Thanks to some great Fodorites' advice, we had a wonderful weekend exploring St. Louis for the first time.

Things I learned:

1. There are NO TRAINS at Union Station.
2. Union Station is a mall.

Our Amtrak train from Dallas arrived at a little shack-like building a couple of blocks from Union Station, where we had to walk several blocks in freezing drizzle to catch a Metrolink train. Although the connected hotel (where I initially wanted to stay) has a fabulous old lobby, I was glad our Priceline bids for a 4-star downtown fell through because I wouldn't have liked being attached to a mall all weekend! (We ended up at the Radisson near the arch -- a good Priceline deal and better location, IMO.)

3. Just because it was 70 yesterday doesn't mean it won't snow tomorrow.
In fact, it snowed all afternoon on our first day. Luckily, thanks to the fabulous Fodors advisors, we knew just what to do -- go to City Museum. I can't thank you enough for this advice. The place is awesome and it stays open until 1 a.m. on weekends and has a bar. It's like nothing else, and a worker told us the owner has another project in the works in an old cement plant outside of town. www.citymuseum.org

4. Casinos are casinos are casinos -- even on a Riverboat docked on the Mississippi.
(I secretly knew this but went anyway.) Played long enough to end up $6 ahead and said 'adios'.

5. Sometimes bus drivers are pretty good tour guides.
We decided not to rent a car and St. Louis' public transportation isn't perfect, but we enjoyed riding the Metrolink trains and taking the buses, even as bumbling and inexperienced as we are. We also did a lot of walking because sometimes it was just as fast to walk as wait for a bus. After the funky arch ride and a great trip to the Soulard Market on Saturday morning, where we had a breakfast of giant grapes (two pounds for 99 cents) a sweet cream-cheese-filled pretzel and coffee, we wandered into a little shop called The Porch, where they offered us a sample of Cabernet while we shopped. One of the clerks told us where to catch the bus to Forest Park. Our bus driver, a former wrestler, pointed out lots of sites along the way with a spattering of wrestling and other sports triva. We really saw a lot of the city on this jaunt.

6. You need lots of time at Forest Park.
It was already 3 p.m. by the time we got to the zoo. It was lovely and more like a park than a zoo. The sea lions put on quite a show. The new Fragile Forest (large primates) was closed. The indoor exhibits were warm and "pungent," and we preferred to stroll outside. We ran out of time for the art museum, skating rink, St. Louis history museum, etc.

To be continued...

jayne 1973

What a shame that a great city like St. Louis has that little shack-like building. It is truly a eye sore.

I like your upbeat trip report - keep it coming.

Sandy

Jayne,

Glad you had a good time, I don't think I ever saw your original query...sorry. There haven't been trains at Union Station in a long time, although Union Station was the site of the famous photo of Harry Truman holding up the paper with the headline "Dewey beats Truman". Union Station was redeveloped as a mall by the Rouse Co. in the 80's.

Glad public transportation worked ok, it really can be a big hassle most times, the new Metrolink line is a year behind schedule, and many Millions over budget. I grew up in NYC, so I know all about public transportaion, but I never use it here in St. Louis, it would waste way too much valuable time.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Oh..and that shack has been dubbed "Amshack" for many years. It's a disgusting entry into a major american city. There has been a combo bus/train station building on the drawing board for over 20 years, still in the "planning stage"!

Regarding the "Amshack," and considering the rich history of Union Station, we felt there should have a least been some kind of connecting covered walkway or tunnel. It was kind of bizarre.

OK, on with the report:
I will admit right now that we could have visited many more places with a car. But it was strangely freeing not having one and of course we saved some money and walked off surely every calorie we consumed. I think we walked about 10 miles on Saturday and got a real sense of the city, too. Plus, I really want and need to become competent at using public transit, although St. Louis was probably not the best place to start.

After leaving the zoo Saturday afternoon about 4:30 p.m., we headed across Forest Park, walking through the World's Fair Pavillion and past the Boat House. It was a nice walk. The Metrolink between Grand and Wellston was closed for construction and they were running shuttle buses. We caught one of those to a stop near the DelMar Loop.

The Loop was having an ice festival that day, and they had set up an ice ramp for snowboarders. They would jump off the top of a truck on their boards and surf down. It was pretty impressive. There were also ice sculptures outside and inside many of the businesses, which was very "cool."

We decided to eat at Blueberry Hill, which was hopping that night. In the half-hour wait for a table, we ordered drinks and looked around. If I were a vodka lover, I would have had a shot cooled in their guitar-shaped ice scupture plunge. They poured the shots down the chute of ice inside the guitar and it came out all cold and refreshing. We kept seeing men in white suits and women in poodle skirts coming in and learned there was a private party. We weren't dressed for crashing that one!

After another round of drinks and an excellent burger, onion rings, fries and blueberry pie ala mode, we headed for the restrooms and found the hallway lined with photos of the owner and hundreds of famous people. It took us a good 15 minutes to look at all of them. Apparently he is very much a part of the restaurant and was there that night. We really enjoyed the place and would go again.

Leaving Blueberry Hill, we wandered into a couple of shops and record stores, then into a place called Riddles' Penultimate for some live music. Had a cognac and listened for a good hour -- don't know the name of the band but the lead singer was a woman with a really deep sexy voice and they did some great old songs including the fine old Pointer Sisters' "Fire." It was very comfortable even though the place was packed.

The shuttle bus was full on the way back and made for an interesting Saturday night ride downtown. Let's just say such entertainment could not be had in a rent car!

We almost gave in and took a taxi to the airport Sunday morning, but after comparing the $30 fare to $3.50 on Metrolink for the two of us, we stuck to our guns and took the train/bus route. There was some waiting involved, but we had plenty of time to catch our flight on Southwest back to Dallas. (By the way, Southwest flies out of the east terminal, which did require us to catch the Metrolink again for a very short ride.)

Things I forgot to mention:
*After leaving City Museum, we had dinner Friday night at an Asian fusion place called Red Moon. It was nice but,IMO, overpriced.
*City Museum has the famous two-headed snake. It's pretty weird.

Things I am sorry I missed:
The Treasures of Ur exhibit at the art museum.
The Budweiser tour.

Overall impression of St. Louis:
Friendly people; less racial divisions than Dallas; Great architecture!

Next time I would: Fly to St. Louis and take the train to Chicago!

Thanks again to all who helped me plan this little New Years excursion!

I had to pick up my brother and his family at Amshack (love that!) on Christmas Day. I grew up in St. Louis, and I figured I knew where it would be, but the signs sort of leave you...nowhere. I asked a cop; he didn't even know! Finally we found it, but man oh man! What an eyesore. However, I think staying at Union Station would be really fun. Especially in winter, where you could at least walk around in the warmth if it was really bitter cold outside.

Jayne1973 - thank you for a great trip report. I live in St. Louis and enjoyed reading your report. I love all the places you mentioned. RedMoon has been mentioned in National magazines....

I have no idea where that train station is but I do remember as a young girl taking the train from Union Station to Springfield, Il to see Lincoln's home, etc.. I
My daughter goes to college in Dallas, I love your city too!!!!

Thanks for the report Jayne1973. I'm glad you had a good time. Sounds like you're quite the walker too!

Well, I googled Amtrak stations, just so I could give a specific address to Annesherrod. I knew the station was slightly East and a bit South of Union Station. Well, the current "amshack" is actually new! It opened in Dec. '04. I had no idea. Jayne, if you thought this shack was bad, you should have seen the last one. This station, too, is supposed to be temporary.

The actual address of the Amtrak station is 550 S. 16th St.Saint Louis, MO 63103

The Amtrak station did feel like a temporary building -- almost like one of those pre-fab storage buildings. There certainly were plenty of people waiting to get on the train when we arrived. Apparently a lot of people use it regularly to go to Chicago.

It will be interesting to see what they do for a future station. Whatever they decide, it definitely needs to connect with the Metrolink station.

Thanks for all your comments. I'm really happy I got acquanited with St. Louis.
I was thinking I probably should explore my own city like that. What do like in Dallas, annesherrod?

Thanks for the report, Jayne! Though I'm a lifelong Midwesterner, I've never done anything in St. Louis but drive through it en route to someplace else. We're looking for a late winter (mid-March) getaway...maybe it should be St. Louis!

stltoday.com is the website for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When I searched Amtrak, I got this blurb, dated 9/16/04.

"Amtrak
The station, tucked under Highway 40 at the south end of 16th Street in downtown St. Louis, offers daily service to Chicago and Kansas City and beyond.

For now, passengers must wait in a temporary station. The city, though, has plans for what will be a new Intermodal Facility to be built on the southwest corner of Spruce and 14th streets. That facility will provide service for Amtrak, Metro and Greyhound passengers.

Until then, parking is limited in a lot that’s in poor shape. For more information, visit Amtrak's Web site, or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245)."

That Intermodal Facility has really been discussed for over 20 years, long before the Metrolink existed. If it is ever built, it would certainly be a great addition to St. Louis. BUT, I'm not holding my breath....

Jayne,

I'm glad you were able to get to the City Museum, Soulard Market and the Loop. It sounds like you hit the highlights in those neighborhoods. I enjoy walking around the Porch and looking at all their different wines. Last time I was in there they were not offering tasting, but I know they do that often. Blueberry Hill is one of my favorite restaurants/bars in the Loop area. I'm going there tonite for a concert.

STLgrrl, report back on the Chuck Berry concert at B-hill. I've never managed to see him in concert. Hope it's great.

I'm sure I took that train line when going from Carbondale to Chicago and back several times in the late '90's. Be aware that if you take the train to Chicago that they are not always prompt on time arrivals etc. Don't schedule things tight.

Two times I was delayed on that track near the Chicago end. One time it was a frequent occurance of track blockage (something thrown on the track to make it unpassable.)

Also it is very, very slow and stops at many towns. You will get to see several college towns from the back, including Carbondale, Edwardsville, Champaign-Urbana among others. Unless you are a train buff, I would get a direct flight to Chicago for cheaper $$$ and do St. Louis separately as well.

Liz,

To be honest, I wasn't too happy when my BF got the tickets. We had a class that night, and I have to work in the morning. But, we were mainly going to see the opening band, Ludo, because we know the guys in the band. I had told BF that I wanted to leave early. Well, that didn't happen.

Chuck Berry was awesome! I sound like a 16 year old, but I was blown away! He is still dancing and singing and playing, and just looking like he is having a great time up there! Granted, I think he forgets some lyrics, and he almost played the same song twice, but he plays that off really well. He was telling jokes and being quite humorous. His son played guitar for him, and his daughter played the harmonica and sang with him. At 10:30 my BF showed me his watch, but I still wanted to stay. We saw the whole show (unless he did any encores). I highly recommend getting tickets to his next show there. I'm pretty sure he plays every month on a Wednesday. You just have to get the tickets quick because they sell out. I don't know any of Chuck Berry's music, but I was still dancing and having a blast.

A couple other things...If you have never been to the Duck Room, it is small. Especially for a sold out show. They had more chairs in there than I have seen, but my friend got there at 7 pm (for a 9 pm show) so he could get a front row seat (which he did). My other friend got there at 8 pm (when I had said he should get there), but couldn't get a seat, so we were stuck kind of standing in the back. Luckily I could still see.

So, I would give the overall show a 9 out of 10, simply because it was so crowded.

Thanks for reporting back. That Chuck Berry is still performing, and rocking out, is really impressive. I've done my share of Duck room, Mississippi Nights, Pageant and Jazz at the Bistro shows...I'm getting too old for this! But to all those coming to visit STL, there is a wealth and variety of live music available.

We're going to see Aimee Mann at the Pageant on Jan. 31st. I'm looking forward to that one.

I was in college at Illinois State University from 1976 to 1979. I'd often take the train from St. Louis to school I remember that at first we'd actually take the train from Union Station (pre-mall days). It was in horrible disrepair...big puddles of water on the floor from roof leaks, etc. At some point (maybe 1978?) they moved to the temporary building...One would THINK that they'd have a better solution by now!

I would love to see Chuck Berry sometimes and also more or what sounds like a great music scene. Is there a good web site for keeping up with live shows in the city?

To keep up with the shows, I go to the various venue websites.

For Chuck Berry, check out the Blueberry Hill website:
www.blueberryhill.com and click on live shows/bands.

You can also look at the Metrotix website (metrotix.com) and search St. Louis and the ticketmaster website (ticketmaster.com) and search St. Louis.

Chuck Berry's next show is up on the Blueberry Hill website. I forgot what the date is, but it is a Wednesday in February. I really recommend the show. It really was alot of fun, whether or not you know the music or not. It is just so catchy, and everyone is there to see him, and you just get swept up in the fun. But, get there early if you want a seat or be able to see (I'm talking 7 pm).

The other venues I check out are:

www.thepageant.com
mississippinights.com
popsrocks.com
www.creepycrawl.com (only for the hard core though, it's a bit seedy)
www.ciceros-stl.com