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Tag Archives: St. Louis

Exploring St. Louis with kids

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Sarah Vernetti

Gateway Arch, St. Louis

St. Louis might be one of the most underrated family destinations in the U.S. With world-class museums, professional sports for every season, and a stunning monument to 20th-century design and engineering, St. Louis offers families a host of affordable entertainment options.

Where to Begin: the Gateway Arch

Perhaps the best place to start a St. Louis adventure is the famous Gateway Arch. At 630 feet, this monument’s grace ascent gives the city a skyline like no other. Visitors can experience the Museum of Westward Expansion before climbing into a pod-shaped elevator and making the journey to the top of the Arch. There, visitors can look out the small windows and see the city to the west and the Mississippi River and Illinois to the east.

Educational Adventures

No trip to St. Louis is complete without a visit to the zoo. The Saint Louis Zoo features over 19,000 animals, a zoo train, and a lively sea lion show. Surprisingly, admission to the zoo is free. Visit soon to see the zoo’s newest resident, a baby Asian elephant that was born in April 2013.

Another free option in Forest Park is the Saint Louis Art Museum. From ancient Egyptian artifacts to paintings by modern masters like Paul Cezanne, Georges Braque, and Andy Warhol, the museum’s comprehensive collection can help inspire young artists and their parents.

For families who prefer science to Cezanne, the Saint Louis Science Center is a fun and educational option. Cross the pedestrian walkway and watch the cars zip by on the highway below, or watch a movie on the five-story screen at the OMNIMAX theater.

In addition to its impressive museums, St. Louis also boasts a well-deserved reputation as a sports town. During warm summer nights, families can take in a Cardinals baseball game at the 2006-reincarnation of Busch Stadium.

Relax and Refuel

Once you’ve experienced the art, culture, wildlife, and sports of St. Louis, you’ll need to recharge with something scrumptious. Fans of Italian food should visit “the Hill,” a predominately Italian-American neighborhood known for its wide array of old-school Italian restaurants. Local favorites include Cunetto’s House of Pasta and Charlie Gitto’s.

After dinner, consider a stop at the St. Louis staple Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. Known for their so-thick-you-can-turn-the-cup-upside-down “concretes,” this ice cream shop is a must-visit for kids (and their parents) who have a sweet tooth.

St. Louis is a fantastic budget-friendly summer destination for families. We have visited many, many times, and we always find new things to try.

Helpful Planning Resources:

Gateway Arch: gatewayarch.com
Saint Louis Zoo: stlzoo.org
Saint Louis Art Museum: slam.org
Saint Louis Science Center: slsc.org
Ted Drewes Frozen Custard: teddrewes.com

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Kid-Friendly Fun in St. Louis, Missouri

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Sarah Vernetti

Butterfly House, Faust Park

Having grown up in St. Louis, it’s always fun to go back and take my daughter to places that I remember from my own childhood. During our most recent trip to the Midwest, we were able to explore Faust Park, located not far from where I grew up on the west side of town.

Faust Park is perfect for families because it offers visitors many options: a playground, a beautiful indoor carousel, and the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Butterfly House, just to name a few.

We started our visit to the park with a ride on the carousel, which was built by the Dentzel Company of Philadelphia in the 1920′s. At age five, E. still loves rides like this. Tickets are $2 each. Even though the carousel is indoors, large windows circle the room, making it a pretty cool (literally!) setting.

We also explored the Butterfly House, a short walk from the carousel. We were able to walk through a beautiful wonderland of butterflies and flowers. I’m not much of a photographer, but this would be a spectacular place for a photo walk.

Butterfly House, Faust Park

Butterfly House, Faust Park

Faust Park is located at:

15193 Olive Blvd.
Chesterfield, MO 63017

Have you visited Faust Park? Share your thoughts:

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Back to the Homeland: Our Recent Adventures in the Midwest

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Sarah Vernetti
The Butterfly House and other Midwestern adventures

Beautiful flowers at the Butterfly House in St. Louis, Missouri.

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to the Midwest, visiting three destinations in five nights. It wasn’t exactly a slow-paced vacation, but we managed to make the most of our time.

Here’s the breakdown of our itinerary…it would make a great starting point for those wanting to visit Missouri and Illinois:

Day 1: Arrive in St. Louis. Grab a late-night snack.
Day 2: Explore Faust Park and the Butterfly House. Drive to the Lake of the Ozarks, with a stop in Columbia for pizza at Shakespeare’s. Arrive at the Lake in the evening and enjoy a moonlit boat ride.
Day 3: Don some sunscreen and hit the water for jet-skiing, swimming, and other lake activities during the day. Play a round of mini-golf or race around the go-kart track in the evening.
Day 4: Start the day with an all-you-can-eat breakfast at Kay’s Restaurant. Then hit the road to Chicago, which is about a seven-hour drive from Osage Beach. Arrive in Chicago, and grab a snack and a glass of wine at the popular foodie-hangout The Purple Pig, located on The Magnificent Mile.
Day 5: Take a tour of Wrigley Field and learn all about the historic ballpark’s story. Enjoy lunch nearby in Wrigleyville. Then take a cab to Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and enjoy the views. Have an early dinner at Harry Caray’s Steakhouse.
Day 6: Before heading out of town, visit one of Chicago’s iconic museums. We chose the Field Museum, based on our daughter’s love of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.

As you can see, we managed to have a lot of fun (and learn quite a bit along the way) in a short amount of time. We would have loved to spend more time in all three destinations, but vacations can’t last forever. I’ll be writing more about several of these adventures in the coming week or two. I hope you’ll stop by.

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Tips for Visiting the Gateway Arch

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

Gateway Arch, St. Louis

During our travels to Missouri and Illinois this summer, we finally took E. to see the Gateway Arch. It’s crazy to think of all the times we’ve visited St. Louis, but haven’t made time to act like tourists!

Here are a few tips to keep in mind during your visit to the top of the monument:

Ticket Times: Don’t get too excited. When you see that it’s a busy day at the Arch, you might be surprised to find that your assigned tram time is only minutes away. However, keep in mind that you’ll do some additional waiting even after you report to the north or south tram line. First, you’ll need to wait to get your boarding pass, then you’ll wait again for your tram group to be called, and then you’ll watch a short film while waiting to board. In other words, bring something along to keep the kids entertained!

Restrooms and the “Point of No Return”: As I’m sure you can imagine, there aren’t restrooms at the top of the Arch. There aren’t any near the tram loading area either, so use the ones near the ticket counter when you have the chance. Also, be prepared for your child to announce, “I have to pee,” as soon as you step onto the tram and can’t go back. (Yes, this happened to us.)

Duck! The trams/elevators are very compact, even though they hold up to five people. You’ll need to watch your head getting on and off the tram. If compact spaces make you uncomfortable, remember that the ride up to the top only takes about five minutes.

View from the Top: Once you’re at the top of the Arch, you can look out the windows and see St. Louis on one side and the Mississippi River and Illinois on the other. Some highlights to spot before you go back down: the beautiful courthouse building (to the west), Busch Stadium (west), and the Arch’s shadow.

View from the top of the Gateway Arch

Most of all, enjoy your visit!

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Gone Fishin’

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

It’s been a week since I’ve posted, and those of you who read this blog regularly know that I usually post more often. However, I’ve been taking a good old-fashioned summer vacation!

As you can see, I’m back now and ready to return to real life (and blogging).

I hope you’ll join me next week when I share everything we’ve been up to lately: spending lazy days on the water in Central Missouri, gazing out at the Mississippi River from the top of the Gateway Arch, and exploring the excellent Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

And I’m anxious to catch up with my own blog reading and find out what my travelling friends have been up to lately. If you’ve got a particularly awesome blog post you’d like to share, please feel free to leave a link in the comments section. Or, you can just tell me about your recent summer adventures.

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Pizza and Toasted Ravioli in St. Louis

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

Imo's Pizza, St. Louis

In addition to living in St. Louis for the first 18 years of my life, I’ve gone back to visit the city more times than I can count. Everytime we get ready to return to our hometown, Nick and I talk about the things we’ll do there. We could take E. to the marvelous zoo or the Magic House. We could check out the carousel at Faust Park or take some classic St. Louis pictures of E. in front of the Arch. But it seems like we never get around to doing these things.

Part of the reason is that we want to spend as much time as possible with family and friends.

I’ll confess. That isn’t all we do. We also eat. A lot.

On our most recent visit, we stopped by Imo’s Pizza one night and had what could be the world’s most delicious yet unhealthy meal.

Imo's Pizza, St. Louis

St. Louis-style pizza has a thin crust and uses Provel cheese (also a St. Louis tradition) instead of mozzarella.

And you can’t forget the toasted ravioli!

Imo's Pizza, St. Louis: toasted ravioli

Oh, it was delicious and worth every calorie!

If you visit St. Louis, you’ll find Imo’s Pizza pretty easily. There are over 90 locations, most in St. Louis, but some in other parts of Missouri and Illinois.

For more food-themed posts, check out WanderFood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick.

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Winter Road Trip: The Route

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Sarah Vernetti

I have neglected my blog lately, but I have a good reason for being absent. We just got back (today!) from a big road trip: over 2,000 miles, two cities (plus one great college town), and lots of adventures for me to write about now that I’m home.

Here’s the route we took:


View Larger Map

We enjoyed beignets in New Orleans, drove north through Mississippi, ate Imo’s Pizza in St. Louis, stopped at the World’s Largest Gift Shop, revisited our old stomping grounds in Columbia (MO), and circled back home through Oklahoma (plus lots of other good stuff too, like seeing family and friends and building a snowman with E.) The trip lasted about a week and a half. I’ll be reporting on our adventures in the coming days. I hope you’ll join me!

St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans

I hope your holidays were happy! Here’s to safe travels in 2011.

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A Few Thoughts on the Zoo and Its Role in Educating Children

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Sarah Vernetti

I have such fond memories of visiting the Saint Louis Zoo with my mom when I was a child. We visited fairly frequently since the zoo admission was (and still is) free. Not only were our trips to the zoo fun, they also taught me important lessons about our role in the world and encouraged me to learn more about our planet and its animals.

When I was about 8 years old, I became fascinated by endangered animals. The idea that an entire species could be wiped from the face of the earth was unbelievable to me. I started reading about how elephants are killed for ivory and gorillas are slaughtered so that their hands can be sold to tourists. I begged my mom to donate money to the Sierra Club and the World Wildlife Fund. I set up a lemonade stand in front of our house to raise money to donate to the zoo. I read about sea otters and oil spills. And each visit to the zoo encouraged me along the way.

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We took E. to the San Antonio Zoo over the weekend where we saw an animal called an okapi. These deer/horse/zebra-like animals live in the Ituri Forest of Central Africa and are endangered. According to the sign: “Because of the okapi’s secretive and solitary life in the wild, most of man’s scientific knowledge of okapi behavior comes from observations in zoos.”

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I was glad to have the opportunity to see one in-person. E. and I talked about it, observed it, and marvelled at its beauty and unique appearance. All thanks to the zoo.

The recent controversy at Sea World made me think about the differences between most zoos and Sea World. Here’s what I came up with and why I’d rather spend my money at the local zoo:

–Most zoos in the U.S. are non-profit organizations, unlike Sea World which is a for-profit business. Some, like the Saint Louis Zoo, don’t even charge admission. Their goal is to educate.

–Zoos do not expect their animals to perform. They don’t train their animals to behave in a way that will be more entertaining to visitors.

To me, these two differences are significant. I hope that people will continue to visit zoos and encourage their children to take action to protect endangered animals…even if that action is as simple as opening a lemonade stand in the front yard.

These are just my opinions. Before donating money to any charity or organization, you should research the organization first.

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St. Louis Favorites: Five Fun Things to Do with Kids

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Sarah Vernetti

1. The Saint Louis Zoo: This is by far my favorite zoo that I’ve visited. In addition to the elaborate, well-maintained habitats for the animals, the zoo has one feature that is really quite amazing…it’s FREE (although there are fees for some areas, like the children’s zoo and the zoo train).

2. Magic House: I visited the Magic House as a child and still have fond memories of placing my hand on the electrostatic generator and feeling my hair stand on end. Although admission is $8.50 per person, parking is free.

3. Sporting Events: St. Louis offers visitors three pro teams–Cardinals (baseball), Rams (football), and Blues (hockey).

4. Missouri Botanical Garden: The garden offers so much to explore–my favorite is the Japanese Garden, which is the largest Japanese strolling garden in the Western hemisphere. Kids will love checking out the large, colorful fish that live in the pond. Also, don’t miss the Children’s Garden.

5. The Arch: Even if you aren’t so sure about heights and are hesitant to take the journey to the top, it is still worth a stop at the famous Gateway Arch. It’s hard to imagine any kid (or grown-up, for that matter) who isn’t impressed by this landmark. Plus, it’s a great place to take pictures, from the ground or from above.

Looking for a place to eat in St. Louis? Check out my post Cunetto’s in St. Louis.

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Missouri and Kansas Trip: Pt. 2: Cunetto’s in St. Louis

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Sarah Vernetti

Our stop in St. Louis focused on family, friends, and food. One piece of advice to those visiting St. Louis: you must eat dinner in a predominately Italian neighborhood called the Hill. (For more on the Hill and its history, click here.)

The Hill is known for its fantastic Italian restaurants. Most of them are family-owned and serve traditional Italian food. None of that Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill stuff! This is the real deal.

Our first night back in St. Louis, we ate dinner with family at Cunetto House of Pasta. The name pretty much says it all: you’ll find a wide variety of pasta dishes as well as steak, fish, and veal. I recommend the cannelloni con salsa. The portions are huge. When we asked for a kid’s order of pasta with meat sauce for E., they proudly brought out a massive plate of food for her and told us that this was the smallest portion they offered. (It was an adult-sized portion at a kids meal price.)

Another recommendation–and I can’t state this strongly enough–get the toasted ravioli as an appetizer. Delicious!

Keep in mind that Cunetto’s is a popular place and that reservations are taken for lunch only. You might want to consider visiting on a weekday night, especially if you’re with kids and don’t want to wait for a table.

Please stay tuned for more from our Missouri/Kansas road trip. Next up: food and drinks in Columbia, Missouri.

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