I rented a car and took off for Pittsburgh last weekend on the occasion of my friend Hanni's wedding. Since I was making the trek, I decided to do a little sightseeing in a city I have never explored, and I was unduly impressed! The grit and charm of empty, 'graffitied' lots planted next to beautiful painted murals and parks fit together nicely. I loved the striking steel bridges and unique architecture of downtown, both of which are a photographer's dream. I picked up a few new jewelry pieces at the Strip, a regular outdoor market in the warehouse district, drove through Squirrel Hill, visited the Andy Warhol museum, the National Aviary, and my favorite, the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. This fantastic academic building/Gothic cathedral is not only an incredible place to study but features nearly forty "Classrooms of Learning", all designed and installed by different immigrant communities in Pittsburgh. I was given an old tape cassette recorder with an attached key, and I literally walked from the Chinese room to the French room, the English, the Norwegian, the Romanian, the German, the Spanish, the Polish, the Indian, etc., unlocking and locking each one as I went and listening to my self-guided tour on tape! Absolutely stunning in detail, a handful of them are used as actual classrooms today. It was a very cold, rainy, and windy weekend, but the weather did not diminish the fun ... oh, and a Pittsburgh dining tip --- make sure to eat at Primanti Brothers, a sandwich joint, where I ate an enormous cheesesteak layered with cole slaw, tomatoes, AND french fries! I've never seen anything like it ...
Here are a few pictures from the Strip market ... I love markets!!!
The architecture and bridges of downtown Pittsburgh ...
I particularly loved two exhibits in the Andy Warhol museum ... apparently, he would keep large cardboard boxes next to his desk, and every so often, he would shove pictures, correspondence, sketches, and news clippings into these boxes - or, as he coined them, time capsules!!! I think I've found for myself a great way to store all the random things I keep! The most fun exhibit, however, was "Silver Clouds", an interactive piece where you got to dodge and bat large, silver, helium-filled balloons. Too much fun!
Can you guess the nationality of these classrooms?
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