St. Louis is a great town, and it reminded me of my beloved Twin Cities. Jon and Dr. Christina had only been there for 2 weeks so we had plenty to explore. I've already started compiling my list of things to do the next time I visit. Here are the highlights:
Gateway Arch
Completed in 1965 and opened to the public in 1967. At 630 feet high, it is the tallest monument in the United States. It is also 630 across the bottom of the base. The Arch weighs a hefty 17,632 tons, 9,000 of which are stainless steel.
The trams that take you up to the narrow observation deck look like 1960s futuristic pods. Over one million visitors a year take the trams up the Arch.
City Museum
Probably the craziest museum I have ever visited. Housed in the old International Shoe Factory Building, it is composed of architectural remnants and other random pieces from St. Louis. There was a school bus on the roof, two airplanes, and a 10 story spiral slide. It is a crazy playground with tunnels underground and made of wires and other hardware high above. It's basically a no holds barred, free for all.
City Garden
I love the bunnies.
Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard
A St. Louis classic. They only have one flavor of custard (vanilla) and you can add flavors or mix in toppings. They are known for their "concretes", custard blended with toppings. I got Oreo cookie. Concretes are so thick, they won't drip or fall out when the cup is turned upside down. It was good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get one--especially if there was a Dairy Queen Blizzard nearby.
Pappy's Smokehouse
Serving Memphis style bbq daily. Yeah, I know. It's St. Louis, not Memphis. I'm not entirely certain what the difference is, but I think it has to do with rubs and sauces. Regardless, it was tasty. They had deep fried corn on the cob, which to be honest, was not as good as it sounds. I think a plain ol' cob of sweet corn slathered in butter and salt would have been more satisfying.
Anheuser Busch Brewery
A trip to STL would not be complete without a visit to the Anheuser Busch Brewery! Anheuser Busch is the largest brewing company in the U.S., with 48.9% of the beer shares here. Their products include Busch, Budweiser, Bud Lite, Natural Lite, Michelob, King Cobra (malt), and international beers like Kirin, Stella, and Hoegaarden. Anheuser Busch headquarters are in St. Louis, and they keep some of their famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses here.
P.S. At the end of the brewery tour, everyone got 2 free glasses of beer. I don't like beer, so I had some very flat soda (ugh) and pretzels.
No comments:
Post a Comment