St. Louis

I've spent a couple of wonderful days in the St.  Louis area.   I have much to commend my hostess and guide,  Ann Marie.

Today it was cold and rainy and we still managed to see a number of things.

STL has a number of ethnic neighborhoods and we hit the Italian "Hill"  section and the French and Dogtown Irish section.   We visited the Soulard market too.   It's has interesting architecture as well as a busy and robust indoor and outdoor market.   It reminded me of the indoor market Barb and I visited in San Jose,  Costa Rica.  

We hit Rooster for lunch where I had a spiced apple,  cheese,  and German sausage crepe for lunch.   We were going to try the STL slider,  but the mountain of gravy put me off.

It rained,  albeit lightly,  all day.   We decided to go to Grant Park instead of the Busch brewery tour.   In both cases you are going to get beer.

Grant Park is named after one of our presidents.   There is a home there,  painted green and visitable.  

The park is owned by the Busch family and is home to some of the Clydesdale horses.  With your parking pass you can wander a limited area in the paddock of the horses.   They have one who's job it is to be petted and act as a backdrop for picture taking.   No obligation to buy,  but they take everyone's picture.

Ok,  across the road and into the park.   You get another photo op then onto a tram that takes you around the park.   The Busches liked to collect animals from the continents that have deer and such and they brought them to this park.   (Maybe other parks, but I don't know.)

The weather brought them out and active and we saw all that they had.   Deer,  antelope,  bison,  sheep, ostrich,  etc.

Then the tram drops you off at a park.   There are more animals there.   Hungry goats ableeting,  tortoises,  kangaroos,  and wallabies, whom Ann calls "want-a-bes" as they don't measure up to the kangaroos,  but would like to.

There is a nice courtyard there and on a warmer day will sell you snow cones and other stuff.   A small restaurant is there and then the beer "store" where you get two full cups from 5 different types of A/B beers.  

Ann Marie and I started with the Belgian Wheat, and finished with the Amber Bock.  

Then back to the tram for a quick run down to the parking lot.

I was cold and when we got back to Ann's I ran for my fleece that I've not worn in a month.   Ah,  comfort.  

I was all set to call it a day and drowse my way through the evening,  trying to stay awake,  but AM decided,  as tour guide,  that we had to go to Ted Drewes frozen custard.   World famous and has been at that spot since 1929.  The spot is on Route 66 and since the forties has been designated as a landmark.

I had the tiramisu,  which was delicious and filling and rich and flavorful.   Dessert and dinner rolled into one.   I will not be going there on my way out of town.

It is a long store front with maybe 10 service windows,  all open,  all crowded with people.   All they serve is custard,  but with the blended toppings,  the variations are large.  The lines move quickly and all the customers,  whether eating or waiting were in a fine mood.

There were folks in the parking lot with their tailgates opened and eating there.

Attendants directed traffic and pointed out empty parking spaces.   Did I mention that the temperature was in the 60s with a light drizzle?   Of course I did.   This didn't deter the 50 folks from being there.  

It's a great business,  with a huge turnover of customers.   I wonder what it would be like on a hot day.

I've not said much about the neighborhoods that AM showed me.   They are not new for the most part and red brick is the building material of choice.  But the styles have changed from the shotgun style to three story,  large windowed, French style buildings.

The streets are narrow and the trees are huge.   I was reminded of Palatine,  which dates from 1850.  Same kind of omnipresent trees and shade.   The parking strips matched up too - -  all grass and sidewalks.

Thus a lot of STL reminded me of my youth.   Since I'm heading that way and will do some driving around and seeing the old parts, it set me to thinking about the next leg of the trip.

The drive tomorrow is about 4.5 hours.   Heavy rain is forecast. It may take a bit longer to get North of the weather.   Sadly the road to Chicago heads North and west,  just where the water is.   I may be in it for a while.

I hit some heavy stuff in southern Missouri which made the driving nerve wracking.   For any of you looking for a warm and dry area to live,  I will mention that the rain did not start until leaving Oklahoma.

Ann Marie has been a great tour director!   My thanks to her for sharing her home and wonderful town with me.