So as I left Chicago on the Megabus I knew that the next time I got off this it would land me at the home of my beloved baseball team. The feeling of anticipation was as intense as the day I left home. As the City approached I caught my first glimpse of the Gateway Arch, the landmark most synonymous with St Louis. The place where East meets West, you cant help but notice how imposing it is, how dominant of its surroundings it is. Its the symbol that I've arrived, that I've found my way to the City where baseball is king!
The first thing that struck me as I disembarked the bus at Union Station was just how much red could be seen. Now, I know St Louis is a baseball City, it loves its team and it bleeds red but the sheer numbers of people in red or some sort of Cardinals attire was astonishing!!
My attempts at finding the correct bus or any other form of transportation to my hostel failed and getting more frustrated by the minute I succumbed to paying for a cab to get me there.
The hostel here in St Louis deserves a story all to itself. As I pulled up in the cab it looked alright. I mean it was obviously a bit out of town but it looked ok. As I arrived though, everything started to change. No one was in when I got there and the owner was obviously put out by my mere presence there. I was a hassle he didnt want to deal with. After waiting over an hour and a half he finally showed up still mumbling things about me being there at the wrong time, he did eventually let me into my room.
The bed itself was ok, although the place was full of newspapers, more on that later. The bathroom though was dire! A swing gate to let you in and showers where the walls were black and the floor somehow even less pleasant. There was no way I was having a shower without a pair of flip flops on and even then you just didn't want to touch anything.
Unbelievably this place used to be an HI Hostel however it lost its affiliation due to lapses in standards. According o Rebecca, a sort of co -runnner of the place (she was the opposite of the owner - Kind, polite and chatty), the place had actually improved a hell of a lot in the last 6 months or so. When she came to help out the place was a mess, smelly, overrun by cockroaches and needed a complete overhaul. It needed her to do it, the owner just wouldn't do anything about it! I'm just glad she's been around a bit before I got there otherwise God Knows what I would have though of it!!!
Another part of my St Louis initiation was to get "the talk". St Louis is, according to a recent poll, the 4th most dangerous City in the US. That really shouldn't be taken lightly. So, I get my map from our friendly fun filled owner who proceeds to grab a pen, and circle half the places on the map..then put big crosses though it. "don't go here" he said. Wow, I feel so much better now I thought. Unfortunately one of those big circles with a big cross in it was between the hostel and Downtown. Apparently its wise to take the bus, especially at night! Bus it would be then.
An evening in the pub would help settle me! It did!! I found a cool Irish Pub near the hosetl and settled in a for a few drinks and to catch up with some writing. It was as Irish as they get, ell cheesy foreign Irish anyway. A constant stream of pretty dreadful Irish music was eventually replaced by a live band playing, yep, you guessed it, Irish music. Unfortunately there was no one there. The Cardinals were at home, and those that were in there seemed more interested in watching the baseball than the music (rightly so of course). So I was one of about 8 people no listening to this music with more than one eye on the TV screen. Still, it was an excuse to have a couple of Buds, St Louis' other claim to fame!
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