On Friday the 6th of June, I left Patricks place, and after a good hug, I headed out to the Amtrak train Station. The train ride took a little over six hours, when it was only supposed to be a 5 hour trip, but we were delayed for about an hour, sitting about 20 minutes out of the city! Very irritating! However, I will say that I really liked taking the train. It was so much better than aeroplanes! Lots of leg room, the chairs went back enough to be able to sleep and it was simply much more enjoyable. I will definitely not overlook train travel again. You also get a lot more for a lot less money. $30 for a trip from Chicago IL, to St Louis, MO. Not too shabby.

But anyways, the reason that I went to St Louis, was to see my favourite person Hannah again! Unfortunately, it was incredibly hot and humid the whole week which did not encourage me to go out and explore very much! But I used the week to relax to the max. This said, we did something almost every evening.

The night I arrived, we went out for a late dinner at a Mexican place. I have to say that the Mexican food in the US is so much better than Australia. Most probably because the second highest population is Mexican people. We then went back to her apartment and were greeted by Charleigh, her very cute doggy.

It’s a different thing for me to see a dog living in an apartment, but I think it is a normal thing here, and people are always out walking their dogs. It forces one to get out of the apartment more which is always a good thing. During my stay, I saw quite a bit of the area that Hannah lives, as we often took the dog for walks, and I also took Charleigh out for walks when Hannah was at school.

On the Saturday afternoon, we headed to the St Louis Zoo which was one of the most lovely inner city zoos that I have been to. It was also free entry which was very impressive. There was a lot of shade, so we could escape the heat and the animals were mostly out and about which was great. Hannah and I walked around most of the Zoo, but I think it would take two visits to do the whole thing properly. The sea lions were my favourite attraction, and they had built a tunnel that that clear and the sea lions swam all around you. At one point, one sea lion proceeded to lick the glass right in front of Hannah’s face. I think that he was looking for a smooch. It was so beautiful and I could have easily stayed in that tunnel for hours and watched them swim!

On the sunday, Hannah introduced me to one of her close friends, Mark. So we spent a low key day having lunch and checking out an apartment in which her and her friend were looking to move into. The difference in the cost of living is astounding. You can rent a whole apartment in St Louis for the price of a room with no private bathroom in San Francisco. So crazy. I guess it’s just like me to choose the most expensive city to live in to base myself! I don’t think that I will regret it though. I’ll make it work. Haha. I have to!

on Monday and Tuesday, Hannah had to head home on a sad note, as an old family friend had passed away much to young. But I stayed back in St Louis, and housesat for her. Charleigh and me bonded while she was away. Haha. I used this time to catch up on my blog, look for rentals in San Francisco, but mostly to relax and relish the time to myself. I did make some real food for myself in this time which I was so happy about and I also made dinner (turkey chilli) for Hannah and I on Tuesday night, which she really loved. I was so happy to make dinner for the two of us and it was great to get back to basics.

On the Wednesday, I was lucky enough to see the Arch of St Louis, which I found really striking. Hannah and I caught the train into the city and started to walk around, no real destination in mind. We just followed our feet. Our feet led us to a really cute fountain in which people were swimming as it was such a hot day! I wish we had dipped our toes in! I gather that the people of St Louis take advantage of any flowing water in which to paddle. Being a land locked state, I found it a really strange reality that there is NO body of water to go to to cool off! No beach, no river (thats clean) and no lakes. I was really tempted to have a cold bath! So we continued to walk and headed towards what looked like a metal rainbow. The Arch of St Louis is a very futuristic looking piece of art work and the signature attraction of St Louis. We also went up to the very top to see the view of the city from above. It always makes me feel very small, when I see the size of the cities here. In hindsight, Chicago was always a little overwhelming and stressful. I have respect the people that live there day in and day out! St Louis, was a little less overwhelming, less tall buildings and much less people!

After the arch, we stopped off for a much needed cool drink and a piece of St Louis turtle (chocolate and caramel…don’t ask me why its called that) butter cake. They are very proud to take ownership for this creation. Much like a brownie, very dense and very rich cake. We then continued our walk for another 30 minutes to a place called Pappy’s Smokehouse. May I also mention that all this walking was taking place in 34 degree heat and high humidity. We were pretty happy with our efforts. Literally everyone that I told that I was heading to St Louis said “oh, well you MUST go to Pappy’s Smokehouse”. The place was a really redneck, sort of southern themed restaurant that selled ribs and slow cooked meats of pretty much every description. Damned delicious. The whole restaurant smelled of smokey meats and I believe that we left smelling of smoked meat. But I am okay with this. Ha.

Thursday being my last full day in St Louis, we headed out to a movie to escape the heat. After the movie, Hannah showed me her favourite cupcake shop. It was very cute and I discovered a new flavour of buttercream that blew my mind. Peanut Butter Buttercream. This was paired with a chocolate cupcake. There are no words. We things a bit differently and had dessert first. After cupcakes we went around the corner for a light dinner and a cocktail each. A great way to end my time in the state of Missouri.

After the last three weeks, I’m coming to the quick realisation that travelling is pretty much all about FOOD. It’s also about seeing the sights, but in between this, there is a lot of eating to be done as well. I don’t really think it is possible to travel without eating out all the time. Well Im sure its technically possible, but what fun would a new place be without all the food that comes with it. It is a huge part of the culture here. But I think it is a huge part of the culture everywhere and it excites me to try new things. So I guess I’m a foodie to the core. Always will be.
Right now, I am sitting and writing my blog, heading towards the sunshine state of California and the City of San Francisco. I am really looking forward to settling down into a bit more of a routine and getting to know the other side of the food here. More specifically, fresh produce. I’ve definitely had my fill of rich, fatty foods and can’t wait to get back to basics. I also am looking forward to checking out local markets and seeing what is on offer. Adelaide is a place in which people are spoiled for great and fresh produce and I am interested to see how things measure up.

I am also really excited to see what kind of dancing is on offer in California and if I can pick up some Zouk while I am there. I am missing dancing so much and really can’t wait to get back into it! However, I am not opposed to trying something different as well. So I guess I will just see what happens. It’s also a great platform to meeting new people and I am glad that I am aware of this. Doing dancing at home for the last year really opened my eyes to this. I feel like there is a place that I can always go that I will feel at home in. The last three weeks have been so amazing, catching up with so many old friends. Although, I am really feeling like its time for me make new connections and meet new people.

I have never gone to a place before where I didn’t have any connections to anyone. But as I sit on the plane now, I realise I have this overwhelming feeling of freedom and relief. I thought that I would have feelings of dread and be scared out of my mind. I am realising that everything that gets in my way will be a challenge for me to overcome and I have a fierce determination to succeed. I think it is because realise that I am responsible for myself, and only myself. This may be the last time in my life in which this is the case. I’m not going to waste this time! I am going to take each day as it comes to try to be open to every opportunity that comes my way.
So wish me luck!

xx