Five More Minutes?

When I was preparing for my trip to St. Louis, I sought out suggestions for things to do and see downtown. My favorite - and now my "go to" - source for travel guides is Design Sponge. (You can read the St. Louis one here.)

There's absolutely no way I could have done or seen everything in one weekend - I'm actually pumped to read through the Design Sponge guide again in preparation for my next STL adventure, now that I'm familiar with the city - but this guide is the reason that I knew about Citygarden (an urban oasis in downtown St. Louis) before my trip.

I had high hopes for Citygarden, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations from the moment I rounded the corner and spotted the first piece of sculpture, to the moment I (begrudgingly) left!

At first, I thought this piece was playing a trick on my eyes, but then I realized that the slats were in fact moving. 

Oh mister chubby bunny in the background, how I adore you and your little arms!!

This piece was my favorite in the park, and you can see a video of it in motion here!

You can also see me in the reflection below. Oh hey, Eliz.

This little nook was perfect: a giant television showing the World Cup + a space to escape the sun & enjoy the shade.

Okay, so, maybe this piece was my favorite. Who doesn't love a giant pink suit?!

More of this to come in a later post, but the DOKC employee in me had fun noticing some Citygarden details from a logistics standpoint. 

I truly appreciated the fact that Citygarden had branded barricades to block the street - not only do they look pretty in the background of a picture, but I actually made them the focus of this one!

I love this sign that was displayed in a few places in Citygarden. Superb use of the words "common sense" and "respect."

Recycling bins. Enough said. 

I had a great time exploring Citygarden on Friday - and even found myself wandering back through the garden on Sunday in the peaceful quiet of the early morning while talking to my dad on the phone. 

Guess what's under the Citygarden map pictured above? Only the menu for the best meal I had while on vacation. Seriously, my stomach is growling just thinking about it. Yummy STL food is coming up next!!

xoxo, E

I See the Arch!

One of the sights that I was most excited to see while in St. Louis was the most obvious sight to be seen: the Gateway Arch. As we pulled into the city, I squealed with delight, "I see it! I see the arch!"

Even though I'd seen pictures of the Gateway Arch, I wasn't prepared for how beautiful and shiny it'd be in person. And boy oh boy, it sure was shiny! I swear, it got prettier and prettier from every new angle; I couldn't stop taking pictures. (It also didn't hurt that it was a perfect weekend with temperatures in the high 70s and cloudless blue skies.)

We decided to ride to the top of the arch to check out the views. I talked a big game of being fearless about the climb, but once I saw just how small the pod was that we'd be riding in, well I have to admit, I got a bit nervous. 

Well, we made the 630ft. climb safely and arrived at the top. You guys, the views were AMAZING! My favorite pictures from the top are the ones where you can see the shadow of the arch down below. 

And as much as I loved the Gateway Arch, I loved the surrounding park even more. I kept thinking just how awesome it'd be to run there while training for my next half marathon! It's seriously gorgeous!!

There was an event on Saturday in the park that encouraged families to get outside and be active. They had a course set up for the kids to buckle up and drive their "cars." 

The best part was a little boy with a train car. Periodically, he'd blow the train whistle and push the train across the tracks. The kiddos would have to stop their cars and wait for the train to pass. I just couldn't stand the cuteness!

Check out all of the people doing yoga by the arch! What a fun Saturday to be out and about in the gorgeous St. Louis weather!!

There is quite a bit of construction happening downtown. They are building a new green space that will go over the interstate to connect downtown St. Louis to the Gateway Arch. It's going to be so awesome when it's done!

And finally, to close out my love affair with the Arch... Ladies and gentlemen, my best attempt at a photo of the two of us together. Nice try, Newton.

Get excited because tomorrow we're exploring Citygarden! 

(I could have spent hours there)

xoxo, E