ST. LOUIS ART AND CULTURE, CONTINUED

I believe we are in downtown St. Louis at Lindell Blvd. and Newstead Avenue in front an ornate cathedral. My notes say, "The life of Saint Louis IX, crusader King of France and the city's namesake and patron saint, is vividly portrayed in the vestibule of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Built in 1907, this incredible structure combines Byzantine and Romanesque architecture styles with the largest collection of mosaics in the world. More than 41 million pieces of tesserae in 8,000 fill more than 83,000 square feet. The west chapels are the work of Tiffany and Company and the main altar and another chapel feature the work of Gorham." I went inside to view the impressive and intricate artwork.

At home I live across the street from Forest Park, where they have a golf course, tennis courts, ball fields, a bandstand, horseback riding and various trails. Here in St. Louis, there is also a Forest Park. This one has similar amenities as well as various attractions such as the Saint Louis Art Museum. This day they were presenting Monet's Water Lillies, which will run through January 22, 1012.

The museum has two floors of art that include Oceanic art, pre-Columbian art, ancient Chinese bronzes and European and American art of the late 19th and 20th centuries, with particular strength in 20th-century German art. One thing that I noticed was that there was a space adding a new exhibit. Not only did they ask that you be patient and wait for it, but they provided a few couches to sleep on until the date arrived. Free admission, too.

I was going to do a segway tour of the park, but found it just a bit too much on my feet and leg. This 1,300-acre park served as the main fairground for the 1904 "Meet Me in St. Louis" World's Fair, just as the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park held both the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair. This park is about twice the size of New York's Central Park and houses the St. Louis Zoo, Science Center, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Art Museum and The Muny Theatre.

Can't take them all in but did manage one more; the Missouri History Museum, which displays the contributions and artifacts of St. Louisans who have contributed to American and world culture including musicians Miles Davis and Chuck Berry, writer T.S. Eliot and designer Charles Eames. I yeah, I also took in lunch to talk with Everett Dietle who told us about the museum's unique acting troupe and upcoming major exhibitions.

A tour of an area known as The Loop, renowned for its nightlife. "On one Wednesday every month, at 9 p.m. sharp, a white Cadillac pulls into the parking lot of St. Louis' Blueberry Hill club. Chuck Berry, 83, pulls his guitar case from the trunk and descends a deep set of stairs to the Duck Room, ready to prove yet again that rock & roll isn't dead as long as the man most credited with inventing it is still picking and screaming"...from the May 2010 issue of Rolling Stone. Chuck Berry's star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame sits at the entrance to Blueberry Hill as well as a new statue of "Father of Rock'n'Roll". We later got to see him make an quick appearance at the Kiel Opera House.