Flew into St. Louis for a whirlwind weekend and with the help of a fantastic hostess/tour guide, my friend Heather, I discovered that St. Louis is SO much more than just the Arch. From guidebook-recommended stops like the Botanical Garden and Museum of Art to the unique events we stumbled upon including a reality-show taping, the rib-fest and an african art festival, I’m still not sure how we fit this all into a 48-hour time frame, but as they say “the proof is in the pudding” – or in this case, in the pictures.
First stop – The Gateway Arch, symbol of St. Louis and “gateway to the West”. To answer everyone’s question – no, we didn’t go up in the capsule-style elevator to the top (not afraid, but it was already closed for the day). But we saw the Arch from 3 great vantage points:
VIEW 1 – In front of the “runner fountain” in Kiener Plaza (commemorating St. Louis’ hosting the first Olympic games in the U.S. in 1904) with the Old Courthouse perfectly framed by the Arch.
VIEW 2 – From the Three Sixty rooftop bar at the Hilton, which also offers a great view into Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.
VIEW 3 – In the distance from the rooftop restaurant Vin de Set, a French bistro where we had a delicious dinner.
Between Cake Boss and parties at your office, you may think you’ve seen A LOT of cakes, but check this out – St. Louis decided to treat themselves to 250 Birthday Cakes for their 250th Birthday – a celebration lasting a full year. Standing four-feet-tall, each two-tier ornamental birthday cake has been decorated by local artists and marks a location of note in the area. Here are 4 of the many we saw; we even met one ambitious family who was touring all 250 locations to take a photo with each!
Stumbled upon a couple fun events during our St. Louis tour:
One of my favorite places was Forest Park – St. Louis’ version of NYC’s Central Park. With 1300 acres of fields, trails and attractions, it’s a place you can spend days exploring – and they even let you walk on the grass! Home to the Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Science Center, Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis Zoo and The Muny outdoor musical amphitheater, Forest Park hosts outdoor activities and festivals all year.
African Art Festival – although we don’t play the drums and the t-shirts for sale read “Black Girls Rock”, I think we held our own during the Hula Hooping!
No trip to St. Louis would be complete without a stop at Budweiser Brewery– there are tours, exhibits, restaurants, a biergarten, gift shops, the famous Clydesdales and of course another St. Louis birthday cake!
Nothing like going straight from the brewery to church but that’s what we did – the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis is an amazing place to see – granted, we missed the tour and had to crash a confirmation service to get inside – but well worth it. With one of the largest mosaic collections in the Western Hemisphere, gorgeous Rose Windows and fantastic architecture, it’s nearly impossible to take it all in during one visit.
Not far from the Basilica is the Missouri Botanical Garden – a beautiful place to wander among flowers, plants and even some Chihuly glass:
Rain or shine, the touring continued with an early morning visit to Castlewood State Park, a great place for mountain biking, trail running or in our case a hike:
One spot we skipped due to time constraints and the fact that we weren’t traveling with children was the City Museum, but I’ve heard it’s fantastic for kids and adults so it’s definitely on the list for my next visit. The 600,000 sq. ft. museum is described as “an eclectic mixture of children’s playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects”.
Mixed in with all the sightseeing were fun visits with Heather’s family and friends, a chance to sample famous St. Louis foods including toasted ravioli and Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard, and time spent exploring Kirkwood and West Central. And for inquiring minds who want to know, YES we did see the world’s largest chess piece. As it turns out, the “Show Me State” (as Missouri is known) certainly had a lot to show me during my fun 48-hour visit!
