Travel: St. Louis.
St. Louis was a mini break that I really needed to be honest. Often, I get lost in Skyscrapers and the lore of New York City. It was nice to get away into Americana. The smaller cities of the United States. The cities not known by buildings but by the food and their people.
Enter St. Louis. It’s very much Americana but also something else? Go for the Gateway Arch but stay for the BBQ or a Cardinals game. Go see the City Museum but also visit the Aquarium and the Art Museum. There was a lot I didn’t know going into this trip and I’m glad I decided not to overly plan. I got to soak in small towns (when we traveled outside of St. Louis), and I got to be in nature a bit. It was refreshing.
Below are some highlights from my trip and how I went about each day. I did take a rest day as my body and my foot really needed the break. Otherwise, I would have been jelly.
This is what I did in St. Louis:
Day One:
It was mostly a travel day. We started off our day at LaGuardia Airport and had a layover in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. We got to St. Louis by 4pm (after a couple of delays) and promptly grabbed an uber to our hotel.
Once we settled, we knew we had to eat! Our hotel was right behind the Galleria mall and we b-lined it to a wonderful Asian fusion restaurant in the food court. We walked the mall a bit looking for a shirt for a wedding we were attending that weekend. We found a CVS and bought essentials like water and of course a few snacks.
Day Two:
On this day we got into the meat of our trip. It was exploration day and boy did we! We started off at the St. Louis Zoo and WHOA! It’s easily the best zoo I’ve been to. It’s wide open and mostly outdoors which makes for a safer experience. I saw all kind of cute fur babies! Bears, Penguins, Lions & even an eagle!
After the zoo we went to Art Museum because we saw a promotion about a Hip-Hop Culture exhibition and had to go! Head over to my IG post to read more about it but wow. The pieces exhibited were amazing. From Lil’ Kim’s most famous wigs to Pharrell’s famous tall hat & much more.
Finally, we made our way to Gateway Arch Park (never knew it was a national park!) I got so many photos there. It’s truly a marvel! I even recreated Nelly’s Country Grammar album cover while there because WHY NOT!
We also found our way to Salt + Smoke for some BBQ and WOW!
It was my favorite day of all. There were so much fun, laughs & good people.
Day Three/Four:
The entire reason for being here was a beautiful wedding! We were asked not to photograph or video during the ceremony and so I honored that but if you look in the gallery below and I grabbed a couple pictures. Day four was all about REST. I spent my day mostly inside our hotel resting my legs and sleeping a lot. Ever since our trip to Japan I make it known when I can’t go further but also, I make sure I stop walking before I cramp or cause damage to my foot.
It was an easy day.
Day Five:
Our final day in St. Louis was an exploration day. We went to an area called The Loop which is inside a university town for sure. Wash U is right there (I see New Yorkers laughing now). We went to a restaurant named Blueberry Hill for some Butter Cake. We had been told it was a must-try while in St. Louis and it did not disappoint at all!
The history within that place was so wonderful. Lots of Chuck Berry memorabilia, old school posters and magazines and lots of props. We also walked around The Loop and found a St. Louis Walk of Fame! It was very cool!
