Last Saturday our little family decided to take advantage of Tom’s day off and head to Pittsburgh. We had a wonderful day.
We spent several hours in the monstrosity that is IKEA, dreaming of future kitchens with detailed organization, and considering what it would be like to live in a small space. We bought eating gear for Scotland: a high chair, bibs, cups, plates, bowls and utensils. As well as stuff to further organize our lives. We had swedish meatballs and an amazing cinnamon roll! (Cinnabon you’ve got nothing on this!) I connected with my roots, and Tom enjoyed spending the day with his family despite hours in IKEA probably not being his choice of activities. Afterward, we headed downtown to see the city. Can I just say, Pittsburgh’s reputation for being an industrial dump is completely unfounded. It’s a beautiful city with rolling hills, historic architecture, and lots of bridges. We loved it. We headed to the Cathedral of Learning, the nations second tallest educational building. It was build in the 1930’s and is just stunning.
The building has 36 floors- the topmost offering some exquisite views of the city.
Vaulted ceilings and gothic stonework make for an impressive study environment.
As you can see Scotland loved it.
We had hoped to see the many ethnically decorated rooms on the first three floors, but they were closed. We did get into this classroom. I loved the wood desks.
Nooks such as these provided intimates spaces for studying or bonding with your baby. (I adore this photo!)
When we arrived downtown we were confused by all the semi’s lining the streets. What was going on? There were security personnel everywhere. A questions to one of them clarified everything. “The Return of the Dark Knight” was being filmed a block away. It was fun to see the back end side of the filming industry: semis full of fans and lighting equipment; wires running all over the streets; signs directing extras, extensive security. As we were getting ready to leave for the day, a passersby pointed out to us if we looked over our shoulder at the plaque in front of Carnegie Mellon we would see “Gotham City Hall”- sure enough!
We had gone back and forth with whether to go, or rather I had. A part of me wanted to stay home and finish up some of the home projects that have been sitting incomplete for months. However with my life’s motto in mind: “Never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved” I thought our family would be best served with a vacation. I’m so glad I did. Two hours there an back provided ample time for great discussion, and a whole day spent together tightened our union and provided pleasant memories.
4 responses to “Pittsburgh”
That really is a fantastic photo, Kjirsti. I love the whole feel to it. Sounds like it was a fun day.
I love that photo too. Beautiful! I love Pittsburgh as well. I think it is such a cute, charming little city. I think it’s beautiful. We’ll have to check out that cathedral when we go next time!
Okay, we are definitely going to Pittsburgh after those photos. Maybe we can meet up there sometime.
Hi Kjirsti,
I live in Pittsburgh now and I would love to see you if you come back to visit. I’m in Spokane for the summer, but I will be back in September.