Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Our visit to Pittsburgh was the most memorable experience. We left our home at 8 a.m on 9th May 09, in our Camry.Lalit was happy to drive as the weather was good.There was lot of traffic on the freeway due to road construction work in progress. At around 1p.m we took a break at a restaurant in North Somerset. My Veggie burger was yummy and Lalit's buffalo chicken too!!. We reached our destination at Monrovilli at 3 p.m. Our Super8Motel was a cosy room with all amenities. We took nap, became fresh and left to meet Amita my friend from Mumbai.At her apartment in Pitts, we had a nice chat,tea..!! and then left for our city tour.

Pittsburgh is the city of bridges...!!Lots of them in the city. Each having its own charm and architecture. We first went to the Cathedralof Learning the most famous place in the city. Its a 42 floor building. On our way to university we were welcomed by tall, huge, green and big trees. When we entered the Cathadral its just amazing with the tall, unending ceiling. The carved old rooms and celings. With the benches and chairs for reading...students studying in a quiet environment.We went to the 36th floor by lift. The view from there was awesome!! The Cathaderal has completed 100 yrs in Oakland.The campus around is very huge. Lalit took a snap with the pitts PANTHERS..really a dark black one!!!

The Mellon Institute is just wonderful. It has magnificient pillars and steps....favourite spot for wedding snaps with the bride and bridemaids standiting and smiling!! We then went to the Schendler'sPark, which was lush green all around. The weather was now changing, it became cloudy. The beautiful rays of sun peeping through the clouds was an icing on the cake.

Lalit then drove to Mt. Washington...reached the top..but to our surprise couldn't find a parking space. So we descended and parked the car atUnion Square station. We then took the famous Dusquene Incline to reach the top. Its a historical form of mass transit uphill.One has to pay 5 dollar round trip fare to enjoy the ride. Infact its a routine mode of public transport till late midnight for people staying on Mt. Washington...really a thrilling ride everyday! The observatory on the top of Mt. Washington provides a bird's eyeview of the downtown Pittsburgh. The coincidence of sunset and the city just getting lit up is just amazing! We can also watch the calm Ohio river flowing through the city with the tall skyscapers on its bank.

We then came down by the Dusquene Incline to Union Square station which is just a small township with lot of restaurants and riverside view. The place were students can just hang out on weekends.The dancing fountains were thrilling and colourful. It was a fun time for kids and adults too. The music really makes you to tap your feet! We decided to Dine at Buca's Italian Restaurant. After a 45 min wait...we ultimately were happy to have the yummy raviliona and variety of pasta...!

Next morning on 10th May we woke at 7 a.m, dressed up in traditional Indian outfit for our visit to temple on Penn Hills. Its the oldest Sri Venkateshwara Temple in USA. The way to the temple is a bit in interiors, but luckily our GPS was smart to take us to the destination. The temple has a traditional Indian look and style in the interior. We attended the Puja..conveyed our prayers to God. The idols of God and Goddesses are very beautiful and decorated. Then we had food in the temple. It was just yummmmmyy!!! We tried all different types of rice from tamarind, sambar, pongal, curd and all just delicious for 2 dollars, just unbelievable!

We then left Pittsburgh with blessings from god and a mind full of satisfaction. On our way back saw the tall, huge windmills....reminding of Obama's GREEN revolution and energy alternatives.