Where's Johnny Jet? Getting Charmed by the City of Steel

Greetings from Pennsylvania. After attending a public relations conference in Pittsburgh, then checking out a few sights and dining at a handful of restaurants in the city, I've come to a conclusion: Pittsburgh gets a bad rap that it just doesn't deserve. I've been to Pittsburgh many times in the summer and each visit, it just keeps getting better. If you want to learn why, then come along for the ride. After Pittsburgh, we're hopping on a bus and driving two hours north to Erie (yes, I took Greyhound). All aboard.

Pittsburgh Airport

The Pittsburgh airport is one of my favorite airports in America; it's basically a mall with over 100 shops (like Brooks Brothers, Gap Women, Godiva and Victoria's Secret) and places to eat (like T.G.I. Fridays, Sbarro, McDonald's, and Ben & Jerry's). The best part is that by law, the shops can't charge a penny more than they do at their regular retail stores. So no more getting gouged at the airport; it's all regulated by the BAA. I think it might be the only airport where you can buy a bottle of water for ... hold on to your hats, folks ... just $1.19.

FYI: The drive from the airport to downtown Pittsburgh without traffic takes about 20 minutes.

PRSA

I was only in town for two nights so that I could attend a PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) conference. It's one of the best conferences at which to network with PR reps and hang out with my fellow travel writers. One of the most interesting is Charles Veley, the world's most traveled man. I selected his site, MostTraveledPeople.com as Website of the Week earlier in the year and this was my first chance to meet him. He's a great guy and we have a lot in common; besides traveling, we are both originally from Connecticut and now live in California. But I must concede that Charles has me beat by a long shot when it comes to traveling so I have some catching up to do. But I'm younger.

Pittsburgh Restaurants

One of the places where Charles and I chatted with the heads of Swiss Tourism, Netherlands and Great Britain was over dinner at ELEVEN. ELEVEN is an upscale restaurant near the Strip District. They serve innovative contemporary American dishes and I had the Heritage Farms chicken with braised leg, risotto and organic Swiss chard ($24). ELEVEN, 1150 Smallman Street Pittsburgh, PA, Tel: 412-201-5656.

La Tavola

The other restaurant I dined at was La Tavola Italiana. It's considered Pittsburgh's oldest Italian restaurant and my PR friends and I stumbled upon it when we were looking for a place to eat around 9pm. It turns out that a lot of downtown restaurants stop serving early but luckily the owner of La Tavola took us in. The salad and chicken parmigiana ($15.95) were good but my side dish of pasta was average at best. While we were waiting to see if the kitchen was open, I noticed all the celebrity pictures on the wall. Looks like every celebrity who has ever come through Pittsburgh has dined here. La Tavola Italiana, 1 Boggs Avenue Pittsburgh, PA, Tel: 412-481-3336.

Wireless Internet for Cheap

The conference was held at The Westin, which is a nice hotel that I've stayed at before. But for those attending the conference, they charge a ridiculous amount of money to access the Internet ... get this: $6.95 for 15 minutes. One way around those crazy prices is to get your own wireless card. If you don't want to sign a two-year contract with Verizon or Sprint, then rent one from RovAir.com for as little as $5.99 a day.

Hilton Meeting Space

My accommodations were down the street at the Hilton. It's a good seven LONG blocks away from the Westin (took about 12 minutes to walk) but it's centrally located. One of the reasons I stayed there was to check out the new Hilton meeting space. They first introduced it back in 2000 at Hilton hotels in Ireland and the United Kingdom but now select Hilton hotels in North America have it, too. The program targets business travelers who are looking for eco-friendly, more personalized small and medium meeting rooms and is tailored for groups of 50 guests or fewer. Business travelers can get a flexible multi-purpose room for small meetings. The smart room designs include local artwork to help stimulate creativity and advanced technology to keep guests plugged in. They also offer a digital easel that instantly records flipchart content. For more information or to book a meeting room, visit hilton.com.

Hilton Pittsburgh

Currently, the Hilton is undergoing renovations until after the New Year. So, I'd probably stay somewhere else unless they offer a good deal. I didn't hear any construction noise but it was definitely visible. The construction affects all guest floors and corridors. Meals are served out of a temporary restaurant and bar. A guest room serves as the temporary concierge lounge. The good news is that when it's all done, the place will be sweet. I scored one of the renovated rooms, which was huge with a cozy bed, flat screen TV, a comfortable work desk and a clean bathroom. It also had a good view of the famed Three Rivers. Hilton Pittsburgh, 600 Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tel: 412-391-4600.

River Cruise

To get up close and personal with the Three Rivers (The Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio River), go on a river cruise. One of the conference functions was a trip on one of the Gateway Clipper's boats. This company offers all kinds of cruises including lunch and dinner cruises and on a variety of boats. Ours was their largest as it had four levels and held 600 people. For more information, visit GatewayClipper.com.

DID YOU KNOW? Pittsburgh has 446 bridges.

Pittsburgh: The Livable City

In November, Pittsburgh will be celebrating its 250th birthday. There are all kinds of events and parties planned throughout the year. The city is known for its arts and sciences and for its quality of life. Did you know that Pittsburgh is regarded as one of America's most livable cities? According to a recent survey, the city has the lowest crime rate among U.S. metropolitan areas. The region's cost of living is 93% of the national average and housing costs are 43% below the country's median. On top of that, the average worker in Pittsburgh spends 25 minutes commuting which is far less than in other major cities. Who knew?

PNC Park

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to check out all the cool neighborhoods in the area or even see the Duquesne Incline (there's a funicular). However, two years ago my dad and I went to a game at PNC Park. The park opened in 2001 -- the same year as Heinz Field which is next door (they share a parking lot) and home to the 2005 Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. We watched the Pittsburgh Pirates take on the Atlanta Braves. If you can't make it to a game, at least go on a stadium tour ($6 for adults) which are available through September 19. For more information, click here, email pncparktours@pirates.com, or call 412-325-4700 or 1-800-BUY-BUCS ext. 4700.

Pittsburgh to Erie

Since I was only 135 miles from Erie I planned on paying a visit to my dad and sister who both have houses there. To rent a car was going to cost me way too much since I only needed it one-way and most car rental companies rip customers off on one-way rentals. Enterprise said they don't even offer one-way rentals and Hertz wanted $150 ... and that's without gas. All I needed the car for was three hours so I decided to take Greyhound. After all, I just finished attending a green conference. So, I did the green and cheap thing ($26) by taking the bus. The Hilton offers guests a free shuttle on a first-come, first-served basis. The ride took seven minutes to the station and when I arrived, the ticket line was 10 people deep. The only person working behind the counter was one young kid who looked like he'd just gotten out of middle school. Not surprisingly, the line moved painfully slowly and on top of that, there were a bunch of thugs in front of me, looking to buy a one-way ticket to L.A. I'm sure these gangsters were looking to put a cap in someone's arse out on the west coast but fortunately, the $211 fare the agent quoted them was over their budget.

Greyhound

As you can imagine, the Greyhound bus station in Pittsburgh was like a scene out of a bad movie. There were people of all kinds and some were carrying enough baggage for a small army. BTW: Each passenger is offered one piece of luggage to check free of charge. For one additional piece it's $10. After that you pay Greyhound's Package Express rates. Gas prices being so high, I wasn't surprised that the bus was packed. The only open seat was shockingly a window seat near the front of the bus. What a relief; it's usually more sane up front and I really didn't feel like getting in a gang fight. After all, I was wearing blue and red, which I'm sure wasn't cool with my homies. The bus driver was an older African American gentleman who wasn't going to take any nonsense. He greeted us by making an announcement: No talking on your cell phone except for two minutes to tell people you're coming. Yikes. What was I going to do for three hours and 20 minutes? Good thing I had my laptop and wireless card so I could surf the Internet. The trip was so long because we stopped in Zelienople, Meadville (where Sharon Stone is from), and Edinboro. The good news: we arrived right on schedule.

Erie

Greyhound has moved their old depressing Erie bus station on Peach Street to a brand new bus terminal along the lake. It's a hundred times nicer and what a difference it makes. Right when I stepped off the bus my dad was there waiting for me like I was back in middle school. It's always great to spend time with him, my sister, niece, nephew and brother-in-law on the lake. However, they have so many animals at their house, it's a combination of a zoo and a funny farm. Can you believe they even have a rooster? I thought I was dreaming when the thing woke my tired arse up at the crack of dawn. Just doing his job, I suppose.

Note: This trip was sponsored in part by Hilton Hotels.

Johnny Jet has been featured over 1,000 times in major publications, including USA Today, Time, Fortune and The New York Times, and has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC, FOX News Channel, and PBS. JohnnyJet.com has been named "one of the top best money-saving web sites for travel" by Budget Travel Magazine, while the L.A. Times calls it "one of the top 10 essential travel resources on the internet." In the May 2007 issue of Outside Magazine, Johnny Jet was touted for having one of the world's best "dream jobs". Every week Johnny hosts a "travel website of the week" for several radio stations around the country, he writes weekly for Frommers.com and he has written for USAToday, The Boston Herald and Coast Magazine. Sign up today for Johnny Jet's free weekly travel newsletter at www.johnnyjet.com.