It was decided that this summer, since so many awesome people were staying at WashU, was going to be the Best Summer Ever. My friend Nate compiled a list of fun things that we wanted to do and see this summer! For most of us, we haven't seen most of St. Louis even though we have all been here for at least two years. Being in St. Louis was a new experience for me when I flew out here for college. I feel like I should take advantage of this place! So this is me documenting some of our adventures this summer


Cherokee Street

My friend and I decided one day take a trip to a St. Louis neighborhood because we had just gotten off of work and had nothing else to do. He had picked up a St. Louis magazine during work so we read through their attractions, and we decided to drive to the Cherokee-Lemp Historic District in St. Louis. Why? It sounded cool! This district is famous for its antique shops and it had a lot of its historic culture still infused in the neighbor hood. It was something different. We ended up stopping at the corner of Cherokee and California (a lot of the streets there are named after American states) and sat down for a Mexican meal! We ate outside on the sidewalk at this restaurant where they claim is "Where Mexico Lives!". A bit cheesy (plastic metal chairs, televisions with Spanish music videos that happened to just have the same guy in each video) but it was part of the fun. Great food, more authentic then most other Mexican places. Got a pina colada and in came in an actual pineapple! The waiter nicely warned me of the extra rum he added. 




We also checked out the grocery shop that was attached to the restaurant afterwards. It all looked very family owned and less touristy - which was cool. Yay for some St. Louis culture!












Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis


Once again, we were bored and did not have work! So me and three others decided to take a quick trip out into the city. Our first stop was to the St. Louis Basilica. I had never been there and it was stated as a must see for St. Louis. It was really beautiful. The entire ceiling and parts of the walls are covered in mosaics that depict different biblical stories and the details were meticulous. 


 It is a relatively new basilica. 1907 was the ground breaking and the work continued for 80 years. I know it isn't the biggest basilica ever built (not even close) but I haven't been to many and this one definitely made me feel dwarfed. After taking Architectural History this semester, I was able to understand a lot of the details of the building. Made me feel somewhat smart. This building was different because it is a modern cathedral that took traditional architectural characteristics. Definitely a cool place to check out if you are in St. Louis. Gorgeous to look at. 


Gooey Louie
Snack time! For those who don't know about Gooey Butter Cake, it is this marvelous cake, made by accident, that is famous in St. Louis. This cake, is more goo than cake. Sugary, buttery, yumminess. After the Cathedral Basilica, we drove to Gooey Loui, the shop where these delicious desserts are made and sold and all got a $2 sample cake. There are a ton of flavors - we got original, chocolate chippewa (chocolate chip), and a raspberry glaze one. All great! 




The shop itself is super cute, yellow and purple with the adorable Gooey Louie Character everywhere. It is family owned, everything is made from scratch (no mass productions), and as I found out on their website, they do deliver long distances. Maybe I'll send some home.  St. Louians LOVE this stuff. Highly recommended =)




We ended up driving to the St. Louis Art Museum, sat on Art Hill, and ate our Gooey Louie Cakes in content.

Photos from Toastedrav.com and marls.org






Syberg's  
After work tonight, we then decided to take a trip to Syberg's. It was recommended to us by our boss actually - she is very excited to be contributing to our Summer Bucket List. She did say that if we want the real St. Louis experience, we should take a six pack of beer and go hang out in a cemetery. 

Well tonight, we went to Syberg's. It is this sports bar that is famous for its mustard bbq sauce. Even though none of us got any! We did get wings - teryiaki, grilled, buffalo - and they were very good. I have pictures but they are stuck on my phone (my camera broke over spring break - saddest thing). It seemed like a chill spot with Yahtzee games on the table (why Yahtzee?) and Shark Bits (did not try it, sort of wish I did but I feel like I would have gotten a bit sick). Over all, I feel like if I lived around there, this would be a place to hang out on a simple weeknight.