Destination Unknown: Part 9

We were unfortunate kittens again and our plane was delayed once more due to the weather. We had to wait several hours for our flight to Charlotte were we would connect to St Louis. We arrived at St Louis several hours after originally planned as they had to switch us to a later flight. Mjau we just barely made it to the last train for the night thanks to our pilots making up for lost time en route. We were a bit peeved that we missed several hours as we had booked a hotel in St Louis and now missed out on half a day in St Louis. Similar to Charleston we heard about the crime statistics in St Louis. We arrived in downtown St Louis around midnight and the streets were basically empty. We did not feel unsafe in the slightest. We checked into our hotel The Missouri Athletic Club. A very nice hotel. We really enjoyed the decor inside the hotel.

Our room at The Missouri Athletic Club.

In the morning we walked around the area and bought tickets for The Arch. We then went to Schnucks Downtown grocery store. Mjau, we were very surprised to see they were selling the delicious brown bread from the Cheesecake Factory at the store. We bought some fruit and a gooey butter cake that is famous in St Louis and a croissant for breakfast. We enjoyed our breakfast in our room. We then headed to The Arch again. The had a nice museum of the history of St Louis and the Arch that was free to visit. The ticket is only for the tram to the top of the Arch. You were assigned to small groups of a maximum of five people that you would share the pod with. We shared the pod with a nice man and woman from Colorado who gave us some tips and recommendations for our upcoming trip there. The tram ride up is an elevator that one could compare with a quarter of a Ferris Wheel. The pod actually swings a bit when it goes up the arch. It can be a bit frightening, especially if you are both claustrophobic and fearful of heights. Fortunately we have ridden the Mickeys Fun Wheel over at Disney's California Adventure without knowing it would swing that much, so the Arch tram ride was tame in comparison. We were surprised to learn that The Arch is actually designed by a Finnish architect, Eero Saarinen. The view from the top was nice although the Illinois side was a bit barren. The ride down was more smooth and not as uncomfortable. 

Bu in front of The Gateway Arch.

View of St Louis from the top.

 

View of St Louis on the Illinois side.

Museum inside the Arch.

We walked around the town some more and were overcome with nostalgia for Chicago and love for the Midwest. We usually visit the coast, Florida and California and miss out on the so called fly over states. We made a resolution that we would explore the middle of the country more in the future. 

Si walking along the Mississippi River.

Enjoying a walk in the Gateway Arch National Park.

Sassy Si at Busch Stadium.

St Louis have been on our travel list since 2015 when we were in Chicago and failed to take the train here. We had honestly forgotten why St Louis had been on our list of must visit places. After eating our way through St Louis we remember exactly why. Mjau, the food is so delicious. We had a St Louis style thin crust pizza from Imo's Pizza. So delicious! We have heard that the cheese ,Provel, they use in St Louis is strange and not to everyone's liking. We actually liked it and the end result is not too far from the Oltermanni cheese we use on our pizza at home. 

Gooey butter cake.

St Louis Style Pizza.

We only had one full day in St Louis so the next morning we left our bag at the consierge and went to the museum at the Arch. We them walked to Bogart's smokehouse. Bogart's is actually one of the highlights of our trip, not including Disney of course. The ribs were just perfect. Mjau, we had to go and sit down on a bench at Lafayette Square to rest as we were so full and our butler could not move. In the afternoon we left for the airport and waited for our flight to Denver. We slept at the airport like poor peasants and then took the bus to Colorado Springs.

Dinner at Bogart's Smokehouse.

Lafayette Park.

Lafayette Park.