Saturday in Pittsburgh

I like Pittsburgh. The dirty, dilapidated steel town I was expecting to find certainly existed 30 years ago – but it’s now clean and beautifully regenerated, with new and old comfortably co-existing. It’s compact – hemmed in on all sides by Appalachian hills, it has no choice. In what other city in the USA can you walk from the ball park to the football stadium to the hockey arena? It’s bike-friendly – there are miles of bicycle trails, many of them following the banks of the rivers that converge here: the Allegheny, the Ohio and the Monongahela. And Mr Rogers, an American icon, was born and lived most of his life here.

On the Allegheny

This weekend is a football weekend, and this is most definitely a football town. The Panthers – the Pittsburgh University college team – are playing today, and the Steelers – the NFL team – are playing their season opener tomorrow. I would be going to one of the games if the tickets were not so expensive – literally hundreds of dollars. My hotel is close to both the ball park and the football stadium, and the parking lots started filling up with tailgate parties at 9am. I’m heading in the opposite direction to almost everyone else.

Old and new

My first stop is underneath the Roberto Clemente Bridge – a bridge that I cross every day on my way to work. They rent kayaks for $16 per hour, and I want to see Pittsburgh from water level. It’s been years since I did anything like this, and I was surprised to find that it was my back that gave out first, and not my arms and shoulders! But it was peaceful to meander along the rivers that I have often walked or cycled beside, weaving through gaggles of Canada geese and their young.

After kayaking, I purchased a Powerball ticket from one of the small, typically Asian-owned, convenience stores on my way downtown. It’s a long shot, of course, but you certainly can’t win unless you have a ticket. And from there to Burlington Coat Factory. In spite of the name, they sell much more than coats, and I have a coupon for 20% off that expires tomorrow. I wandered round the store, and eventually settled on a 2.7 quart sauté pan (with ceramic coating!) for $17.99, that will do nicely for cooking the poached salmon with parsley sauce that I plan to cook tomorrow (thank you, James Martin, for the recipe).

Musicians in EQT Plaza

Macy’s, in downtown Pittsburgh, is a bit of an anachronism. Department stores hang on here in the same way they do in the UK – as more of a link with the past, a memory of how things used to be, than as a going concern. This building has been for sale for years, but in today’s economy there are no buyers. And so they soldier on. I ventured up to the fifth floor – there are several more – and found a bookstore that I didn’t know existed. Since this is such a football town, I suspect that this will be the topic of much conversation at work during the coming months. I have a basic understanding of the game, but it’s much more complicated (in both rules and strategy) than UK football (soccer), so I bought a sort-of idiot’s guide to football – at least I hope to be able to follow the conversation, even if I can’t contribute. I’m not a die-hard fan, of course – my allegiances are fickle: when I lived in New Jersey, I supported the Jets (before they moved to New York); in Connecticut, the Patriots; in Texas, the Cowboys; and now, the Steelers. I don’t actually care who wins – what I love to see is a good, evenly matched game.

Book purchased, I made my way to Bar Louie at Station Square. I’ve eaten there before, and I’m looking forward to sitting outside, overlooking the river, sipping a beer while I read my book and wait for my lunch to arrive. Alas, it’s not to be – a charity event means that the place is mobbed. There’s a seat outside, but I could hardly hear myself think, let alone read.

Stonework downtown

Walking back to my hotel, I’m against the flow again – this time, the fans are leaving the game. The Panthers beat Virginia Tech 35 to 17. It’s just the start of the season.

Note added in postscript: I won the lottery! This is the ticket that won me $4!