Spring Break part 2

On the recommendation of a friend, we went to a new mall just outside of St. Louis where Britta found some very cute maternity dresses. After the mall, we went to an Italian district, know as "The Hill", where all the shops' windows were shaded by awnings matching the Italian flag to match the Italian-flag-painted fire hydrants. We stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Favazzi's. You can tell an Italian restaurant is authentic when the wall decorations consist of an eclectic mix of oil paintings of Italian city/landscapes mixed with gold-framed poster prints of various photographs embellished with some sort of motto all on a wall whose paint doesn't match the carpet or the decorating theme too well. The food was okay, but the atmosphere was just right. We enjoyed it!

After dinner we went to our hotel, The Hilton, which was downtown, about two blocks from the St. Louis Arch. The hotel was packed with college wrestlers and booked solid, in spite of our reservation, so we didn't have a room. The manager on duty told us they would put us up in a hotel of comparable quality, but we would have to drive a little bit to get there. The hotel they sent us to was the Chase Park Plaza and was a notch above the Hilton. They paid for everything, including an upgrade to a King Suite. The hotel was awesome and we were offered a free night's stay by the Valet manager if Britta manages to have our baby on the 27th (his birthday) instead of the 22nd (her due date). I think I can wait it out . . . what do you think, honey?

The next day we spent at the Jefferson National Expansion Monument (the arch) and had a great time. Now for some pictures.