Following old Route 66 back downtown, we stop for a nightcap at the
Venice Cafe, another gotta-see-this St. Louis design. Every square
inch of the outdoor patio is plastered with the flotsam and jetsam
of pop culture, from plastic trolls to street signs. A palm reader
works the crowd. We're too beat to fork over $5 just to mock.
Another time.
SUNDAY MORNING and the Arch, half enveloped in clouds, could
be called the Pillars. We consider riding its trippy, '60s sci-fi
elevator capsules, but a large group of Clarkies, as
Lewis and
Clark zealots are known, have descended to commemorate the
expedition's bicentennial, so we motor north along the Mississippi
to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, a mile-long overpass once part of
Route 66 but now open only to pedestrians and cyclists. So long,
St. Louis. You're the perfect city for a quick getaway - unexpected
and effortless. Not to mention a cheap date.
the tally
here's how we spent our $499-for-a-weekend-in-st.-louis dollars and
still managed to have 20 cents left over.
lodging: $160.29
millennium hotel st. louis, (314) 241-9500,
www.millenniumhotels.com.
rooms from $59.
dining/entertainment: $217.34
bb's jazz, blues & soups, (314) 436-5222,
www.bbsjazzbluessoups.com.
entry $5.
boathouse in forest park, (314) 367-2224,
www.boathouseforestpark.com.
sandwiches from $7.
broadway oyster bar, (314) 621-8811,
www.broadwayoysterbar.com.
entry $5.
cabin inn the city and city museum, (314) 231-2489,
www.citymuseum.org,
bar no cover, museum $7.50.
n chez léon, (314) 361-1589. three courses $32.
city diner, (314) 772-6100,
www.city