5 Years of Happiness!
We had a wonderful anniversary trip to St. Louis this weekend. Eric’s Mom and Cousin came to watch the girls for the weekend for us and so we were able to leave on our anniversary Friday morning. We took 234 pictures so have tried to really narrow it down to a few for this post.
We arrived in St Louis Friday morning and got all checked into our hotel. Because it was our anniversary, we were upgraded on our room and it had a great view of the Arch.
We then walked down a few blocks from our hotel to the area called Laclede’s Landing. This was a really cool area, very historic looking. We ate some lunch at Hannegan’s, which was delicious!
Then we walked towards the Gateway Arch through a very scenic park. We decided to take a riverboat tour which was really interesting. It was fun to get out on the river and feel the breeze (it was a very hot day). We learned all sorts of history about St Louis and really gave us a good start to our fun in St Louis.
After our riverboat tour, we were ready to go up in the Arch. Eric and I were both awestruck by this gigantic beautiful piece of steel. I didn’t realize that it’s the tallest national monument in the United States at 630 feet. Seriously – it was amazing. Until you are there, you don’t realize really how amazing and cool this structure is. We had a little time to kill while we were waiting for our tour to the top of the Arch so we spent a lot of time walking around the Museum of the Westward Expansion at the bottom which had lots of history about Lewis and Clark and other explorers, weapons and stories from the 1800’s. It was a fun place to spend some time.
It was then our turn to go to the top. It only takes 4 minutes to get to top and 3 minutes down. They put you in this tiny round globe that seats 5 people. Once you are at the top there are 16 windows you can look out of. Looking East you see the Mississippi River and Illinois and looking West you see downtown St Louis.
Once we were back down on the ground, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We went to an Italian place for dinner, Charlie Gitto’s. We both had good meals and then walked around for a bit back to our hotel.
We then ventured to the Art Museum. We didn’t have a lot of time there, but it was plenty of time for us. It was really interesting and just the building and its surroundings were enjoyable to look at. We then headed back to the hotel for a little relaxation at the pool.
That night I did end up getting a migraine headache so didn’t sleep very well, at about 6:00 the next morning Eric ran out and got me some Excedrin which helped considerably. I wasn’t feeling 100% but was not going to let a headache ruin our nice anniversary vacation. So, we ate some breakfast at the hotel and got ready to go to Anheuser-Busch for the tour of the brewery. This was awesome! I couldn’t believe how big the Anheuser campus was and all of the old historic buildings were stunning! The Clydesdale horses were there for pictures so we made sure we got some pictures with them!!!
After drinking a few of our free beers at the end, we were ready to eat again. We went to this place called Amighetti’s which was in The Hill area of St Louis. This is the well known Italian district and someone recommended this place to us. It was this tiny little dive with a great Italian menu. Eric and I weren’t that impressed with the food but it was a neat atmosphere.
After our tummies were full again, we went to the Zoo to walk off some of fullness! Of course, everyone must have been thinking the same thing because the zoo was packed! It took us forever to find parking but we finally did and went and saw the animals we wanted to see. Lions, Tigers and Bears Oh My and of course monkeys and chimpanzees!!!!
We went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We had reservations at Carmine’s Steakhouse which was also within walking distance to our hotel. We had a nice private booth and a great surprise. My brother Adam and his wife Amy had arranged for a bottle of Italian Champagne to be waiting for us for our anniversary. It was the BEST champagne either of us has ever had – delicious! Such a nice surprise and so thoughtful of them. We then proceeded to have the BEST appetizers and dinner we’ve had in a very long time! It was very romantic and a great dinner to celebrate our 5 years married. We then took a nice romantic walk down in the park by the arch and saw it all lit up – beautiful! We walked back to Laclede’s Landing and ended up going to this bar called the Big Bang. We had intended on going somewhere to listen to some live jazz or blues but couldn’t find any close to us, so this place had live music – it was dueling piano bar that was a lot of fun! It was great to be able to go out and have each of us to be able to have some drinks and not worry about having to drive anywhere afterwards.
Sunday morning, we ate some breakfast and then got on the road back home to our baby girls. We had so much fun and it was nice to get away but we were also very anxious and missed our babies – it was wonderful to get to see them again! They had a lot of fun with Grandma and Cousin Jenny. So I think it was a fun weekend for all of us.
Now it’s back to the normal work week and getting back on schedule...
We arrived in St Louis Friday morning and got all checked into our hotel. Because it was our anniversary, we were upgraded on our room and it had a great view of the Arch.
We then walked down a few blocks from our hotel to the area called Laclede’s Landing. This was a really cool area, very historic looking. We ate some lunch at Hannegan’s, which was delicious!
Then we walked towards the Gateway Arch through a very scenic park. We decided to take a riverboat tour which was really interesting. It was fun to get out on the river and feel the breeze (it was a very hot day). We learned all sorts of history about St Louis and really gave us a good start to our fun in St Louis.
After our riverboat tour, we were ready to go up in the Arch. Eric and I were both awestruck by this gigantic beautiful piece of steel. I didn’t realize that it’s the tallest national monument in the United States at 630 feet. Seriously – it was amazing. Until you are there, you don’t realize really how amazing and cool this structure is. We had a little time to kill while we were waiting for our tour to the top of the Arch so we spent a lot of time walking around the Museum of the Westward Expansion at the bottom which had lots of history about Lewis and Clark and other explorers, weapons and stories from the 1800’s. It was a fun place to spend some time.
It was then our turn to go to the top. It only takes 4 minutes to get to top and 3 minutes down. They put you in this tiny round globe that seats 5 people. Once you are at the top there are 16 windows you can look out of. Looking East you see the Mississippi River and Illinois and looking West you see downtown St Louis.
Once we were back down on the ground, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We went to an Italian place for dinner, Charlie Gitto’s. We both had good meals and then walked around for a bit back to our hotel.
We then ventured to the Art Museum. We didn’t have a lot of time there, but it was plenty of time for us. It was really interesting and just the building and its surroundings were enjoyable to look at. We then headed back to the hotel for a little relaxation at the pool.
That night I did end up getting a migraine headache so didn’t sleep very well, at about 6:00 the next morning Eric ran out and got me some Excedrin which helped considerably. I wasn’t feeling 100% but was not going to let a headache ruin our nice anniversary vacation. So, we ate some breakfast at the hotel and got ready to go to Anheuser-Busch for the tour of the brewery. This was awesome! I couldn’t believe how big the Anheuser campus was and all of the old historic buildings were stunning! The Clydesdale horses were there for pictures so we made sure we got some pictures with them!!!
After drinking a few of our free beers at the end, we were ready to eat again. We went to this place called Amighetti’s which was in The Hill area of St Louis. This is the well known Italian district and someone recommended this place to us. It was this tiny little dive with a great Italian menu. Eric and I weren’t that impressed with the food but it was a neat atmosphere.
After our tummies were full again, we went to the Zoo to walk off some of fullness! Of course, everyone must have been thinking the same thing because the zoo was packed! It took us forever to find parking but we finally did and went and saw the animals we wanted to see. Lions, Tigers and Bears Oh My and of course monkeys and chimpanzees!!!!
We went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We had reservations at Carmine’s Steakhouse which was also within walking distance to our hotel. We had a nice private booth and a great surprise. My brother Adam and his wife Amy had arranged for a bottle of Italian Champagne to be waiting for us for our anniversary. It was the BEST champagne either of us has ever had – delicious! Such a nice surprise and so thoughtful of them. We then proceeded to have the BEST appetizers and dinner we’ve had in a very long time! It was very romantic and a great dinner to celebrate our 5 years married. We then took a nice romantic walk down in the park by the arch and saw it all lit up – beautiful! We walked back to Laclede’s Landing and ended up going to this bar called the Big Bang. We had intended on going somewhere to listen to some live jazz or blues but couldn’t find any close to us, so this place had live music – it was dueling piano bar that was a lot of fun! It was great to be able to go out and have each of us to be able to have some drinks and not worry about having to drive anywhere afterwards.
Sunday morning, we ate some breakfast and then got on the road back home to our baby girls. We had so much fun and it was nice to get away but we were also very anxious and missed our babies – it was wonderful to get to see them again! They had a lot of fun with Grandma and Cousin Jenny. So I think it was a fun weekend for all of us.
Now it’s back to the normal work week and getting back on schedule...
Wow! You packed in So much fun! Way to make the most of it. One on one time with your hubby is great to have and important now and again. And St Louis seemed nice place to have that!
ReplyDeleteSo sweet of Adam and Amy, too!
Oh- and you guys look great!
So glad you were able to get away with your hubby and celebrate!! Looks like a very nice time!!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!
ReplyDelete