RETURN OF NIECES A GO-GO

Greetings, dear reader!

As promised, I am back today with more pictures of my recent excursion to ST. Louis with "darling nieces" Emileigh and Aria. (Trivia tidbit: Emileigh's name was spelled after the famed actress "Vivian Leigh" of Gone With the Wind fame. My sister has always been a "rabid" fan. The name "Aria" means 'beautiful song' in Italian. Isn't that awesome? Since my brother in law is a music composer and songwriter, it seemed very appropriate!)

Back to the photos! Here is our Day 2 Itinerary:

Michael's Craft Store (although we took no pictures, we should have. It was unlike any Michael's I've ever been to)
The St. Louis Art Museum
The Riverfront
The Old Spaghetti Factory

(By the way, all photos are taken by my nieces...they are quite the aspiring photography buffs!)

Here are pictures taken while our navigator, "Tom Tom" was taking us on a wild goose chase. Apparently, when you take Highway 40 out of the possibilities for road travel, there are many places that you "can't get to from here." (EVEN with technological help!) We drove aimlessly for several miles, while Tom Tom navigated us in circles and ALWAYS back to a Highway 40 ramp (which is now non existent by the way due to construction). All was not lost, for shutterbug Aria manned the camera from the back seat and got these fabulous photos. The lamp post was taken in midtown, and the giant shoe made out of shoes was in front of the Brown Shoe Factory.

Approaching the St. Louis Art Museum



The foyer you walk into from the front entrance


A beautiful window in the museum


One thing great about going anywhere with nieces (teenagers) is that you get to experience things through their eyes. Even the most random things take on great importance. For example:

A photoshoot in a random wind tunnel in the hallway



Another photo shoot in the brass elevator



And (of all things) striking a warrior's pose in front of the medieval weaponry armor!





When I told Aria she couldn't pull off the "tough pose" very well, she said, "What can I say? I'm a lover not a fighter." LOL! Cracks me up!

And we HAD to go by Wolfgang Puck's restaurant so I could visit "my" Chihuly chandelier!



And then on to the riverfront to kill time while waiting for my sister and brother in law to get to the Spaghetti Factory:



Urban Grunge: Graffiti on a wall down by the river...



The cobblestone riverfront (remember it was flooded only a few weeks ago...thus all the debris I suppose)

A Lewis and Clark Statue I didn't know was there! (Isn't it a great shot with the riverboat behind it!? GO ARIA! WOOT!)

And of course the Arch (I just love posing in front of giant monuments...it always makes me look small in comparison. :-) )

I don't remember it being so dark that day...but I told the girls I attribute that to the fact that they were so dazzling all day long!

And a final shot on the riverfront...Emileigh looking oh so wonderfully vintage in the black and white version!

And then on to the Old Spaghetti Factory! You've seen this shot before:

But saw it with our posing Travel Companion when my sisters and I went to St. Louis a few months ago!

And the gorgeous window...


And bust of Shakespeare...


And the amazing antique furniture!

But the best part was being with my dear nieces. (Check out the giant aviators! SOooo random!) Nieces are SO MUCH FUN!

Next post I'll show you what I've been up to via craft madness...

More soon!



Paula Clare