leaf clover in a circle followed by the words BAMA. Perfect! Steve is Irish and we live in BAMA (aka Alabama). When Steve opened his present, he look puzzled as he said, "O'Bama?" Ops. That's why it was a dollar. Luckily I had bought another shirt that said, "Tis a blessing to be a Pittsburgh fan." That one went over much better.

3rd Stop: Pittsburgh Popcorn Co

Zach brought a bag of white chocolate peppermint popcorn to TN this Christmas and after one bite, I knew my trip wouldn't be complete without a stop to the popcorn company. The chocolate caramel popcorn was fabulous, but I was bummed as next week's special was nutella and the week after that was dark chocolate blackout. I should have never left...and we almost didn't as the Subaru died shortly after this pic was taken.

Incline

Mt Washington is where I would choose to live if we ever move to Pitt. Steve could take the incline to work everyday and I could have this view from my kitchen window.

Page's Ice Cream

Don't give me a dressed up commercial ice cream chain...I want AUTHENTIC. Nothing was more authentic than Page's Ice Cream. A walk up window with no benches to eat on, under an overpass, next to the railroad tracks. PERFECT! When Shannon asked for ice cream covered in blue, I was hesitant to make any promises. But sure enough, this old place had it!

Stairs and Bridges

Pitt used to use stairs as it's route of transportation. The "stair people" are homes with no road access, only steps. Along some stairs you'll find mailboxes. There's no way I would be carrying groceries and kids up 300+ stairs, but I guess you do what ya gotta do. No one documents in photos like my sis, so check out her blog for a better representation of the scenery around Pitt.

http://pitcherspost.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-exploring-days-are-over.html

Pitt has over 200 bridges. We flew all the way to PA to find the Birmingham Bridge.I trust the Food Network completely. We made two stops to diners suggested on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. My faith holds strong and I was not disappointed.

1st Diner: Big Jim's' for the biggest and best meatballs ever. Big Jim's' also hold the record for the kids BIGGEST MELTDOWN of the trip. Big Jim's' is another authentically Pitts' hole in the wall...under an overpass, old and dark. All these added up to freak Shannon out to point where she hid under the table, hugging the post for dear life, and crying, "This place is scary." After carrying her outside and threatening her with no cupcakes unless she got a grip, she finally got it together and we went back inside. Next came Adam's blow up due to my inability to cool meatballs fast enough to shovel them into his mouth at a rate he felt was acceptable. Finally, Aubrey threw one of her famous catatonic fits and ended up naked in her car seat eating cheese puffs (Aubrey's happiest when she's nude). Time for naps!

Vanilla Pastry Studio Shannon's ability to regain her cool resulted in hazelnut chocolate and caramel cupcakes. Check out Mel's blog for fabulous views of this cute shop.

http://pitcherspost.blogspot.com/2009/04/happy-cute-cupcakes.html

Totally worth it to eat cupcakes as light as air off of floral china plates. Very Melissa and Shannon style.
Luck O the Irish

With it's heavy Irish influence, Pittsburgh was the perfect place for the Hodgen's. We even found a place for Princess Shannon to dwell...Castle Shannon2nd Diner: Dor-stop

Thanks to the kids all waking up before 7am, we made it to the Dor-stop Diner for breakfast. Hands down best pumpkin pancakes ever!
Adam managed to make a mess of the place by turning over glasses and attempting to drink syrup.

Graffiti

http://pitcherspost.blogspot.com/2009/04/for-daniel.html

Graffiti in Pitt is an art form. It got to the point when I would see a clean wall and wonder why there wasn't any graffiti on it?

All too soon it was time to board our plane bound for Bama and we said goodbye to our family for a little while (2 weeks). Can't wait to see what adventures Mel finds in Memphis!