Both of my parents are Pittsburgh natives and my mom’s side of the family still lives there, so I’ve been going to visit them a couple times a year since I was born. Pittsburgh has become a second home to me. Up until recently, whenever my mom and I would go visit, that’s all we would do. Visit with family, which there is nothing wrong with. But I love a good adventure, I love experiencing new things and seeing the character of whatever city I’m in. So lately whenever my mom and I take a trip to Pittsburgh we plan to go into the city and do something I’ve never done. Here’s the photo diary of my most recent trip to the Steel City.

The first thing my mom and I did was go visit Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the place where her and my dad spent many date nights and eventually got married. The view from the outside makes you want to go inside and experience it all.

This is the very place where my parents said "I do." As soon as we walked up to the fountain my mom began telling me every detail about their wedding day: where they stood, and where she walked down the aisle, and where their guests sat. It was really a special moment. I've always seen this one wedding picture of them in front of this fountain with the Cathedral of Learning in the background and it was really cool to actually go to that place.

Phipps is definitely one of the most beautiful places that I've ever been. The flowers are vibrant and perfectly placed. It amazed me how big of an aesthetic impact flowers really make.

Not only were the flowers and plants amazing, but the themed gardens were just so cool. There's an Orchid Room, a Tropical Fruit and Spice Room, an Aquatic Gardens, and the list goes on and on.

On the left of the picture above is one of the many blown glass sculptures that are throughout the gardens. These sculptures have been added since my mom was here last, something my mom made well known. This particular sculpture was our favorite and it's located in the main lobby when you walk in, but you don't really notice it until you walk out of the gardens because you literally walk out of the doors and are staring right at this thing.

The top of this picture is a partial view from the outside of the Conservatory, and at the bottom some more pictures of flowers because they were all too beautiful to choose from.

After finishing at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, we were starving. Thankfully I had already picked out a restaurant down the street in Schenley Park that we were going to go eat at. The restaurant is called Conflict Kitchen. "Conflict Kitchen is a restaurant that serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict. Each Conflict Kitchen iteration is augmented by events, performances, publications, and discussions that seek to expand the engagement the public has with the culture, politics, and issues at stake within the focus region. The restaurant rotates identities in relation to current geopolitical events."

Currently the region highlighted is Iran. We had Noon-O Paneer-O Sabzi, which was fresh herbs, walnuts, and brined sheep's milk cheese rolled in lavash bread, and Khoresht-E Hulu, which was chicken stewed with fresh and dried peaches and sweet caramelized onions. I was a fan of the chicken more than the lavash bread, but both were very good. I was really surprised at how good everything was.

My mom and I sat right in front of Conflict Kitchen and had a great view of Schenley Park and the Cathedral of Learning.

Here is the view from where we sat with a nice Snapchat filter. We saw a lot of different people running, walking, taking a lunch break, and playing "Pokemon Go."

After Conflict Kitchen, we went for dessert down the way at Waffallonia. We had a sugar waffle with Nutella and bananas and it was delicious and amazing and I will definitely be going back for more deliciousness.

After our time in Schenley Park, we decided it was time to go to another park, Point State Park. I had never been, which is something that shocked my mom, but she had never taken me before! While walking through the park part of Point State Park (before the fountain) my mom reminisced about her time she spent here back in the day. They would go here for Fourth of July fireworks, arts festivals, etc..

I never thought I would be so captivated by a fountain surrounded by rivers, but oh was I wrong. It was amazing. You could see PNC Park, Heinz Field, Mount Washington, and tons and tons of bridges. I sat on the edge of the fountain and dipped my feet in the water and relaxed and I loved every second of it.

After the Point, we went across the river to Station Square and had another bite to eat until going to one of my favorite things in the city: the Duquesne Incline. I had been up the incline two years prior, but that was in the middle of the day. Going at sunset and staying until nighttime was the best decision ever. I'm sure you'll see why.