meet me in st. louis

or more aptly titled...
Lessons Learned: St. Louis edition

1. If you're picking friends up at the airport....whatever you do....DO NOT accidentally use the bus lane.....it results in lots of yelling and honking.
2. Drury Inn offers free appetizers and three free drinks for guests during Happy Hour...a big time win for anyone on a budget.
3. The Big Bang Piano Bar attracts bachelorette/bachelor parties like you wouldn't believe.  I think we counted around 8-10 bachelorette parties alone....pure insanity!
4. You DO NOT get complimentary bread if you order an appetizer at The Spaghetti Factory (even though all meals are advertised to come with bread, soup/salad, etc)...unless you ask the waiter, then he'll bring you three loaves just to be snarky. 
5. To have a delicious breakfast/brunch/lunch, just visit Roosters for a yummy crepe.
6. The older I get (ahem, which is still on the younger side of the line), the less travel-friendly I become.
7. The free Anheuser-Busch tour is totally worth the time...which is saying a lot since I don't drink beer. For you beer lovers, they give two free nice-sized samples.
8. If you're in the mood for a movie....I suggest checking out Chase Park Plaza, which is actually housed in a hotel....the theater even has a man playing an organ to entertain the crowd prior to the previews!
9. On the movie subject.... "Midnight in Paris" is a very endearing movie...it harkens back to older Woody Allen films.  Definitely a charming film for those who love Paris and have a nostalgic disposition.
10. Oh, and don't start watching "Reservation Road" when you're getting ready to go out....it's a serious downer.
11. I feel like all the fleur-de-lis around town made more sense after I made the obvious connection that St. Louis was named after the canonised king of France. 
12. St. Louis is actually home to a cathedral housing the largest mosaic installation in the world.
13. Holly = Patron Saint of Hospitality (at least to Carla, Damona and me!) ....after some research in relation to one of our many convos, I learned that St. Louis is the Patron Saint of many areas (including, but not limited to):

*button makers
*difficult marriages (really??)
*distillers (this could be why it's the home to Anheuser-Busch!)
*grooms
*tertiaries (which I'm choosing to believe that this relates to the definition pertaining to birds)

I think I relate to Saint Catherine of Alexandria much more....I mean, she is the patron saint of old maids, spinsters and secretaries. ;)

As you can probably guesstimate, the trip was great....it even included a cruise through downtown with the windows rolled down/sunroof open just so we could blare "Just a Dream"(even though "Country Grammar" would have been my first choice) ....such a great way to commemorate being in Nelly's hometown!

I only wish I would've watched "Meet Me in St. Louis" before the trip!

random mondegreen moment of today:

^{singing the lyrics to Ke$ha's Tik Tok as.....}

^{The party don't stop til I walk in}

yeeeesh...I certainly don't want a party to end just because I show up....that's probably why the actual lyrics contain the word start.....