Heat wave be damn! Granted its 110 out there and the humidity is enough to make one's rubber soles melt into the sidewalk, but we still managed to go about the city with daily siestas mixed in to avoid the blistering heat. This, and a bunch of bandaids to help with the blisters.
Forest Park, in the center of St. Louis is one of the largest metropolitan parks in the world. From what I've read, its bigger than Central Park in New York. There is a nice history museum and art museum that was once the center piece of the 1904 world fair. We hit the art museum - which has a strange mix of items where you go from colonial furniture to egyptian relics to mesoamerican artifacts as you go from room to room. In the front is a moving statue of King Louis the IX - a crusader king that lead his forces to total ruin in Egypt and then in Tunisia in the early 13th century. Good photo op if nothing else.
Forest Park is where I usually went biking and running and the city maintains the place well - but sadily I wasn't able to do that this time around as the weather would simply not permit it. However, I did see some brave souls attempting runs well past 9 PM. What I'm impressed with, is that this park not only has decent attractions, but more importantly, the city is expanding most of them and they are all free.
The next stop wasn't free - but I think it is well worth it:
Missouri Botanical Gardens
No trip to St. Louis is complete without hitting the botanical gardens. I would argue that one can even skip the arch in order to get here. Its amazing on all fronts - the plant collections they have here are extensive - they even have a 1800 number if a person has questions about gardening. The tropical habitate - the "climitron" is an impressive feat of architecture and the Japanese Gardens are some of the best I've ever seen - and even put the one's in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park to shame.
We went there on a night for the Chinese Lantern exhibit - which I personally thought was a joke. For those of you who are thinking of going to this thing, avoid it and await the next exhibit. The lanterns are extremely cheesy and make this beautiful park look like a 2nd rate Disney world. We managed to find our way to the end of the park as the sun was setting and meandered about the gardens at night. That is, until someone found us and told us to get out. There is a portion at the back of the park where there is a low chain fence - where if one was inclined to place a bottle of wine or some beer for later retreval after one has entered the park - it is possible - but thats just what I've heard only from others. wink wink.
Our last night in St. Louis we spent walking the streets of the central west end hand in hand. The moon was full - or nearly so and cast a lazy light through the clouds on us. The warm humid air made me remember the past life I once had here. I've had so many memories of coming here and spending amazing times with a host of friends. For me it was sad to say goodbye - again. I'm still proud of my time here and still consider my experience of living in St. Louis as a big part of who I am.
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