Welcome to my 14-day series on our East Coast Road Trip where I share our adventures along the way, how we're doing this on a budget, honest reviews of attractions & restaurants we visit, and money-saving tips and ideas. If you missed it, read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, Day 6 here, Day 7 here, Day 8 here, Day 9 here, Day 10 here, and Day 11 here.
I learned a lot of things on our 14-day road trip, but one thing I’ve definitely learned is that you all have the BEST recommendations! Case in point: we had an amazing day in Pittsburgh and every single bit of it was because of your recommendations.
The day started with doing laundry… in the hotel parking lot! Well, not totally. We washed and dried it in the machines at the hotel, but we had to check out of the hotel before we could get it folded.
So we folded it in the parking lot/back of our car. Which I wouldn’t really recommend as ideal, but it got the job done! 😉
Oh and as an update: The 5-day packing system worked SO well on this trip and I think we’ll definitely be doing some sort of rendition on it for most of our trips from here on out.
We had a blast going up the Duquesne Incline and seeing the incredible view of Pittsburgh. We loved reading more about the history of the inclines in the Pittsburgh area and we all thought it was a pretty cool experience.
The views from the top of the incline were really cool!
Note: I thought the fares were on the expensive side: It was $20 for round trip tickets for all of us + $5 for parking, but it was a unique experience and memorable experience.
Then we headed to the Strip District. And I’m just not sure how to even describe it.
There were all of these incredibly unique restaurants and grocers that covered a plethora of cultures and ethnicities — and almost every store was really, really inexpensive (at least compared to most of the prices we’ve been seeing on this trip!)
We were bummed that the Peace, Love, and Little Donuts Shop was already closed for the day when we got there. (We discovered that a number of restaurants and shops close around 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., so we wished we had gotten there a little earlier.)
Our favorite store was probably the Allegheny Coffee & Tea Exchange. They had a huge selection of coffees and coffee beans and teas and their prices were very reasonable! We bought loose leaf tea and coffee beans at Allegheny Coffee & Tea to take home, plus some coffee for Jesse, drinks for the kids, and tea for me.
The Pennsylvania Macaroni Company was such an interesting store. You felt like you were in a different country when you were in it — especially because the foods were all Italian!
We loved finding South African candy at the chocolate shop + various products made with Schweschwe fabric (very traditional South African) in another little shop. We split a delicious chicken quesadilla from this basement Mexican restaurant.
And we oohed and aahed over the produce prices at the open air “farmer’s markets” — a bunch of roses for $4-$5 and tubs of strawberries for $1!!!
Oh and we ate at Primanti Bros. like you all said we must. (I got a salad which is probably not what you’re supposed to order there, but it was delicious!!)
Then we hopped in the car and hit West Virginia for a little bit (our first time in the state) and then headed to Cincinnati for the last two days of our 14-day road trip.
Any suggestions on other inexpensive things to do in Pittsburgh? I’d love to hear!
