I Went To Pittsburgh, Almost

Last week, I went to Pittsburgh. Well, I define the trip as almost to Pittsburgh. I say almost because; I never actually stepped foot into the city center. I was sent by my company to learn a new piece of search software called Vivísimo Velocity. I am responsible for configuring the software for our various websites. My hotel and traninig sessions weren't located downtown. They were located in Squirrel HIll and Shadyside, respectively. Both were nice enough areas, but I wouldn't have minded a tour of the city proper. Baltimore to Pittsburgh is about 247 miles. I didn't feel like driving so, I took the bus. I figured, I'd be too tired to drive that distance on a Sunday afternoon. If you have ever ridden the Greyhound, you know what a cultural experience it can be. Plus, the bus will stop about five times before you reach your destination. The total trip time was still less than a train, and a flight was way to expensive. I was able to sleep, read, and talk on the phone. I still think that is better than driving. I arrived at my hotel around 7pm on Sunday. Instead of traversing through the week in a linear fashion, I am going to break apart my experience. The hotel was decent enough. Essentially, my suite use to be a two bedroom apartment. This was nice because; I had a kitchen and a full living room. I didn't really like the cooling setup. The A/C was comprised of loud old window units. I was unable to sleep with the machine at full blast. The windows were also very old, and they didn't open enough to cool the room. Therefore, my sleep all week was eh. I am still very tried. Vivísimo's offices were about a mile walk from my hotel. I enjoyed walking each day because; the exercise was good and the neighborhood was beautitul. The homes were all unique eloquant homes, Victorian in nature. The actual office was in the heart of Squirrel Hill. It was modern and open. Each employee had a wide open working space. The training was conduceted in a large conference wall with tall windows facing the street. It was a great atmosphere to learn and probably work. The training sessions were Monday through Friday, and they lasted at least eight hours. It was intensive, but very useful. We heard presentations from multiple members of the company and completed hands on examples. The traninees were from all over the world including Brazilian, Japanese, Swiss, and American. The presenters were equally as multi-national with the founders of the company hailing from France, Canada, America and beyond. At some points, every person in the room was from a different country. The atmosphere was exciting. During the evenings, I was left to my own devices. I was limited because; I did not have access to a car. Lucky for me, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill contained a variety of choices for food and entertainment. Within two blocks of the hotel was Walnut Street. This swanky urban mall was enough to keep any person occupied. I bought some really awesome dark coffee from Coffee Tree Roasters. I picked up some eclectic cool gifts from Kards Unlimited. A few meals were comprised from purchases at the Shadyside Market. I ate one night over in Squirrel Hill at a place called Aladdin's Eatery. To my suprise, it is a chain, but the food is fantastic. I had Baba for a starter which is basically eggplant humus. For dinner, I had an amazing seared tuna steak salad inside a pita. The only problem was eating alone. It is quite a lonely situation -- eating a meal in a restaurant by yourself. My favorite place for dinner was back in Shadyside. A block or so off Walnut Street sits the Pittsburgh Deli Company.

Many restaurants use words such as "I" and "We", without any regard for YOU. The Pittsburgh Deli Company is your restaurant, and it is of the utmost importance that you feel at home here.

If you feel at home with over a 100 hundred types of beer, a pool table, slamming food, and a dark but fun inducing atmosphere, you'd love this bar. I wish, I could have attended Nice Up Fridays with $2 Red Stripe all night. Perfect.

Even though I ate pretty well, I was so ready for Friday. I wish my car had been shipped up to the hotel. The bus ride back down to Baltimore took soooo long. I did fall asleep for two hours so, maybe it was good to ride instead of drive. I didn't get back late enough to miss the bar. The cabby dropped me off at home, and I was right back out the door and up the street to Capt. Larry's. Most the neighborhood was out and drinking Dark and Stormys. Of course, it was raining. It was good to be home. I enjoyed my sudo trip to Pittsburgh, but business travel is not real travel. I was excited for fimiliar places, people, and my own bed.

Leave A Comment

*Name
*Email
Url
*Current Year
*Comment
	Post