Pittsburgh! WHO KNEW?

When I was asked to participate as a panelist at the Public Relations Society of America's annual Travel and Tourism conference, I was thrilled but a little unimpressed with the location. Pittsburgh, PA. Huh? You are inviting travel and culinary journalists from around the country and you take them to Pittsburgh? OK.

I received my travel information and to be honest... I was just so busy with my other projects that I forgot to do my usual research on a new city. I have my new Sam Brown show premiering this week, the Cash and Treasures crew is out in the field and I am preparing for a (hold your breath...) a personal vacation! (I know, I know... I travel for a living... but this is our annual family trip to the Adirondacks and it is the only time all year that I will NOT be available. (Unless I find a good cyber cafe and get inspired...)

So, for my trip to Pittsburgh... I decided to wing it. The day before I left, my boss... who worked for WQED in Pittsburgh for years came into my office for a chat and I told him that I was heading to Pittsburgh for a conference. He quickly replied, "I love that city!" Now, LOVE is a very strong word and in my book reserved for places like Florence, Italy. A city name that immediately has my mouth watering for fresh Buffalo Mozzarella. I had to know how he could be in love with Pittsburgh. Admittedly, I was a little glazed over as he started to tell me about the ride trough the Pitt Tunnel, the bridges, the confluence of rivers and the incline to Mt Washington. Yeah, yeah.. sounds great.

I arrived into Pittsburgh the morning of the conference and was greeted by a large and very modern International Airport. I almost stopped at Godiva Chocolates as I made my way through the mall-like atmosphere to the baggage claim area. The conference arranged a car to pick me up and drive me to the hotel and I was quickly greeted by a man named Oscar who had a sign with my name on it. We walked over to get my bag and he asked me if I liked Washington, DC and all of the politics right now. I told him that I try to follow it as much as I can... but, my background and beliefs were a bit mixed. I call myself a deep purple... a fair mix of red and blue. However, a little more red because of my religious beliefs and the fact that I could never forget what happened on 9/11. Oscar, a retired Marine and Vietnam Vet, was a true Republican and opened a spirited conversation about the benefits of McCain over Obama. I was taken back by his background... raised on welfare and was forced to be the man of the house at an early age; he then joined the Marines and served in Vietnam before returning to the States. The images and sounds in his head never went away and he went through a hard time before marrying his wife and settling into a good job with nice pay. He told me about his struggles as an American black man. He also explained to me how naive people can be about the security of our country.

We were deep in conversation when I looked up and realized that we were about the enter the Pitt Tunnel. OK... it looked like a tunnel... nothing too spectacular. And suddenly, it ended and POW... Pittsburgh! The view of the city almost pushes you over as you drive over the Fort Pitt bridge over the beautiful Monongahela River. The bridge gives you a great view of how the river below you meets up with the Allegheny right up to the north to form the Ohio River. Beautiful. Oscar took me on a brief scenic drive up Fort Duquesne Boulevard so that I could see the beautiful new PNC Stadium where their Pittsburgh Pirates play. We also drove past the home of the Steelers. I was amazed by the number of bridges that straddle both the Monongahela and the Allegheny all around this city. It is beautiful... almost an American version of Stockholm.

Oscar dropped me off at the Westin Pittsburgh, which is also attached to the convention center where the conference was being held. I checked in and went right up to my room. Overall, the hotel is fine... it definitely could use a makeover... but it is a Westin, so it smells good and it is a Starwood which is great for us collecting points. My room was fine... heavenly bed, heavenly bath, Starbucks coffee... and a great view. Nice.

I decided to order some lunch from their room service menu. The menu was very elaborate and I was impressed with the amount of choices available. I chose the Ahi Tuna salad that was over a bed of mixed greens with haricot verts, green beans, artichokes and a hard boiled egg. It was delish... I mean ... lick the bowl yummy. A very nice surprise.

My panel was taking place at 3:30, so I headed down to the ballroom at 3:15 to meet up with the organizer and the rest of the panelists. When I went down, I found out that one of the gentleman that was speaking with me was John Mariani. THE John Mariani. If you do not know who he is... he is one of the best food critics/ writers in the country. I love reading his work and I was a bit star struck when I was seated next to him. The panel was a fascinating discussion about what we look for when researching our next story or concept. We talked about authentic experiences, the effects of social media in our industry and the powerful word... GREEN. It was great to listen to all of the different perspectives and to hear others talk about what their audience is looking for. I also will say that it was an honor to be seated up there with the other panelists.

After the conference, I was invited to go to the Pirates game with some of the other speakers and guests. How exciting... all this and a baseball game hotdog! Fab! We walked from our hotel over the Roberto Clemente bridge to PNC park. I noted the clean streets, the new lounges and restaurants that lined the side streets. What is going on here? Is this a scene??

Our group had a suite (LUX #1) at PNC park and WOW... what a way to see a baseball game! We had a huge suite with two rows that felt like they were part of the park. The behind the two rows was a glass enclosed living room with couches, a fully-stocked bar, bathroom and a huge spread of food. (Yup... grilled hotdogs with sauerkraut ready for the taking!) Other dinner choices included rosemary chicken, and steak sandwiches with plenty of sides to choose from. The highlight of the night was the dessert cart that my mother would have called a "Viennese table." One of the suite attendants came around with the cart to all of the suites. It had at least a half dozen multi-layer cakes, ice cream, brownies, candy, and cookies. One word... heaven.

One entire wall of the suite was lined with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Allegheny River to the south and the beautiful skyline of Pittsburgh. (Did I just say beautiful?) At the end of the game, the baseball team put on a fireworks show that was choreographed to summer themed music... "summertime", "Summer Lov'n"...you get the idea. It was amazing and probably the best fireworks display I have ever witnessed outside of "Wishes" at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. (It's my favorite... and a must-see if you are there.)

After the fireworks, we all walked over the Pirates Club on the other side of the park for a nightcap. We heard that a group called Bon Journey was playing and nobody could resist a little 80's kitch. It was awesome and a great way to end my first night in Pittsburgh.

The next day, I was up at the crack of dawn for the car to take me back to the airport. I checked out of the hotel and was really sad that I did not have a few more hours in this new place. As we made out way back into the Pitt Tunnel, I looked out through the back window of the car and watched as the best kept city in America faded back into its hiding place. I really loved Pittsburgh. Who knew?

Do you have a secret American city that you want to tell me about? Send me a comment.

ALSO - my new VLOG will launch on TravelChannel.com in a few weeks! Stay tuned!!

*L*