Easter Weekend Gallivanting

It just so happens that this year, our family decided to celebrate the Easter Holiday in Pittsburgh, and so, Marty took a half day vacation so that we could drive out today in anticipation of a fun weekend with family. 

Now let me just say.....this is a BIG deal, because tomorrow is opening day of trout season in Eastern PA, and my husband originally intended to cast his rod in the waters back east, catch his limit, come home, then hit the turnpike to make the drive.  After I recreated the scenario in real life, he relented and I honestly don't think he is regretting his decision.  

I found an awesome place for us to stay, convenient to our visits this weekend.  I had originally booked just one night, but as soon as Marty indicated that he would consider driving out today, I contacted the B&B and asked if I could add an additional night onto the stay.  Well, it turns out that the original room that I booked was filled for tonight, so the proprietor switched the room to Mr. Bogg's Suite, and I'd say that we just might have the best room in the house!

We are staying at the Inn on Mexican War Streets, and this is the view from our room:

That's the Pittsburgh sky line that you see in the distance.  How awesome is that?

The history behind the mansion involves an entrepreneur named Boggs (thus the name of the suite), who started an enterprise with Buhl (for which Buhl planetarium is named), on the North Side of Pittsburgh in the late 1880's.   The present proprietors bought the building in 1998, when it was in an extremely dilapidated condition.  They found photos of the original decor and painstakingly remodeled the building back to its original beauty. And believe me.....this place is gorgeous on the inside.

Here are just a few photos of our room:

and the giant chandelier that stands over the curved staircase

There is a gorgeous grand piano in the library as well as numerous unique clocks and statuary throughout the place.   The proprietors have certainly managed to recreate what would have been a stately mansion at one time.  But, in reality, this was Boggs' townhouse.  He owned another "mansion" in Sewickley Heights, just a few miles north of the city.

We arrived just in time for dinner, and Jeff, one of the proprietors, recommended an Irish Pub, Monterey's, just a half a block walking distance away.  Since parking is a premium here, and it was unseasonably cold (are we in Scotland?), we thought that was a fabulous idea.

The houses in this area have undergone a huge renovation, all cleaned up and remodeled to the era in which they were originally built.

And it wasn't difficult to spot the pub with the Irish flag flying right outside the door!

I didn't capture a photo of the flag, but I did get one of myself, taking a photo of the sign. 

We entered the doors of the establishment only to find it packed with people, and we were told it would be an hour wait.  We befriended some locals who walked through the door right after us, and they introduced us to the owners, Carl and Nancy.   We were having such a great time gabbing with these people who were, of course, super friendly, and the next thing we knew 45 minutes had passed, and our table was ready!

I ordered the fish and chips and I can honestly say that I think my meal was one of the best  fish'n'chips that I've eaten.  The interior  of the place was reminiscent of the tv series, Cheers, and the crowd was a bit exuberant, watching the Pirate's Season opener on big screen televisions.  (Pirates won 13-10 after 13 innings).  

And, you know it must be an authentic Irish pub if it has a huge picture of St. Patrick hanging on the wall!

(Those intent faces are watching the Pirate game on a television in the corner.)

After our tummies were full, we headed back to our room, and crossed the street to the park to check out the sunset highlighting the glass buildings in the distance. 

I spotted this extremely tall column, and we decided to get closer to check it out.

Much to our surprise, it was a monument devoted to the people of Allegheny County who had died fighting in the Civil War.

It was difficult to capture it in its entirety.  If you look closely, you can see the inscriptions on the bottom:  Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Appotomatox

and an inscription honoring those men who lost their lives.

It is obvious that this monument has stood in this place for quite some time, and we were both surprised that we had been unaware of its existence.

Walking back to the B&B, I captured a photo of the front of the place where we are staying.  Our room is the one with the 3 windows above the porch in the front.

And, this is what we are treated to, gazing out the window from our bed. 

I don't know about you....but I'd take this over fishing any day.  (which isn't really saying much because I'd probably take just about anything over fishing.)

So, I suppose I better stop here.

Hope you all have an awesome Easter!

Downton Revisited

On Friday, I had the pleasure of visiting New York City with a special friend who knows the city like the back of her hand.  She had asked me if I was interested in joining her to visit the Downton Abbey Exhibition, and I was thrilled to be able to go with her.
We boarded a bus in Kutztown and the time passed by quickly as we caught up with each others lives.   Soon we were in the city and we headed towards one end of Central Park to enjoy some scenery.
It wasn't long before I spied Christopher Columbus standing high upon a tower

overlooking the world.

There was still some snow on the ground, adding to the charm of a horse and carriage in the distance.

and we even had the chance to see a few up close!

We made our way to the Brooklyn Diner.  

The place was hopping with activity, and we managed to arrive just in time for the brunch menu.  The staff was entertaining, and we met up with yet another friend from my past and her sister, who had come to enjoy the exhibit with us. 

I opted for the Tony Bennet Chocolate Walnut Babka French Toast.

Believe me.......it did not disappointed.  And neither did the company!

The Diner was conveniently located right next door to the exhibit

so we didn't need to walk far, and, as luck would have it, we were granted admission early so we didn't have to stand outside in the cold to wait for our scheduled admittance time.

The Exhibition is laid out on three floors of a building on 57th Street.  We entered through wooden doors and found ourselves in the servants quarters, at the foot of the stairs.  We were greeted by a hologram of Carson and Mrs. Hughes wishing us a pleasant visit.

I thought that was a brilliant way to begin our tour, and we turned the corner to explore the ground floor of the building, which primarily featured the servants' area of the bottom floor of the house.

In addition to a remake of the kitchen, there was the servants' table where meals were served

Carson's office which is often featured in the series

And, of course the infamous bells which lead to the various rooms needing attention.

In addition to the recreated rooms, there were informative displays that discussed the life of servants during the times covered by the series, and there was even a question and answer quiz to determine how efficient one would be in service.  But the many booths were busy with occupants, so we just decided to make our way up to the second level.    I'm not sure how well I would have fared taking the test, as the British have strict rules on many protocols of which I am completely unfamiliar.

The second floor was a real treat, featuring costumes and jewelry that had been used on the set.

There were many dresses on display;

An original cornflower blue cotton enhanced with clear glass beading, worn by Lady Edith

evening gowns worn by Rose and Lady Grantham

A Silver sequined antique cotton enhanced with glass silver bugle beading, worn by Lady Mary, just to list a few.

We were ushered into a large area that appeared to be the library, and we were soon fascinated by many of the characters that popped up in various spots, recreating scenes from the many years that Downton Abbey was featured on PBS.   The library suddenly changed to a World War I battlefield, taking us through those scenes of war, surrounding us on 3 sides,  gradually moving forward in time and the many changes that occurred in the house after the war. 

The exit from this library led us to the Dining Room, where the table was set, ready for dinner, and complete with mannequins featuring the Earl and Lady Grantham's evening wear.

There were displays explaining the seating protocol as well as the layout of the silver, dishes and glasses.  There were three forks to the left of the plate, and two knives, sandwiched between two large spoons, on the right side of the plates.  Of course, there was an explanation for all of this protocol, but don't ask me to set you straight on that!

We quickly went from dining to sleeping as we soon find ourselves staring at the duplicate of Mary's bedroom.

I thought it looked much larger than what I had imagined on the actual show. But certainly beautiful.

Around the corner, there was a special feature devoted to Violet, known as the dowager countess.  Those who are familiar with Violet know that she is known for her wit and comic relief in the show.

There was a movie running that featured nearly all of her clever comments, bringing quite a laugh to all of us in attendance.

Moving through the exhibit, we came to a rather large room that featured bios on the Downton Abbey Characters and a corresponding history of a real person who would have filled those shoes.  Explanations were given for all facets of life, and many items from certain time periods were featured behind glass.  There were brief movie clips running around various spots in the room, adding a bit of spark to the exhibit. 

It really wasn't difficult to imagine that one might actually be on the set.

We finally made our way up to the third floor, which primarily featured mannequins in costumes as well as many of the hats that had been worn, true to the time period.  If you are familiar with the show, then many of these costumes will be quite familiar.  

Edith wore the gold enhanced gown on the left, towards the end of the series, and, of course, how could we forget Sybil's shocking pantaloons?

There was Mary's garden party dress

and Mrs. Hughes and Carson in their wedding finery,

as well as Edith's two wedding gowns, with Mary's in the distance. 

Our final stop of the tour found us once again being entertained by Mrs. Hughes and Carson, this time joined by the Earl and Lady Grantham,  as they thanked us for visiting.

All in all, it was an extremely entertaining day, and we managed to find someone to take our photo as a memory. 

Lots of smiles, as you can see.

And, I couldn't resist one last photo op with the Downton Abbey group.

Isn't that a hoot?  As you can see, I'm not quite dressed for dinner.  Perhaps that is why Violet, the Dowager Countess, has that scowl on her face.  But no one else seems to really mind.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank my friend for her awesome invitation.  She and I made quite the gallivanting team if I do say so myself!  

Thanks, Kathy, the entire adventure was absolutely brilliant!