Since our Dells trip was such a success, we decided that another trip must be planned immediately. Since Jaime still has friends in St. Louis (STL) and hadn’t been there in months, it was decided that STL would be the perfect location for a weekend getaway.
STL is located just about 4 hours from Bourbonnais and about 4.5 hours from Steger. The drive is incredibly easy – simply take I-57 south to I-70 west. Luckily, since Jaime still has friends in St. Louis, our rooming was taken care of. Jaime’s friends Amanda and Richard live in an area of STL called “The Hill.” It is the Italian area of the city – complete with fantastic Italian restaurants, Bocce ball courts, and Derby Car finish lines. We arrived in city late Friday evening and after a fantastic dinner at Pueblo Solis, we returned back to Amanda and Richard’s house to commence a night of wine drinking and Munchkin play.
On Saturday morning we woke up and had to come to terms with the fact that, between the four of us, we had consumed at least 9 bottles and possibly 11 bottles of wine. We also briefly relived the costume/dance party that kept us up until 4 am. We finally decided to get moving and set out on a mission to locate sheets of pasta. Our search took us to several little shops in The Hill, including Toscano’s Market and DiGregorio’s Italian Foods which includes a great little deli. For lunch we headed to Adriana’s Deli for a quick but delicious Italian lunch.
Any visit to STL is certainly not complete without a visit to the St. Louis Arch. The Arch is located right on the Mississippi River in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. In the base of the Arch there is a fantastic and free museum dedicated to Western expansion. In order to get to the top of the Arch you are required to purchase a tram ticket. Helpful hint: Even though all the ticket options appear to pair a ride to the top with a movie or boat cruise, you can request a tram ticket only. The cost for just the tram ticket is $10 as compared to $14 – the lowest package price that is advertised. The tram (aka a pod) took us to the top and to the amazing views of St. Louis, the Mississippi River, and even Illinois!
After an fun-filled and eventful day, a mutual decision was made to have a “light” evening. And no, I really don’t think that it had anything to do with the fact that, the night before, we consumed all the alcohol that California had produced in the past year. For dinner Amanda and Richard suggested Pizza-A-Go-Go. They claim that it had a little bit of magic baked right into the crust. You know, we think that they might be right. The pizza was delicious and yes, even a little bit magical.
Sunday we headed to Richard’s place of employment for brunch. Ari’s has a great Sunday brunch that includes fresh fruit, biscuits and gravy, french toast, and even an omelet bar. Of course we also had to have some bellinis and mimosas!
After brunch we decided to get on the road (after a quick stop at Trader Joe’s of course!). We had a great time but we realized that there is a lot more of STL that we need to see. We have a love of old cemeteries so we would like to visit the Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries (where Tennessee Williams is buried). We would also like to take the Vintage Voices Heritage Tour at a cemetery right across the Mississippi in Alton, IL. And of course, being the lushes we seem to be, the Budweiser Brewery Tour would be on our list of things to do the next time around. Luckily, we have decided that St. Louis makes a very easy weekend getaway!