Vatican Splendors and DeLuca's

Yesterday, Marc and I went downtown to the H.J. Heinz History Center located in the Strip District.  I have been wanting to see the Vatican Splendors exhibit since it came in November.  Yesterday was finally the day that I got to go.  We had tickets for 10:30 in the AM.

Vatican City had sent many artifacts to Pittsburgh for the exhibit.  A few of the pieces had never before been outside the Vatican.  There were paintings to sculptures, to robes, crosses, and chairs.  Some of the pieces stemmed from the 2nd century all the way through to the present.  The layout of the exhibition began with a focus on Saint Peter and his tomb.  We traveled through history of the Vatican to the present.

The pieces were very interesting.  The artwork was just fascinating.  Marc and I were blown away by the artist attention to detail in simple "pencil" drawings.  The shadowing effects made the drawings look 3-dimensional.  The tools that these people have used in building the new Saint Peter's Basilica was a pulley system.  These are still the tools that we use today.

The most interesting fact that I learned yesterday was that it took 126 years to build Saint Peter's Basilica.  There were numerous Pope's and Architects involved throughout the years.  Marc and I spent about 2 hours going through and reading everything about the exhibit.  It was very impressive.  I purchased the Vatican Splendors Artifact Catalog on the way out, so I can relive the experience in book format.  The book holds the artifacts and information that we went through at the exhibit.

Marc and I were hungry since it was after 1:00 PM when we left the Heinz History Center.  We got in the car and ventured through the Strip District.  It was too cold to walk numerous blocks to scope out the area.  We decided to eat at De Luca's Restaurant.  They claim to be the home of the best breakfast.  Plus, we saw this restaurant make an appearance on Man v. Food that airs on the Travel Channel.  Their breakfast dishes are HUGE.  For example, the picture below is of their famous Hotcake Sunday.  It is a stack of pancakes, surrounded by whipped cream with two scoops of ice cream, more whipped cream and a cherry on top.  There are also drizzles of chocolate and caramel sauces.  We did not indulge in this breakfast dessert yesterday, but we sat at the counter and witnessed many makings of it.

Marc ate a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and kielbasa.  I had a chocolate, strawberry crepe.  The food was very good. Marc and I felt limited with our menu choices because the restaurant is cash only.  I had about $25 on me, so we wanted to make sure that we stayed under that.  Our final bill was only $12.  The prices were very reasonable.  Marc and I can't wait to go back and really pig out on breakfast.  We want to go early in the morning before the line reaches around the corner.