2011 Christmas Vacation, Day 3: Pittsburgh, PA

The final day of our trip was the drive home from Wheeling, WV by way of Pittsburgh, PA. We had a three hour tour of Pittsburgh, but unfortunately it was raining, so we didn't get very many decent pictures of the city's sites.

By the time we stopped for lunch, the rain had stopped. Our best photographs are of the area where we spent our afternoon, PPG Place. Resembling a castle, PPG Place is a series of six buildings that are easily the most beautiful modern buildings in the city.

Pictured: tree and skating rink at PPG Place

Pictured: gingerbread house display at PPG Place
One of the PPG buildings had a food court, so that's where we headed for our lunch. It was very crowded, so we went for a vendor that didn't have a super long line. Jay and I both ended up having pizza from Sbarro. As usual, Jay's pizza had a lot of meat, and mine was a white pizza with fresh tomatoes.

Pictured: white pizza with spinach and tomatoes
After lunch, we went to a different PPG building in the complex. The Wintergarden was decorated for the holidays with a huge tree, a train display with more gingerbread houses and the annual "Spirits of Giving Around The World" exhibit. The exhibit consists of life sized figures representing the spirit of the holidays in various countries throughout the world.

Pictured: figure of St Stephen (Ireland)

Pictured: tree with train and gingerbread houses display
Jay and I tried walking around outside a little, but it was cold and very windy, so all we did was walk around the building before coming back inside. I'd love to visit the city again when it's warmer and more dry. I always imagined Pittsburgh being a dirty, run down city, but it's actually a lot nicer than I expected. It's a very culturally diverse city with many interesting places to explore.

The rest of our drive home was fairly relaxing. We watched a DVD of Elf on the bus before stopping at Bob Evans in Carlisle, PA for supper. I was still feeling fairly full from lunch, so I had a small cup of beef vegetable soup for supper. It was a welcome change from the buffet suppers of the previous two days.

This was the second bus trip Jay and I took with Transbridge in 2011. I have to say that I enjoy traveling with them very much. Their prices are reasonable, they have great tour guides and drivers, the tours are well planned and, while they seem geared toward an older traveler, they have enough activity to keep younger travelers well occupied. I hope to go on another one of their trips in 2012.