Graham and I love traveling, if you're a friend of ours or a reader of the blog you know that already! This year we have been to a couple different places on varying trips, but we try to go on a "big trip" annually. Initially we had plans to look internationally as we strive to check off our bucket list. However, I fell pregnant and had some minor related health issues come up, at the behest of my Doctor we decided to nix those plans and keep it domestic. Not to mention that I didn't have the mental capacity or clarity to pull off all of the legwork that goes into an incredibly ambitious trip. ;)
We tossed around a few ideas like New Orleans, San Diego or St. Louis. I began to look into things to see, prices for plane tickets and hotels. Graham found round-trip flights for $120 a pop, and directly afterwards I stumbled upon a Hotwire deal for a 4-star hotel for $50 a night. This happened to overlap with Labor Day and G was able to swing a few extra days off during this time. It ended up working hand-in-hand with our budget and that was the deciding factor- so St. Louis, Missouri it was!
One of my best friends, Nicole, grew up in the city and always had lots to say about her hometown. However, besides the big Arch we knew next to nothing about it! This allowed for me to plunge into seeing what the city had to offer. I was quite surprised to see that there was a great deal to see, do and enjoy. Likewise, we booked the cheap tickets we found and scored the hotel we wanted. After booking, since it's all done without knowing which hotel you're getting (only the rating and price are shown), it ended up being the Westin! This swanky place was located next to the Metro that directly faced the Cardinals stadium in Ballpark Village; it was perfect.
It's important to note that during this trip I began at 12 weeks pregnant (turning 13 weeks over the duration of the trip). While I can't complain much over my pregnancy as my children are very important to me, I can say that this element brought about a funky situation. My nausea had certainly not subsided and there were times when I just had to walk to a secluded area to be sick ;) At other times after walking seven miles one day I felt as if I couldn't take another step so Graham had to borrow a wheelchair from a museum to push me around. There also was a bag of snacks that we had to routinely eat, cause Mama wants to pass out otherwise. I felt extremely grateful that we didn't leave the country since I couldn't imagine how I would have handled it. I bow down to all traveling pregnant women!
We flew into the airport and immediately boarded the Metro in St. Louis after buying a week's long pass (we never stay anywhere that long, but it's always cheapest). Luckily, everywhere we wanted to visit was within a half mile from the Metro or from our hotel- with the except of one place which I'll mention later. The outskirts of the city seemed just like every other urban location- tons of run down buildings and graffiti. A small part of me questioned the city until we got to our stop- was this a good place? would we enjoy it? is everything this sketchy looking? Once there it was evident that we were staying in the most lux area, which felt safe and fun and in a good proximity to everything.
After checking into our hotel- which had a direct view of the stadium, the Arch and the Village- we dropped our luggage to get the party started! First on our list was the highly rated City Garden. This was a beautiful outdoor park filled with local artists' work using all kinda of mediums. They had many sculptures meant to be climbed upon and we conceded. There was gorgeous water spouts, waterfalls and a cute little pool- I couldn't help but think what a fun area it would be for toddlers on a hot summer day. Besides the artwork and water works, there was darling gardens filled with blooming flowers! Each of these aspects, including the wonderful weather, make us want to spent a great deal of time taking pictures and simply enjoying the neighborhood.
Then we moseyed further east towards the river to the Old Courthouse. This was exactly what image the title should bring to mind: a historic courthouse. Inside there was an exhibition over the history of slavery in the city of St. Louis. It was fascinating to read about Dred Scott, whose court case was presented in this building. There was also court rooms kept in their original conditions which could be seen and photographed. Extravagantly long American flags hung all over the building- further letting it be known of their patriotism. As a final spot, we were told to stand in the center of the hall where a natural microphone stood in place. The moment either of us would speak the echos would overwhelm and shock the speaker! It was so interesting. Don't worry, every photo taken made us look crazed, so I included one.
Up next was the Graham's favorite thing while we visited. I wanted us to see the Archway, but after researching online the general consensus said that (1) the area is questionable at night and (2) to visit the top requires a tight space in a small elevator, not good for claustrophobia. Anyone familiar with me should know the first reason eliminated my desire and anyone familiar with Graham will know the second reason eliminated his own. So I went back to the drawing board where I managed to find an alternative suggestion that said to visit Restaurant 360, located on the 27th upper deck of the Hilton building. This building was centrally located with views of the River, the Arch, Downtown and the Stadium. We completely fell in love with it! We sipped on fancy drinks while taking turns to walk to different sides of the building to enjoy each of the scenes. The sun set and everything was just as pretty when lit up for the evening. Graham, who loves all things fancy and good views, was in hog heaven. He drank through at least 5 drinks before we finally picked an entree. The nightlife was very accurately presented here- fun, brash and swanky without trying hard.
After such a long day we turned into the hotel. Early the next morning we ate breakfast at a local eatery recommended to us- Rooster's! It was a series of crepes and omelets while drinking out of mason jars. The delicious foods kept rolling the entire time.
Our first tourist spot was going to be inside Forrest Park. This enormous open park is twice the size of Central Park, filled with museums, walkways and gorgeous scenery. What made this area so much nicer was the fact that every building inside the Park was free. We decided to visit the highly recommended St. Louis Zoo to start our day off with a bang. The Zoo was kept up very well, stocked with fun exhibits and cute animals. Our favorite parts included the penguins, who had an Arctic walk through that left me shivering, the seals, who had a multi-dimensional viewing area as they raced by, and the butterfly house, which has a plethora of colorful-winged insects everywhere. It was a very large space that housed a great collection of animals, so big that by the time we worked our way around we ran into an awesome community event for a free concert. The gates were flooded as families walked in with blankets and camp chairs while some blue grass band picked banjos on the stage. Graham and I both agreed it wouldn't be something we would imagine getting a lot of hype back home.
Our first day and a half of St. Louis was in the books!
Microphone!
Trying my best to navigate us ;)
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