PITTSBURGH

I’ve been a Steelers fan for as long as I can remember. My dad is originally from PA so we grew up knowing, and loving the Steelers. When I met Jim, he was a Vikings fan but having to spend Sundays with the Steeler’s on..he didn’t have much of a choice but to conform 😉  When talking about what we wanted to do for our five year anniversary we wanted to do something fun, adventurous and memorable. A trip to Pittsburgh it was!

We were very fortunate to get tickets from a whole saler that Jim worked with, who just so happened to have box seats in a suite. Smack dab in the middle of the stadium sandwiched in-between the Steeler’s owner, and the teams alumni box… We did watch the game, but we also watched past players to our left and the Steeler’s owner, and family to our right.

When we weren’t enjoying the football team we made sure to hit all the “to-do” places that friends had told us about in Pittsburgh. I had a hard time finding much on pinterest or blogs on things to-do and places to see in PA so here is what kept us busy:

We ate, a lot. We had dollar oysters at Penn Ave Fish Co. in the strip district (and by we, I mean we.. Jim hates raw fish) Strip District was the place to go for shopping, food and people watching 😉

We of course had to try out Primanti Bros. which if you’ve ever been to Pitt I’m sure you’ve been to, heard of or tried! We actually ate here twice because … well, how could we not?! (tip: order the Pitts-burger – it’s amazing)

When deciding where to stay, it seemed that downtown was the best option. Everything was within walking distance even the stadium and restaurants. While looking online at the best hotels, I came across the Kimpton Hotel Monaco and I wish I had a better reason as to why I chose there.. but I saw they had floral wallpaper in the hallways and that sold it, what can I say.. I’m a sucker for a good floral wall. Other than the pretty walls the staff was amazing, helpful and so friendly! The hotel had bicycles for you to ride when you felt like exploring the city, a 24 hour room service and greeted you with wine each night you came “home” .. need I say more?!

And, the biergarten – located AT the hotel. It was so nice after traveling all day to walk to the roof top bar, eat some carbs and take in the city.

Our second day in the city was definitely the busiest.. we did a tour of Heinz field (which, even if you aren’t a Steeler’s fan if you’re in the city I highly recommend. It is cool seeing all the behind the scenes aspects of a stadium as well as the history of the city.) Followed by a walk around downtown Pitt, and explored a few of the bridges the town is known for.

A five minute walk from the stadium, we headed over to the Andy Warhol museum – my husband is not an art buff, but even he thought it was a pretty cool museum to check out (also, if you go past 5 PM its 1/2 off the admission price)

Wrapping up the bucket list that is Pittsburgh, we headed to Mt. Washington to grab a beer and see the views.. PS we heard Mt. Washington is where a few of the Steeler’s live – if you’re looking to kill an afternoon 😉

And last but definitely not least… SUNDAY .. finally! And the Steeler’s home opener which ended in a WIN.. dreams do come true 😉