a place to steel away

happy new year, everyone! i had a wonderful vacation and now i’m excited to get back to my day-to-day life. on christmas morning, tony and i saddled up and drove up to see his parents for a nice mini-getaway. his family lives just south of pittsburgh, which is only a four hour drive away so it wasn’t too much of a trek to go see them.

the best part of the trip was how relaxed everything was. we played cards, watched movies, took tons of naps, and just enjoyed each other’s company. of course tony and i had our own adventures for one day, but otherwise we spent the time unwinding.

on the friday we spent adventuring, tony took me up to mount washington to show me the city – it was a magnificient view! after quite a few takes, we got a successful picture!

tony actually got me a selfie stick (among other things) for christmas, so this was the maiden voyage! enjoy this blooper photo of me trying to figure it out.

afterwards, we headed over to a mummy exhibit at the carnegie science center. i noticed a billboard about it when we were driving up the mountain and insisted we go. tony was more than flexible and so we headed downtown to see the exhibit. i was beyond excited – i’ve always wanted to see mummies before, and i was even lucky enough to see real sarcophagi. the exhibit didn’t allow photography (which was a bummer, but i completely understood why.) but it was well worth the fee and i’m still reeling at how cool it was!

to wrap up the trip to the city, tony took me over to where all the universities are because that’s where the cathedral of learning is. he thought i would find i stunning – he was absolutely right.

the heinz memorial chapel was right across the square and i was so overwhelmed by how gorgeous it was! i was so small next to the front doors – it was just so grand!

when we finally made it into the cathedral of learning, i was just awestruck. the stone, the attention to detail and just the sheer size of the space kept me in wonder the whole time we were there. i couldn’t believe that students came here to just study – i would feel so official if i could study here.

the cathedral had many nationality rooms, though all locked during break. they were used for conferences, and some classes, also. i was able to snap a picture from a peephole, but that was it.

i also got to do so many other fun things, tony took me to his favorite chinese restaurant (which now holds the title of my favorite beef with broccoli ever) and he even showed me all the places he’s lived and went to school. we regretfully went to a pet store and i fell in love with a lot of puppies, even though we couldn’t take any home. i was really happy to experience everything, and was so caught up enjoying the moment i didn’t get as many pictures as i should have.

all in all, the trip was so fun and i can’t wait to go back and visit again. hopefully next time i’ll get to experience pittsburgh in the spring. Xx