We went to the Gateway Arch in the morning... It was designed by architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947. It is 630 feet (190 m) tall and 630 feet (190 m) wide at its base, making it the tallest monument in the United States. These pics of the Arch were taken as we were walking towards it...
A rather long queue was already formed though it was only around 8:30am... We were glad that we had purchased our tickets in advance and only had to collect them via a separate line...
We visited the Museum Store as our tickets were for the 9am ride so we had some time to spare. A 3D puzzle and other various souvenirs of the Arch that you can buy from the store...
An exhibit showing the story and people behind the construction of the Gateway Arch...
We went up the Arch via the North Tram...
Some displays on the Arch in the waiting area to board the trams...
This is taken in the area where we queue to board the tram... And we were assigned tram car 5 and thus we wait outside door number 5...
This is taken inside the tram car... The car is circular in shape with a flat floor. Inside there are 5 seats arranged in a circular manner facing the door... And it is really a little cramped and not really suitable for the claustrophobic... Luckily we only had 4 people to the car else the middle person would have very little leg room...
Yeah!! We have reached the observation area at the top of the Arch!! The area is rather small and it was crowded with people...
View of the Mississippi River side...
Us with the Gateway Arch sign...
View of St. Louis... You can see the Busch Stadium and the Old Courthouse...
The small windows for you to view....
We like this photo of the Busch Stadium in the window...
You can stay as long as you want in the observation area and when you want to leave just wait at either the North or South side and you will be assigned available tram cars... We decided to go down via the South Tram and were assigned tram car 3...
This is how the inside of the tram car looks like...
The South Tram entrance/exit...
The queue had gotten really long and we were glad we came early...
Then we visited the Museum of Westward Expansion...
Website: http://www.gatewayarch.com/
Me with one the legs of the Arch...
At the base of one of the legs of the Arch...
More photos of the Gateway Arch...
The right pic shows Eads Bridge and Martin Luther King Bridge...
We then headed to The Basilica of Saint Louis, King, popularly known as The Old Cathedral, and is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial... It is the first cathedral built west of the Mississippi River and was designated a Basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1961... Mass was going on so we did not enter it...
Very nice shot of the Gateway Arch taken by YH as we walked towards the Old Courthouse!! We like this photo!! =)
The Old Courthouse also part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial...
A model of the Old Courthouse...
Inside the Old Courthouse...
Restored East Courtroom
A very nice dome...
Then we walked over to the Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball... It is a very nice stadium! =)
There was a game that day and everyone is either dressed in Cardinals apparel or something red!!
Huge billboard..
There are words engraved on each brick along this stretch of pavement... They are probably on the history and achievement of St. Louis sports..
Next we walked to Wainwright Building which was designed by Louis H. Sullivan, a Chicago architect and constructed in 1890 - 1891... This building became a turning point in architectural history and is now regarded as the pioneer of contemporary building design...
Then we headed back to the hotel to get our car and drove to Gus's Pretzels... It is one of the local St. Louis food to try...
It is a small shop but the queue was rather long! St. Louis logo made from pretzels...
Me with our pack of 12 pretzels in our car... We took a few days to finish them all... =p
We bought 6 twisted and 6 sticks and they are really huge and super filling! But it was too salty for me...
Website: http://www.guspretzels.com/
Next it was time for us to drive to Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour Center for our Beermaster Tour. This gave us a chance to experience a behind-the-scenes look at the brewing of Budweiser...
The main waiting area which you see when you enter the Tour Center...
We start our Beermaster tour in this room where we put on our gear... Our gear includes a set of headphones so that we can hear our guide talking and a pair of safety goggles which we had to put on The cap is a souvenir for us to keep... And here's me all set to start the tour...
Our guide and some of the members of our tour group... The group is very small with only 8 people including us...
Building in Anheuser-Busch Brewery... The whole compound is actually rather huge...
The Budweiser brewing process was explained to us...
We also visited the Brew House where we get to see tanks used for the mashing, straining and brewing process...
Another building in the compound...
The green stuff is hops which are added to the brewing process to give beer it flavour...They used local and imported hops and they have different aroma and colour... The jars on the table are the various ingredients used in the beer brewing process... We got to smell them...
Next we visited the Beechwood Lagering Cellar where the beer rests for aging, clarification and natural carbonation... The barrels are really huge and on the right are the beechwood used...
The trolley bus that brings people on the complimentary tour to the various buildings... We got a chance to hop on one later too...
More buildings in the compound...
Our next stop was the Packaging Facility and they were packing bottled Bud Light when we were there... The empty bottles are filled, capped, pasted with labels and then packed into boxes... Everything was very fast moving!
We also stopped by to see the can packaging...
Then we headed to the Stable to see the Clydesdales...
Horseshoe and gear for the Clydesdales...
Finally we visited the Finishing Cellar which was very very cold! We were all freezing! Here we get to sample straight from the finishing tank!! We are not really beer drinkers but we think that the beer from the finishing tank tasted great!! =)
Our guide fixing a device to the tap so that the beer flows down in a small stream instead of gushing out... And there is me filling my glass with the fresh beer!! =p
After sampling the beer from the finishing tank, we made our way back to the main building and passed by more Clydesdales... This is the truck used to ferry the Clydesdales...
More Clydesdales...
Back at the hospitality room relaxing on the couch...
Some of the beers we sampled... Basically there was a mini fridge full of beer bottles for us to drink... We could choose any of them and probably drink as many as we want...
Us enjoying our drink... We think that Bud Light Lime is rather nice! =p
I think I am really not a good drinker... Hehe... Felt my head was a little heavy after less than 2 bottles of beer... Had to sit down later while YH walked around to see the displays on the history of the company... =p
Some of the displays in the main waiting area of the Tour Center...
Some of the displays in the main waiting area of the Tour Center...
The Gift Shop...
The grill is cute!! And they even have Budweiser eyewear for sale! =p
Various beer glasses and mugs for drinking different types of beer...
Magnets...
On the left are ales and on the right are lagers... They have this make your own sampler where you choose any 6 bottles to put in a pack for purchase... This way you can buy only those you are interested in... =p
On the left are mini Clydesdale stuffed toys and the right are sauces... There are 6 different type of sauces specially made to compliment their beer...
Our original plan was to go back to hotel to freshen up and change before dinner but we were a little tight on time after the brewery tour so we decided not to return to the hotel... Instead we drove to The Hill and walked around a little... The Hill is St. Louis's Little Italy and you can see lots of green, white and red coloured stuff there... There's also lots of locally renowned Italian restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores located there. However most of them are closed when we were there, probably because it was Sunday... =(
Even the fire hydrant is in Italy colours!! =p
St. Ambrose Catholic Church at The Hill...
The Italian Immigrants...
We chose to have dinner at LoRusso's Cucina because it was ranked number 1 in TripAdvisor with many good reviews... It is an Italian restaurant located near The Hill...
Some photo taking after ordering our food...
A basket of bread and crackers is served for every table... The bread is nice!! Sad to say I did not try all the different bread in the basket as I wanted to leave space for the other food... YH did try them all and he said they are nice! =) We ordered toasted ravioli for our appetizer which is meat filled ravioli, breaded and fried, served with our house marinara sauce... Very nice!! Toasted ravioli is one the local St. Louis food on our list to try...
Our server helping us to take a photo... =)
House salad... This tasted great too!!
Our entrees - Pork Osso Buco (14 oz Pork shank, braised and slow cooked till tender, served with a rosemary demi glaze) and Tenderloin Mudega (Marinated tenderloin medallions breaded and charbroiled, topped with cheese in a garlic wine sauce with proscuitto ham and mushrooms)
Us with our food... They both tasted really great especially the pork!! We really enjoyed our meal!! =) The restaurant was almost full or maybe full while we were day and we were glad that we had made an reservation...
Me outside the restaurant after our meal... Very full indeed...
Website: http://www.lorussos.com/
We did not have dessert at the restaurant because we wanted to have frozen custard at Ted Drewes!! It is a definite must try at St. Louis and it is one of the local St. Louis food... Look at the number of people queuing and you can tell the popularity of this shop... But you need not wait long in line as there are many counters... They are well prepared to handle the crowd... =p
We did not have dessert at the restaurant because we wanted to have frozen custard at Ted Drewes!! It is a definite must try at St. Louis and it is one of the local St. Louis food... Look at the number of people queuing and you can tell the popularity of this shop... But you need not wait long in line as there are many counters... They are well prepared to handle the crowd... =p
You will have to try The Concrete which is thick custard blended with any number of ingredients... We each got a regular cup... Mine was named Dottie (chocolate, mint and macadamia nuts) and YH was Fox Treat (fudge, raspberry and macadamia nuts)... You could also customise your own flavour and toppings... They are really nice!! How I wish I could have more... =p
Website: http://www.teddrewes.com/
These are some of the souvenirs we got from our Beermaster Tour... These are unused bottle caps and labels taht we got from the packaging facility...
These are some of the souvenirs we got from our Beermaster Tour... These are unused bottle caps and labels taht we got from the packaging facility...
These are the glasses we used to sample the beer from the finishing tank...
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