Beer, baseball and... rain

It's our second day in St. Louis and it dawned cool and cloudy, but by no means cold. We woke slightly earlier than yesterday due to the earlier breakfast time, together with the added excitement of yoghurts to the breakfast mix as well as actually having some waffles. We ventured out of the hotel about half past 10 to begin our second day exploration in  earnest.

Ballpark village next to the baseball stadium.

Our first port of call was the Busch Stadium, famous home of the local baseball team The Cardinals, and currently in it's third incarnation. Last time we were here the stadium was a circular Romanesque structure which looked like a Roman coliseum. However, this was flattened in 2006 to make way for the current replacement structure. Like it or not, the current structure looks pretty cool, although I think I preferred the old structure as it was more iconic. Still, things change and you have to roll with the punches!

View of the Gateway Arch from the Cardinal's home ground.

After visiting the baseball ground we made our way down south towards Lafayette Square, an elegant district of old Victorian homes and quality independent shops, and centred on a sizeable park. We didn't venture into park due to the rain, but ducked into Park Street Coffee, a local joint selling a good range of coffee, but not before going in a shop called Four Muddy Paws which sold the most amazing dog biscuits with icing that looked good enough for us humans to eat!

The most colourful dog biscuits in the world?

We then headed into the coffee shop, which stocked a wide range of the locally traditional (and famous) gooey butter cake. I had the key lime variety, a simple twist on the original recipe but utterly delicious with my cappuccino. The cafe also had big (454g) bags of coffee on sale for between $14 and $16 - not bad value when you consider the size and the quality of the coffee. Nonetheless I didn't buy any at this point and we moved on to our next stop.

Traditional gooey butter cake at Park Avenue Coffee - a local delicacy.

This was a store called Looking Glass Designs run by a local woman who must have been approaching 70. She spent around half an hour just chatting to us about the city, our travels and what to see and eat in the city. This seems to be a habit of people here but it's nice and I ended up buying a lovely pair of owl earrings as a present before moving on. The lady wrapped them up so nicely and even gave us a nice jewellery roll made of cloth to keep them nice for travelling.

Traditional Street sign in Lafayette Square.

By this point we were getting hungry so went into Square One Brewery and Distillery, a restaurant and bar that brews it's own beer and distils it's own whiskey, rum etc. You'd be forgiven for thinking the place might be overstretching itself with all that going on but it manages to be great at all three of them. I had a sample rack of four beers; Park Avenue Pale Ale, Single Malt Scotch Ale, In Hawaii and a truly delicious Maple Stout infused with maple syrup from Vermont as the name suggests.

Delicious local beers from Square one brewery and distillery.

All the beers were delicious and it was great to see all the different colours lined up on the tray together. To accompany the beer I ate a Stout-braised pot roast served with mashed potato and green beans. To end my stay here I had a look around and saw both the mash tun where the whiskey is distilled and the barrels where the whiskey is kept through a glass section in the floor. To end the visit I bought one of the small glasses and a neat looking old style whiskey glass.

Local brews on sale in the Field Foods supermarket.

Last stop for the day was a local supermarket called Field Foods specialising in local produce and  products. I bought some Salted Caramel coffee (!) and spent a while perusing the craft beer section although I noticed many of them were quite expensive, ($7 and up), so I didn't buy any at this stage. I was pleased to spot  6 packs from the local independent Schlafly brewery though, with some very interesting flavours and for only $9. I'm planning to visit the Schlafly bottleworks and tap before I leave town so with luck I'll be able try some of their brews too.

Local supermarket specialising in local products.

Now it's time to sit back and enjoy some quintessentially American television! Until tomorrow.

Gateway to the West

Today was our first full day in St. Louis, Missouri after a mammoth 22 hours on the go yesterday including a flight from Manchester to JFK, a transfer from JFK to Newark and then onwards to St. Louis with a pickup in Chicago. We had the pick of plane seats on the first leg, but after Chicago the flight was full. It's such a short flight from St. Louis to Chicago that I barely had time to drink my coffee! Fortunately the flight was generally smooth and we arrived at our hotel just after 10pm. We had a gas station supper due to the late hour (read: chicken burger and poptarts) from the gas station next to the hotel, following which I crashed into bed and was asleep in what felt like milliseconds.

View of the garden from our hotel room.

We woke the next morning to have breakfast in the hotel which was pretty decent (I got fairly excited by the waffle iron) and then decided to head downtown to see some old haunts. First up was Union Station, a former railway station turned shopping mall, which unfortunately has now closed for renovations and will be 'opening soon'. Nonetheless I had a pleasant time feeding the fish in the pond outside for 25c from a vending machine. I also discovered out the back of the 'station' some US railroad wagons which my Dad said he'd seen in 1999 when he first came here, but definitely didn't show me when he brought us here in '02.

Restaurant outside Union Station.

Next up we got back on the metro from Union Station to 8th and Pine which is the stop for the Gateway Arch, a humongous 630ft steel arch erected in honour of Jefferson's role in the westward expansion of the US in the 19th century. It's as wide as it is tall and dominates the skyline over the river Mississippi. It is a beautiful thing to behold and never fails to take my breath away.

First sighting of the arch from Union Station, downtown.

Unfortunately there are building works going on around the base of the arch at the  moment, so it is less than scenic on the ground. Still, it should look great when finished and with most eyes faced skyward it doesn't matter too much. You can still go up it, but the underground museum where you enter the cars which take you to the top is temporarily placed in the Old Courthouse, which you now pass through on the way to the arch.

The Old Courthouse.

The Old Courthouse was as such our first port of call, and is an amazing building in itself. The building is (or was) as the name suggests and, and is dominated in the middle by a tall dome with ornate columns on the balustrades of the second and third floors overlooking the rest of the building. It's possible to climb up to these and the sensation is quite thrilling and dizzying. It really is a beautiful building and I plan to return before the end of the trip.

On approach to the Gateway Arch.

The gift shop had a great range of books, models of the arch, DVDs and other things and didn't seem to suffer from the same fate as others being full of nothing but tatty tourist junk - even the t-shirts were nice! I bought a nice metallic bookmark of the arch and a reprinted newspaper print detailing the completion of the arch in 1965 - amazingly, it celebrated it's 50th anniversary last year. I also got some saltwater taffy!! Fruit flavoured candies at 10c a pop which are just delicious. As with many things about the US I heard about these from an episode of Friends - don't judge me too much!!

One of the steel legs of the Gateway Arch.

OK enough about the arch. We were trying to take today steady so as not to overdo it after our long day yesterday. We headed over to Laclede's landing, one of the more historic cobbled districts of St. Louis. It's very compact and has lost a lot of the antique shops it once had. Still, it's narrow tree lined streets make a nice change from the more built up parts of St. Louis. We had food at the Morgan Street brewery, complete and with a pint of locally brewed black lager (delicious) and, in my case at least, a blue cheese burger with bacon and fried mash balls - hey, it's our first day in America!

One of the cobbled streets in Laclede's landing.

Afterward we headed back to the hotel which took a while as we just missed a connecting bus from the transport interchange at North Hanley station. On the metro train back we bumped into a woman who had been chatting to us with her friends on the train into town for a baseball game - The Cardinals lost. Little did we expect that on the train back we would be engulfed by the returning fans! The games are really well attended, and seem very popular with older residents even more than the young! They were a cheerful crowd though and didn't seem to be like hooligans at all, unlike many football fans in the UK. Time for bed now, as today suddenly feels longer than it has been. Here's to another day of exploration tomorrow!

Two weeks to go

I'm now two weeks away from my trip to New York and the USA and the reality of it all is now very much dawning on me. I keep wandering around in a state of shock, unable to believe that I'm actually going and it's only round the corner. I finally bought some dollars this week as the exchange rate hit $1.44 and that made it seem even more real. I still have more to get but that doesn't change the fact that this is a huge deal for me.

I know transatlantic travel is easier (and cheaper) now and more people than ever are travelling around the world on a regular basis seeking fortune  and, in my case, adventure. For me however, this still isn't something I do regularly or am able to as this trip has cost me about a month's wages (not including spending money). I could potentially have done the trip a little cheaper but the US isn't cheap and I'm not going all that way to share a small hostel room with several other people (at least not on my first time out there for 14 years!).

I don't know too many people who can just decide they're going to America and actually do it - families, mortgages to pay for and children all cost money. All of which reminds me I'm simply not ready for that (and maybe never will be!)  I'd much rather spend my hard earned cash at this stage on an exciting adventure such as this one. My living costs are lower than many other people's I know but it still isn't an easy trip to make with all the planning involved and getting time off work.

Anyway enough waffling. I've got my sights so far set on visiting the 9/11 memorial museum, Ellis Island and the New York Transit Museum, as well as seeing the street with the Friend's apartment building on it, just to convince myself it really does exist!! Let's not forget of course that New York will come second, and I'm staying in Brooklyn first, not Manhattan (kind of a mistake on my part, maybe?).

Also, the first stop before New York is St. Louis, for fun and relaxation, but I'm expecting New York to be the big hitter, where I cram in so much and still only scrape the surface. I can already see myself leaving the city wanting more, and will hopefully return the following year during my *gasp* 30th year. Possibly not in May, like this year, but maybe in September - the other time when the city shouldn't be too hot! Here's hoping the next few weeks pass with relative speed...

Over and out.

The countdown begins

I know it's not usual to do a blog BEFORE you actually do a big trip, but in this case I just couldn't help myself. I'm three weeks away from a two week adventure to the USA, and I'm both nervous and excited. Nervous, as I haven't done a long haul flight in 14 years (!) and excited as this is easily the biggest trip I've done since I spent a month in Poland and Ukraine during the summer of 2008. In fact, it's the longest holiday I'll have had since both graduating in November 2012 and starting work in the summer of 2013. So you can imagine I'm very ready for this break.

The plan is to spend a week in both St. Louis and New York, which will be broken down into stays in both Manhattan and Brooklyn (getting my hipster on). It'll be my second time in St. Louis and my first time in New York.

The difference between this time and the last time in St. Louis is that I will be 29 and not 15. Which basically means I can enjoy a few bars, experience the cultural sights and generally get more out of it than I would have done as a somewhat moody, grumpy teenager (I still have the photos as evidence!).

I have done a fair bit of travelling over the last 10 years or so, principally during university holidays but also outside work where possible. However, this has mainly been in Europe and I think I'm now ready to take it to the next level! Certainly feel like I've earned it after all my years of hard work ;).

Those who know me know I can't survive without at least two trips outside the UK a year, even if one of them is just to Dublin or Italy! Plans are already afoot for a post-USA trip to Slovenia. Anyway, I digress..

As for New York, well I'm basically going to be like a kid in a sweet shop, candy store, toy shop and Santa's Grotto all rolled into one. Forget being 29, I'm going to be like Kevin McAllister on his own in the big city, except with my Dad in tow and a few more dollars to my name and the opportunity to pick up a taxi whenever I want, as well as a few beers if I want it!

I already sense that St. Louis will be the quieter part of the holiday as I settle into the feeling of being free from work (which I imagine won't take long). The plan there is to see a few of the sights I saw last time round with a keener eye, relax by the pool, see some blues/jazz and generally have a laid back holiday. Then comes the big hitter!

New York will be all about blitzing the sights, filling myself up with coffee and gorgeous street food and generally getting my cool vibe on (if I even have one). I'll be spending my time in bookstores and museums, riding the subway and stomping around on foot. Might even get in on a bike ride in Central Park if I'm lucky? Anyway before I get too carried away I'll leave it there. No doubt you can tell I'm excited!! Here's to the next three weeks of normality and general servitude...

Days 5-6: Fort William/Mallaig - 4-5 March 2015

As there was no train connection from Inverness to Fort William, we had to take a coach down the highly scenic but winding A82, leaving both of us feeling a bit the worse for wear after a bout of travel sickness on the way down. We took a taxi with all our bags to the accommodation, which sadly was not up to par and so we spent around an hour trying to find somewhere else to stay. Luckily, we managed to find a vacancy for two nights in a lovely guesthouse with twin room and breakfast (plus bath) for a fairly reasonable fee given the last minute nature of the request.

Park in the centre of Fort William with  Glen Nevis behind.

Prior to moving our bags across to the new place, we had a drink in the Corpach Hotel (in the village where we were staying), which was run by an elderly couple in their late 70's/early 80's. The place was dreadfully dated, being very much stuck in the 1940's in terms of decor and furnishings, and really looked like nothing had changed since then - the dining rooms and bedrooms which the owner showed us were set up exactly as they might have been then, and seemed to have been expecting guests for many years.

Inside the Nevis Mountainsport centre.

Despite this, the coal fire in the drinking area was very welcome, and there was something genuinely touching about the couple who ran it's determination to keep going and the community spirit present as they sat there discussing things with a neighbour and the dog at their feet in front of the fire. One could easily have imagined oneself as having gone back in time, and there was definitely a lingering feeling of faded glory of another time about the place. Local workmen were reportedly in residence, with a cook on hand of 25 years employment to make homecooked dishes for them at the end of a days work - I left feeling strangely sad but contented for the experience of having witnessed this.

Map of the route to Mallaig

The next morning we had a nice breakfast before heading into town for a brief meander along the high street and it's few shops before taking the train to Mallaig, known more popularly as the West Highland Railway and for being the most scenic railway journey in Britain.

Glenfinnan Station, home to the famous viaduct featured in the Harry Potter films.

Sadly, the mist and rain of the day meant many views were obscured to say the least, although it was possible to get a feel for how the route would be in summer, with spectacularly high narrow waterfalls cascading down into the valley from the mountainous peaks above. It was with some amusement that I listened to the formal announcement by the train guard for us 'ladies and gentlemen' to please take out our cameras for the famous Glenfinnan viaduct, which would not yield any spectacular pictures today. I settled for buying a postcard at the end of the line, with a mental note to come back later in the year when the weather improves!

View of Mallaig Harbour area.

Our end destination was Mallaig, one road in, one road out, and the last area of settlement before ferries across to Skye and the Hebrides etc. This really is as remote as it gets here in this part of Western Scotland. Mallaig itself was wet and windy, consisting of little more than a harbour, a pub, several coffee shops, a restaurant and a couple of gift and bookstores.

Couple of postcards as a memento of my journey.

Still, it had everything needed by the weary traveller (since most people are just passing through to or from the islands). We ate in a licensed restaurant, enjoying a delightful Cullen Skink (delicious fish soup with salmon, cod, vegetables and crusty bread) as well as a thoroughly non-Scottish beef bourguignon with dumplings, which was simply delicious. Mum had a glass of wine, while I had a cheeky but highly affordable (at £2) dram of whisky, served properly with ice and water as you would expect in these parts.

Mountain pass view from the train to Glasgow

After eating we perused the few gift shops (me buying a CD celebrating artists from a local Highland music festival and some Scottish tablet) and Mum getting a little colourful dog teddy with Mum on it as an early mother's day present. We then headed back to wait in the train station for the 16.05 back to Fort William, which had not moved since we arrived - always an interesting aspect of train journeys in rural places, and very different to the hustle and bustle of train stations in England I visit on a regular basis!

Highland dog on a windy station in Loch Lomond & the Trossachs national park.

Sadly tomorrow we head back down to Edinburgh via Glasgow and home on Saturday, but I feel this has generally been a very successful trip in which I have experienced more Scottish cultural life and activities than previously (particularly the Whisky tastings). I now need to return again at some point with a view to taking some whisky distillery tours and doing more active things like walking and cycling and getting out to the Islands. As a rest and relaxation holiday though, I couldn't wish for more, and will certainly be back sooner next time (certainly in less than 3 years!). Alba gu braith (Scotland forever)!

P.s. Good to see Celtic lose to St Johnstone after Aberdeen's 4-0 drubbing at the weekend ;)

Days 3-4: Inverness - 2-3 March 2015

It was as we were travelling by train to Inverness that I began to feel really excited and as if I was really on holiday, as it was almost three years since I had last been up this way (hard to believe), when I had taken a trip with some classmates from uni. For me Inverness was the place furthest north I would visit on this trip, and the last bastion of 'commercial' life before the Highlands proper to the north and west, and home to the legendary Ross County football club (based in Dingwall) - possibly the subject of many a joke by the locals.

The cosy living area in Bazpackers Hostel.

We were to stay in Bazpackers Hostel in Inverness, which although strangely named is actually very cosy and welcoming, based in a Georgian townhouse with roaring coal fire, cosy conservatory and excellent views over the river and castle from our twin room upstairs. We arrived to very sunny and mild conditions, so while Mum had a rest I went out for a wander and to do a few shops, returning with some whisky-flavoured fudge from Orkney and two bottles of beer from a local Scottish brewery in the Cairngorm mountains. By the time I returned to our accommodation the weather had changed completely and it had begun to snow!

Scottish Saltire flag on Inverness castle

We ate that night in the Castle Tavern restaurant right next to the hostel, where I thoroughly enjoyed neeps 'n tatties (potatoes and swede) topped with haggis in a whisky cream sauce. I also had a cheeky dram of whisky, chosen from the very useful whisky menu and served in a proper dram with ice and water - highly enjoyable. It was definitely my mission to take home a bottle of real Scottish single malt before I went home.

View from the room

By the time we got up the next day the snow had really started to come down and settled, making for some excellent photos. We walked (or rather slipped) into town for some lunch and proper shopping where I bought a real Scottish tartan scarf from a local mill and a Scots dictionary to impress my friends on my next visit! We had decided to eat in our lodgings this night and spend some quiet time in the cosy living areas of the hostel (rightly voted Inverness's best) before getting ready for our coach to Fort William the next day.

Inverness High Street

Link to days 5-6: http://travellingcyclist2k.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/days-5-6-fort-williammallaig-4-5-march.html

Days 1-2: Aberdeen, Scotland - 28 February-1 March

As it had been a while since I last visited the 'real' Scotland, as I call it, and I had had a desire for some time to revisit some of my old favourite haunts from when I studied in Aberdeen from 2011-12, I decided to take a week off work to have time out and some quiet time in northern Scotland. My first port of call would be Aberdeen for old time's sake and to catch up with friends, followed by a 2 day sojourn in Inverness, then a couple of days in Fort William before returning back home via Edinburgh, where we would spend the final night before heading back 'south' to England.

Close-up view of Marischal College in Aberdeen.

I had decided to invite my Mum along, as I had shown Dad most of the places we were going before, but had never ventured beyond Aberdeen with my Mum. We arrived in Aberdeen to windy and rainy, but otherwise mild, conditions. We were to stay in the Ibis on Shiprow, not the most cultural choice, but well located, clean and friendly. As we didn't arrive until 4pm, having stopped for lunch in Edinburgh, we got a few goodies/supplies from Sainsburys and ate dinner in the hotel restaurant before settling in for the night.

The Lemon Tree cultural and arts centre in Aberdeen.

The following day we did a spot of shopping on Union street following a better than expected hotel breakfast and took a pleasant walk via the soon to be obscured Marischal College. This building unfortunately is soon to be the sight of a new commercial development comprising hotels, shops and eating facilities, and is largely against the wishes of Aberdeen residents, who would prefer a civic space, and it has to be said that the building is well suited to such a development.

View of Castle Gate in Aberdeen.

As it was Sunday not much seemed to be happening in Aberdeen, and we didn't really have time to go to Old Aberdeen or the beach. Still, I had a very pleasant catchup with some badminton buddies at our old haunt The Bobbin in the evening, where we failed heroically at the pub quiz as The Three Racketeers - scoring 1/10 in the last round after one of our number deserted us. Still we didn't hang around too long afterwards before I headed back to pack for our train to Inverness the following morning, and my friend to study (probably) ;).

Link to days 3-4: http://travellingcyclist2k.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/days-3-4-inverness-2-3-march-2015.html