I arrived just before the worst/longest power outage that San Diego has ever had – the power was off for about nine hours. There were people stuck in lifts (elevators) for hours, there was no light at all in my hotel and the emergency lights were extinguished within the hour. The people of San Diego pulled together and I was given food, water, and advice.

I was shown to my room by torch (flashlight), reminiscent of some old movie where the guest is shown to his room by a candle lit by a shaking-handed butler. It was hot that day, which probably added to the power draw and the subsequent outage. The air conditioners were off and the humidity was high, creating a stifling condition on the sixth floor where I was lodged. Fortunately the power was restored and my exciting introduction came to an end.

The next day I toured the Maritime Museum which consists of several ships, an old Soviet submarine from the Cold War era, a hunter-killer class of diesel/electric design. A sardine can from Hell, I’d say, you couldn’t have paid me enough to live and work in those conditions. The American submarine was a slightly newer version and was fitted with all the modern conveniences absent from the Russian sub. It was a small sub, but in good shape and on the surface (forgive the pun) quite liveable.

There are also a tall-masted ship (the Star of India) which is a barque, a schooner (the Californian) and a smaller yacht, a small steamship and a huge ferry which also serves as the gift shop. Nearby is the USS Midway, a large aircraft carrier turned museum which has hours of fun hidden away inside and on the superstructure. I whiled away several hours wandering around this city of the sea, complete with its own laundry, airport, medical and dental units and a canteen complex to feed over 2,000 men.

I managed to make a fool of myself climbing in and out of numerous aircraft and trying out the simulators. I even persuaded the operator to let me go on one alone so no one could hear me swearing when I inadvertently tried to fly it upside-down.

I travelled over to the small island of Coronado (although really it’s a peninsula) and enjoyed a walk through the stately grounds of the Del Coronado Hotel, the beach front there is amazing. At sundown there were over eight weddings taking place on the beach by the sea and a lone piper skirling mournfully on the rocks while the sea crashed around them all. I’m sure the good food and alcohol helped to make it seem a bit more magical than it really was, but nevertheless it was enchanting.

Against my better judgement I was dragged to Sea World, an enormous zoo for fish and watery mammals. I liked the river raft adventure although getting soaked to the skin might be better left to the younger crowd. The dolphin show was interesting although I felt sorry for the poor creatures; they are well trained and well looked after but, as I said, it’s not my cup of tea. The sea-lion show was clever and the performing otter was delightful; again I felt they might have been better off in the wild, but there again at least they are working for their living.

The exhibits were good, but I was left with the enduring smell of penguin poo suffusing my sinuses and even after numerous shots of bourbon it still hasn’t gone.

I finished up with a trip to Balboa Park, site of the 1935 grand exhibition or exposition the California Pacific International Exposition. There is a museum of space, automobiles, art of numerous types and styles. Museum of man, museum of science (Reuben Fleet Museum of Science) and museum of natural science. There are exhibits of plants and insects and everything of interest to the inquisitive mind. There is even a central stage with an organ made in the 1930s which thunders out across the wide open spaces, the trees (balboas and pines) tremble like spindly aspen with the tones and reverberations of music splashing the leaves like a strong shower.

I dined and drank well enjoying seafood and wines; I left with my head full of new and old ideas, stimulated by the wonder of what man has created and impressed by man’s power. I was also struck by man’s fragility and the reliance on systems that can easily break, of infrastructure sorely in need of repair – but who wants to pay the taxes to fix it up? I was struck by the wealth and the poverty, multi-million dollar yachts moored side by side with homeless people clustering together along the wharf trying to keep warm. Hotel rooms costing $200 a night while outside people begged for a dollar for a coffee or some food.

I had a great time in San Diego and I’d certainly go there again. Next time I will take a torch just in case.

“Hmm, you asked for it then,” I hear you say, but let’s look at the alternative. We could have got married in England (we were due back there for Christmas in six weeks’ time, anyway) but wouldn’t a wedding in sunny California be a bit more memorable and enjoyable for everyone instead of a wet afternoon in Worthing Register Office?

And so the planning commenced. Neither of us had been married before and we hadn’t any real experience of wedding organisation but we’re both reasonably intelligent and organised with straightforward tastes. We didn’t want chocolate fountains, thrones and doves released on the announcement of our commitment – just a simple, informal ceremony in a nice location with food and drink laid on for a handful of family and friends. It couldn’t be that difficult, could it?

So we embarked upon the project oblivious of the steep learning curve that lay ahead of us. The level of stress we both experienced in the space of those four weeks was phenomenal and proved to us that planning a simple wedding does not necessarily mean an easier ride!

So, I thought I would write down some of the lessons learned in the hope that our experience might be of use to other Brits wanting to marry in a simple but memorable style in the US of A.

• Traditions and Wedding Group. We were not interested in getting caught up in the traditions and formalities of the big wedding thing. Our main priority for the wedding was to create an occasion that was informal, relaxing and fun. The dress code was casual Californian style and we didn’t have formal bridesmaids although our four nieces present on the day all looked lovely. As my husband has two brothers they automatically took up the role of best men and we chose music we happened to like for the very short walk up the “aisle”! Speeches happened spontaneously throughout the course of the day and there was a barbecue instead of a sit-down meal and no wedding cake! It almost sounds too simple but it was great.

• The Ceremony. OK, the whole point of getting married – publicly making known your love and commitment to each other – ’til death us do part. We wanted a civil ceremony without a religious tone and with very simple wording. We didn’t have the time to write our own, although that is definitely an option. We took a modern ceremony format from the internet (there are stacks of them – search “wedding vows”) and removed the lines we didn’t like and added a line or two mentioning friendship and laughter.

• The Officiant. When we searched for someone to perform the ceremony, the officiant, we found that quite often his or her services came packaged with other goodies – or not so goodie, depending on your point of view. Don’t know about you, but the prospect of getting married in front of a golden lectern in the shade of a silk flower encrusted arch with a copy of the wedding certificate printed on tea-stained faux parchment paper was just TOO cheesy. But with further research it seemed almost impossible to find one that didn’t come without these additional baubles and it hiked the price as well!

We spoke to several potential Officiants and, as nice as they all were, not one of them answered the brief. After much agonising, we discovered that anyone (in the state of California, at least) could become an Officiant if they were an American citizen. Bingo. We asked one of our best friends if he would do the deed – and he agreed!! So if you have a friend who is happy and confident to speak out loud in public then rope them in. We did, and it is what made our day really special. (Don’t forget to apply for your marriage licence in advance of the wedding day.)

• The Venue. To cut costs and logistics it is a good idea for ceremony, celebrations and, for visiting guests, the accommodation to be in the same place. We chose Palm Springs as the place to be as we were marrying in December and we wanted to guarantee sunshine as well as giving visitors from the UK more of a holiday. Off to research Palm Springs, we found a small hotel consisting of ’50s chalet style accommodation nestled around a swimming pool. We commandeered the venue for the whole weekend with all family staying on site and the ceremony and party taking place by the pool.

When looking for a venue it is also worth looking around to check whether there are good backdrops on site for photography on the day. One thing to beware of is additional costs for photography at certain hotels. The bride and groom stayed at the hotel over the road from the venue as there was only space for our families at the venue hotel. We wanted to take a few pictures of us with our parents and were charged an additional $175 “site fee” for the privilege of using the grounds of the hotel we were guests at! That was certainly one thing we hadn’t planned or budgeted for so ask the question before you book.

• Invitations.You can definitely save time and money on this one. There are hundreds of options for lovely printed invitations available although we did find that they were often of the same style, ie gold and silver filigree writing with lots of ribbons, bells, champagne flutes etc. As we were getting married with such short notice we had to distribute invitations quickly. We decided to buy notecards with a retro-look print – tied in well with our Palm Springs theme – and printed off the invitation inserts on a PC and glued them into the cards.

A great place to look for blank notecards is Target. They stock a good range in funky designs for a really reasonable price. The invitation wording was to the point including basics such as venue, date, time and a brief day-plan. The day-plan was useful because it gave guests a little bit of understanding about how the day would be structured as we wanted guests to feel free to wander off and explore Palm Springs in the late afternoon after the barbecue stuff had finished and before the evening party started.

• Decoration and Flowers. During the course of our research, we found a number of websites dedicated to weddings and investigated the venue decoration possibilities. We wanted elegant simplicity without too much of the conventional weddingy stuff. Chocolate fountains, yards of silk drapery and ribbon festooned gifts weren’t at the top of our list. Luckily, the venue we chose was full of colour and greenery with palm trees and mountains in the distance offering a ready-made backdrop. We spent our decoration budget on candles and lots of single stemmed roses in one colour.

We created a focal point for the ceremony by filling different-sized clear glass vases with roses arranged on two round tables covered with ivory tablecloths and placed either side of the officiant. My bouquet was a bunch of six single-stemmed roses with a little greenery and wired ribbon tying them all together. My lovely mother-in-law did this for me on the morning of the wedding, working from an image I downloaded from a florist’s website. It worked a treat! So if there is someone creative in the family, make use of them. They love to help.

Also, buttonholes were made only for the groom, parents and best men. If you want to give everyone a flower, why not give away one of the stems from the flower arrangement before they leave at the end of the day? Large candles in hurricane lamps decorated with eucalyptus were placed at either end of the buffet table. All the vases and the candle lamps are now in use in our apartment and on the balcony back at home. Again, look around Target for vases, and tablecloths. Michaels Craft Stores was also very useful for candles, ribbons and floristry tape.

• Catering, Champagne & Entertainment. We decided to do the Californian thing for catering and had a barbecue. My sister managed the barbie – thank god, another helpful relative roped in – and the salads and breads were supplied by the venue owner who did small scale catering as a sideline. We tried to find some nice disposable plates but they proved elusive and costly so in the end we went on down to Ikea and bought some of their cheapest white ceramic plates and bowls at 50c a go. Just plain white crockery – it worked a treat and what would it matter if they broke at that price? At least we could recycle by using them at home or giving them away afterwards.

Because we were celebrating around a poolside, we had to use plastic glasses for the drinks and the toast. Incidentally, we used cava instead of champagne. Much cheaper and tastes just as good to me, although possibly not to be recommended if your friends and relatives are champagne connoisseurs!

During the barbecue we had a compilation of music playing in the background so that people could eat and chat. Later in the evening, after guests had had an opportunity to explore central Palm Springs or go back to their hotels in the late afternoon, we served hot food and drinks and a live Mariachi band played as the twinkle lights and candles flickered.

• Wedding outfits. Like a lot of couples getting married, we were very keen to buy outfits that we could both wear again. Of course, this is much easier for the groom as he can go for a smart suit which is often the first suit investment of a lifetime and will form part of his wardrobe for future weddings, interviews etc. However, not every bride wants the big, white bouffant dress with train and veil.

Although I wanted to buy something well made and classic I didn’t want white partly because we got married in our late thirties and partly because I wanted something in a pale colour that was more of a cocktail dress than a bridal gown. I went through some hoops to find something in a pale colour a month before Christmas, I can tell you. I found the perfect dress ten times over in chocolate brown! Not that I don’t like chocolate brown, because I love it, but as tempted as I was, I wanted to stick with the pastel colour.

Two shopping weeks went by and I had no luck whatsoever. Even South Coast Plaza, southern California’s retail Mecca, couldn’t help me in my quest. I visited bridal gown stores where I thought I might find a fitted bridesmaid dress in a pastel shade but the fabric was like upholstery material and reminded me of childhood dressing-up clothes.

In desperation, and completely going against my instincts, I gave in and tried on a couple of white wedding dresses. These did nothing to lift either my mood or solve the outfit problem and I had to leave. I scoured the Internet into the early hours wading through countless pages of dresses, none of which were right, until I came across a site for Nicole Miller. She is a wedding dress designer but she also carries a wide range of attractive bridesmaid dresses in flowing fabrics and pastel colours and at more reasonable prices. It meant a long drive down to San Diego for the nearest shop but I finally managed to buy the dress I wanted.

• Photography. Our first intention was not to use a formal photographer as we had struggled, once again, to find someone who could take pictures in a non-traditional wedding style. We thought we could use a friend to take informal pictures of the day in more of a documentary style as that was what we wanted. Ultimately, on the advice of concerned family members we decided to hire a photographer to be sure that a handful of the photos would be guaranteed good ones.

Again, we had to shop around and talk to several until we discovered a professional photographer that we could hire for just over an hour and had photos taken before the ceremony of the bride and groom and our respective parents. This was partly because we were both incredibly nervous and didn’t want an audience glaring at us when we took formal group shots and partly because if these shots were in the bag before the ceremony then we could relax more, have a celebratory champagne and hopefully other more relaxed pictures would just happen after the ceremony.

• Relax and enjoy every moment. Once the morning arrives, try to relax and stop worrying about the bits you didn’t get around to doing. If they haven’t been booked, made, bought or ordered now then they simply aren’t going to happen and probably weren’t meant to be.

During the four weeks planning the wedding a lot of people would say to me that a wedding is exactly about what you and your partner want and nothing else matters. Particularly in the case of a small wedding, you are inviting a select group of people who you want to share the day with and they want to be there for you. Don’t fret if there is not enough greenery in the flower arrangements or the napkins are not the same shade of ivory as the tablecloths – just enjoy every moment of your special day and have fun!

I’d be happy to answer any questions if it would help you out with your wedding planning.

1) School district

Whether or not you have children of school age, you should be aware that most buyers do; it is therefore important to evaluate the school district the property is located within. When the time comes to sell this will likely be an important factor in your persuading a buyer to purchase your home. Your real estate agent should be able to show you State reports on the schools within the district.

Do your own research: Get in your car and drive past the local schools. Do they look in good repair? Call the schools and ask them about class sizes.

2) Local taxes

Each city raises taxes in the form of an annual levy based on the assessed value of your home. Rates can vary widely depending on how well each city is being managed or the fiscal philosophy of the local government.

Do your own research: Make yourself aware of city boundaries. Always check property listings for taxes; if they are not mentioned on the listing, ask!

When comparing two properties, always compare the respective taxes just as you would compare any other feature of the home. Look out for special assessments and pending special assessments which may be coming down the road for neighbourhood improvements which are in the planning stages.

3) Local amenities

You will need to ensure that your neighbourhood has suitable amenities. At the top of your list should be freeway access, convenience stores, gas stations and eateries.

Do your own research: Back in your car again. Drive downtown in the rush hour; how long does it take?

4) Neighbourhood appeal

This is a big one. First of all, as you approach the home pay attention to the neighbouring properties. Are the lawns mown and the picket fences painted? Look out for boats, trucks and even cars parked in driveways instead of inside a garage; all these are considered bad form in the better neighbourhoods.

Do your own research: Keep your eyes open before you reach the property and after you leave. You are buying the neighbourhood as well as the property. Visit the local coffee shop, grab a coffee and do some people-watching. Here you will see a full cross-section of the people who will make up your local community.

5) Properties to avoid

Unlike in some parts of the UK, corner plots in America are to be avoided. Buyers resist these properties because they are associated with a higher level of traffic. Two roads means more cars. If you are buying in a sub-division try to buy in the centre of the division, as the outskirts again can be perceived as close to main roads and busier due to traffic entering the neighbourhood. Make sure the road you want to buy is not a busy cut-through. Being too close to schools and other communal buildings such as churches is perceived as a negative. If you are buying a single family home, try to avoid mixed areas of housing where apartments and condominiums are mixed into the neighbourhood.

Do your own research: Visit the property at different times of the day, evening and night. Specifically check the traffic flow during the morning and evening rush hours as well as the school rushes.

© Brits in America.com 2005 – No reproduction without express written permission.

Author: Brendan Ryan

Brendan Ryan sold property in the UK for 16 years in the UK prior to emigrating to the United States in 1999. While in America Brendan has worked in the corporate relocation field, advising corporate clients on risk factors within the US housing market.

So here’s Part Two of the countdown – my list of the top five things to do in St Louis:

5. Farmer’s market
Soulard Market, 730 Carroll Street

No, not the middle classes paying £7.50 for half a pound of sausages and smugly ordering ostrich steaks. Instead, Amish stalls, Illinois tomatoes (these are fat, juicy and colourful and, to use a cliché, they really do taste like tomatoes used to), crusty bread, collard greens, spices, herbs, juicy tangerines, fresh vegetables, huge slabs of meat, local cheeses (the hot pepper cheese we ordered was incredibly tasty and very spicy, and a perfect accompaniment to the Illinois tomatoes), and flowers. There’s a fabulous atmosphere here, with people walking around the stalls with a beer and a bread stick, discussing the offers available, what’s new, what’s fresh, what’s running out, what tastes good and how to cook the stuff when you get it home. It’s cheaper than the supermarket and far better, and all of St Louis seems to be here on a Saturday morning. This is one of the oldest public markets still in existence in the United States and must be one of the best. Fresh produce is available here all year round, and it is encouraging in these days of junk food and a much-discussed obesity epidemic to see people here enthusing over real food and talking about it with such obvious love. The market is located in the Soulard region, which is tipped to be one of the next big areas to take off in St Louis. A range of interesting looking bars, coffee shops and restaurants are sprouting up around here. For now, though, keep your car locked.

4. Mississippi-Missouri confluence

As you are this close to where these two great rivers interconnect, you would be mad not to get along there to have a look – you’re going to be in this area anyway because of St Charles and the Bird Sanctuary (see below) so why not. The Missouri is actually the longest river in the United States, and it was along this river that Lewis and Clark made steady progress when discovering vast tracts of western America. While you are hanging around the area you should also take in the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge which allows you to walk over the Mississippi – it is a mile across. Again, be careful around here as we have heard stories of people using the free car park having their cars broken into (“don’t take but a minute” as one shocked local was overheard to say). Keep valuables out of sight at the very least. On the plus side, this is the world’s longest pedestrian and cyclist bridge and the view of the Gothic water intakes that served the city of St Louis for so many years make this trip worth it. For the confluence, head for Riverview Drive on the I-270 and you can’t go wrong. It is known as the Columbia Bottoms Conservation Area.

3. Arch

St Louis is the gateway to the west and the Arch on the Mississippi waterfront signifies that. It is a very impressive monument and one that you won’t be able to avoid around these parts as it dominates the skyline. You can – believe it or not – take a trip to the top of the Arch for even more stunning views. It is exactly as high as it is wide – 630 feet. We didn’t go up but the surrounding areas of parkland and the nearby area of Laclede’s Landing are all well worth exploring – it is here that you will find St Louis at its best in terms of restaurants, bars and cultural life. My only warning is that the gentleman’s rest room in one bar around here – which shall remain nameless – has a seated toilet bowl on full display to those using the urinals, which certainly focuses the mind. Explore this area – while you are here check out the Old Courthouse, famous for the Dred Scott Trial. Also in early September this area hosts a blues festival and free concerts are provided most nights in August.

2. World Bird Sanctuary
125 Bald Eagle Ridge Road, Valley Park, MO 63088

The wetlands and World Bird Sanctuary, located in 130 acres of beautiful Missouri forest within an easy drive of the city, are a nature lover’s paradise. We managed to see a bald eagle nesting there in late April, a good couple of months after they have usually flown north for the summer. You can walk out to the viewing points and bird feeding stations for a view of native songbirds and visit the Sanctuary’s World Environmental Education Center (it was closed the day we were there so avoid Sundays). The aim of this area is the laudable one of preserving the earth’s biological diversity and securing the future of threatened bird species.

1. Bar Italia
13 Maryland Plaza, St Louis, MO 63108-1501

We started with food and that is where we will end. It had to be a restaurant experience that took the Number 1 spot. You’ll be needing somewhere to kick back after all the sightseeing mentioned above – we certainly did. And this is one hell of a restaurant experience. Let me fill you in – a fantastic view over Maryland Plaza if you are fortunate enough to get one of the superb window seats upstairs (if the weather is slightly warmer than it was in late April you can also dine outside on the extensive patio), gorgeous appetisers, delicious wine, excellent service, helpful and chatty waiters (very knowledgeable on Woody Allen the night we were there), tasty main courses and specials – including quail, a pasta dish with three types of sausage in a tomato sauce, mahi-mahi (again), veal – excellent bruschetta, the normal range of pizzas, meats and pastas, beautiful fresh bread and olives – the perfect Italian experience in the mid-West. We left feeling very full but very happy. Widely regarded as the best Italian in the city, considered by some to be the best restaurant in the city – anyone spending any time at all in St Louis has to come here. It is walking distance from Llewellyn’s as well, so you will already have had your pre-dinner drinks. But save some room for the award-winning wine list. The owners – three brothers – mingle with the diners. This is just about a perfect place.

Right, if that’s not enough to get you through a long weekend maybe you should go around the Budweiser brewery after all. Or you could drive on Route 66, see Chuck Berry perform – as he does monthly – at The Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, check out the exciting restaurants and bohemian scene in the University City loop, go to the St Louis Zoo, shop at the Union Station complex, go to see the Cardinals, take an open-top bus tour round the city, hang out in the botanic gardens. For god’s sake, there’s even a wolf sanctuary not too far away.

Make no mistake about it, St Louis is not as fashionable as Miami, Florida, Los Angeles, New York or most other places you could think of, you need a car to get around, it is less appealing than nearby Chicago with its blues, Lake Michigan, skyscrapers and Aquarium, but there is still a hell of a lot that this city can offer and if you find yourself out in the mid-West, it would be a shame to overlook it – if you are not averse to superb weather, excellent food, great facilities, and a laid-back friendly approach to life. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose and you may pick up some of those wonderful Illinois tomatoes.

Just a hundred years ago St Louis, in Missouri, was the fourth largest city in the United States of America. Handily placed on the banks of the Mississippi, the city hosted both the World Trade Fair and the third modern Olympic games in 1904. It was a major centre of trade and industry (which was still largely driven by water transport), and a hub of cross-country rail development as a result of the building of the impressive Eads bridge and the stunning Union Station. St Louis played an important role in Black emancipation, the Old Courthouse being the location for the historic Dred Scott decision in 1857.

This is the city of Chuck Berry, Maya Angelou, TS Eliot, William Burroughs and Scott Joplin, of the St Louis Cardinals, of ribs, steaks, and the blues. It’s the gateway to the West. It is this part of the world that gave us Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. St Louis has a central importance in American history and in the development of American literature.

Yet despite a number of significant achievements in the 20th century, including providing more than half of the US soccer team that famously beat England in the 1950 World Cup finals, there can be little doubt that the city has lost a great deal of its importance in the past hundred years. Major corporations have moved out, population has fallen, the airport no longer has international routes, Union Station has been turned into a shopping mall, East St. Louis has become a notorious area for race and poverty problems, and there is a discernible and eerie silence on the streets, especially if you have recently arrived from nearby bustling Chicago.

My brother emigrated to St Louis from London in 2003, and I recently spent a weekend there. What I found was a very laid-back atmosphere, a pleasing climate, and friendly locals. The place is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in the unlikely position of being stuck in the mid-West with time on your hands.

In reverse order, here is my hastily-prepared and opinionated list of the top 10 things to do in St Louis:

10. Harry’s Bar
2144 Market St, St Louis, MO 63103-2252 (636) 256-0221

For the best view over the admittedly limited but still quite impressive skyline of St Louis and possibly the liveliest after-work drinking haunt, the place to head to is Harry’s Bar on Market Street at the junction of North Jefferson and South Jefferson Avenues. The night we were there we had a superb early evening view over St Louis’s famous Arch on the banks of the Mississippi, and also a close up of the roof of Union Station close by. The atmosphere is friendly and the staff, catering largely to a crowd that want to eat relatively quickly and then move on, are thorough yet speedy. The specials – mahi mahi, pan-fried flank of lamb, pecan nut encrusted trout and veal liver – were all tried out by our party of four and all found to be excellent, especially when washed down with a Pinot Noir that was well worth the $40.00 we shelled out for it. The starter – a simple selection of Italian bread served with olive oil and Parmesan – was pure perfection. The service was first-class and we were out of the place – satisfied and happy – within our required time slot of 45 minutes. Don’t be put off by the external down-at-heel appearance and garish colours – this is a place where you will get a good meal for a relatively inexpensive price.

9. Forest Park

One thing the first-time visitor to St Louis will notice is an abundance of green space, especially in the more affluent areas of University City. Forest Park, which houses among other notable attractions the city’s history museum – which tells the story of slavery, the Civil War, the industrial and economic development of the city, and when we visited there was a temporary exhibition based on the 1904 Trade Fair and Olympic Games – contains an astounding 1,293 acres of parkland, 500 acres more than the more celebrated Central Park in New York. The park contains monuments, historic buildings, an abundance of wildlife (we saw an egret when we were walking through it), bridges, a river, waterways and landscapes, and also serves as a sports centre including a 27-hole golf course, tennis courts and areas for baseball, cycling, boating, fishing, handball, ice skating, roller-blading and jogging (which is very popular in these parts). It is wonderful to walk round this park when the weather is good, and I would suggest that any visitor who has overindulged in the local brews (see the next entry) could do no better than taking a turn around Forest Park to blow off those morning cobwebs.

8. Llewellyn’s
4747 McPherson Street

We had to get on to booze eventually, with this being the home of the world’s most average beer, Budweiser. Don’t waste your time taking a trip around the Budweiser factory. Why bother? There are plenty more interesting local brews to sample, such as Schlafly’s, brewed by the St Louis Brewery Inc, which is light, malty and tasty, and plenty more interesting places in which to sample beer, including the Welsh bar Llewellyn’s where expat Brits can treat themselves to pints of London Pride, Bass or Boddington’s, alongside tasty local brews and comforting food such as home-made chips with a range of dips. The British ales are supposed to be as good as the real thing, though the Pride was a little ropy on the day I visited. The beer menu is extensive, however, and ordering from it is a treat in itself. The staff here – like everywhere in the city – are friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is laid back and relaxed. This is the perfect place for pre-dinner drinks.

7. St Charles and wineries

A perfect Sunday drive from St Louis might easily take you out to St Charles and from there on to one of the exciting local wineries that are dotted around. This could take in the bird sanctuary and the Missouri-Mississippi confluence, both of which are detailed below. St Charles is the place to come if you want to learn about Lewis and Clark’s legacy in discovering the west. Clark holed up here for a while waiting for Lewis to join him from his base in St Louis, and Frontier Park, on the banks of the Missouri, has a fine-looking monument dedicated to the explorers. It was from here that they continued to push along the Missouri further into the west. The town was initially a French settlement and still has a continental feel to it. This was actually the first state capital of Missouri. It is very touristy now, but as a result of that it is surrounded by excellent wineries that make for a very good comfort break, and allow you to indulge in a range of excellent wines grown right here in Missouri. Definitely worth trying is the Little Hills Restaurant & Winery, 501 S. Main Street, St. Charles, MO 63301 (636) 946-9339. This is quite a lot more entertaining than the tacky souvenir shops that line the rest of Main Street.

6. St Louis Symphony Orchestra

At the tender age of 39 I’ve always thought that classical music was not quite my thing (yet), but I was blown away by Handel’s Israel in Egypt, which we saw performed by the St Louis Symphony Orchestra accompanied by the St Louis Symphony Chorus (with some exemplary soloists) and conducted by Nicholas McGegan. The Orchestra performs regularly at the Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand Boulevard, which is a suitably ornate building, and only a stone’s throw away from Harry’s Bar. My brother and his wife are season ticket holders and are such fans that they attended a performance here on New Year’s Eve in 2004. On the night we were there the performance was moving, the music was excellent, the chorus was in great voice. The fact that music-mad volunteers personally greet you upon entering the building also gives you a lift. If you are here, check out what’s on, even if you think you are not a fan of classical music – you may be surprised. We definitely left feeling culturally richer for the experience.
Follow the link for Part Two of the list…