We headed out for Saint Louis on June 21st. We enjoyed the spectacular view from the Hampton Inn at the top of the hill so much, with the famous old railroad station (St. Louis Union Station, on the right) and the Gateway Arch (further down the road), the previous summer, we reserved a room there again. The railroad station, once the largest and busiest passenger rail station in the world but now a marketplace of shops and restaurants, was designed in 1894 to resemble a French fortress. From the hotel on the first night, we went on foot to the station and, like last year, had our evening meal at the Route 66 Brewery & Restaurant.

We spent most of a day at The Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park. The Fine Arts Palace of the 1904 World’s Fair (Cass Gilbert, architect), at the time of our visit, the most outstanding work on display was by Francisco de Zurbaran. The photograph shows only the left wing of the building. The special exhibition at the time was Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi: Father and Daughter Painters in Baroque Italy.

The Missouri Botanical Garden has the largest traditional Japanese garden in North America. We walked and walked for hours, enjoying all the flowers and everything.

The Saint Louis Zoo attracts a variety of visitors, young parents with their childrem among them. I always feel so carefree in a zoo, as I walk around with Liam.

The Saint Louis University. A clock tower and fountain.

An old house within the campus is now a museum, but we didn’t go inside.

A museum of modern art started life as a club house.

The beautiful Old Courthouse was built, in stages, from 1839 to 1862. That is said to be America’s first cast iron dome.

Built as a monument to President Thomas Jefferson, the Gateway Arch was designed by Eero Saarinen (who also designed the terminal building of the local Dulles airport) and completed in 1965. I’m standing in the doorway of the Old Courthouse to take this photograph.

I’m standing a little closer now. America’s tallest national monument, 630 feet high above the Mississippi River.

Time to go.