Friday night we went over to Laurent's sisters new condo and just sat around talking about random things like where we were getting married and how surprise proposals don't always go as planned! Saturday was our big day in the city so we didn't stay out too late because we wanted to get an early start!
Saturday morning we woke up and started our day with a big bowl of Pho. Pho (according to Wikipedia) is s a Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. The soup includes noodles made from rice and is often served with basil, lime, bean sprouts, and peppers that are added to the soup by the customer. This is pretty much right on the nose except that Gina's mom makes it with chicken, you should always add hot sauce, and no matter where you have had pho, you haven't has any as good as Gina's mom's.
One we were full we headed out to the St. Louis Zoo!! We visited pretty much every animal in the world including PENGUINS!!! They continue to be my favorite animal but elephants still remain a close second. We saw the big brown bears that appeared to have paced back and forth the entire time we roamed the zoo (which was a VERY long time!). We saw a 19 foot tall giraffe. We saw lions, and tigers, and jaguars, and zebras, and camels, and ostriches, and kangaroos, and gorillas, and spider monkeys, and puffins, and even some animals that I don't remember because I'd never heard of them before!!
The zoo visit was made even better when we heard that Purdue beat Ohio State!! WOO WOO!! BOILER UP!!!Tammy and her friend joined us at the zoo toward the end of our visit but I think they planned it that way. This being that after the zoo they knew we were going to Ted Drewes ice cream!! I don't know Ted but I would have to say well done. It was quite delicious!!
Laurent and Papa Laurent met us at Ted Drewes and once we were full (and a little chilly) we decided to head to the mall for some much needed boot shopping! The zoo was full of people wearing all sorts of cute boots and Gina decided she needed a pair. I knew that we were going to the Hunan Star for dinner and I could think of no better way to work up an appetite then shopping!!Shopping was a success as Gina is the proud new owner of grey suede boots, Laura got a new shirt dress, and I finally got a new bathrobe! Then it was off to the Hunan Star!! The Hunan Star is my FAVORITE Chinese restaurant. I'm pretty much a Chinese food conisure so this says a lot. We filled ourselves up with crab rangoons, vegetable low mein, hot braised chicken, mongolian beef, spicy shrimp, tofu and vegetables, and drinks from glasses shaped long donkeys! It was all delicious!! I really think that part of the reason I love Chinese food so much is because it's usually served family style so I know I'll get to try my food as well as what everyone else is eating! :)
After dinner we decided to skip the Mizzou football game party and headed back to Gina's for some good old slumber party gossip. I probably see Gina once a week and Laura once a month but for some reason, we never run out of stuff to talk about!
Sunday morning I was moving a little slower then normal. Gina's bed is a half waterbed and I had some strange dreams that I was on a boat! But Gina's mom must have predicted that we would need a good breakfast before we headed out on the road because she made green curry!! Plus there was sticky rice and some sort of carrot tomato combination that I'd never tried. There was also eggs and chicken but I didn't even get to those. One of these days I'm going to go to STL and just ask Gina's mom to teach me how to cook.
After brunch we piled into the car and headed back to Indy. While I was sad that our fun STL weekend was coming to an end, I made sure to capture pictures of the giant cross in Effingham and the St. Louis arch as we made our way back to Indy!!
This weekend I leave for SPAIN!!! I'm so excited to see Selen, spend a week vwith Damla, and experience all the sights and sounds of a country I've never visited before! I'll be sure to have a full report when I get back!!
No comments:
Post a Comment