Sox Sweep

Woo hoo!! I wore my Red Sox hat all over St. Louis this weekend, and I have to say St. Louisians were waaaaaaaaaay more polite about it than those assholes I used to encounter in NYC. P and I watched Game 4 tonight, laughing with AL about how, for the first time in the history of the world, P watched more World Series games than he did. Finally, a legitimate win for Mr. Sports.

As for St. Louis, I owe it an apology. Remember those asshole New Yorkers I referenced not three lines ago? Well, I'm kinda one myself. And one of the main symptoms of the "Asshole New Yorker" syndrome is that you assume all other cities are completely worthless. Obviously there are some exceptions. I just didn't expect St. Louis to be one of them. I was totally wrong. Now granted, I did not go into the downtown area. (I could see the St. Louis Arch from my hotel - the Cheshire Lodge... more on that later - and felt no need to get closer.) But P and I had a great time wandering around the Clayton and Central West End areas.

Day 1 we headed straight for the New Cathedral. The mosaics there are breathtaking. I have never been to the great basilicas of Europe, but this certainly put anything I've ever seen in the US to shame. We then did a 180 and went to have brunch at the leading Jewish deli in town, Kopperman's. (I'll call it a Jewish deli, mainly because they served knishes, cheese blintzes w/sour cream AND whitefish... though at the waitress' suggestion I tried the less bony smoked trout, and I was not disappointed. But this place is NOT kosher, no matter what their marketing says. I mean, they served eggs benedict for god's sake! I'm not complaining; it drove me crazy that I couldn't order a milkshake with my corned beef sandwhich at the Second Avenue Deli. But c'mon... ) I loved this place, with its red walls, large-scale P.T. Barnum artwork and scratchy Ragtime soundtrack. We sat in the window, looking out on red brick neo-Tudors, wrought-iron fences and English-style gardens. And especially as it had just rained, the whole Central West End seemed to have that Europe-by-way-of-Woody Allen-movie flavor that always tugs at my heart. Add in the antique stores, art galleries, cupcake bakery and awesome independent bookstore, and P and I were hooked! We even called a realtor to inquire about a huge house for sale directly opposite the deli, on one of the lovely, tree-lined residential streets that itself was fitted with a wrought-iron fence. Newly renovated 3-story, 5 bedroom/4 bath with pool and hot tub for under $1 million. We were nearly sold, even without the knowledge that the house was currently being rented by one of "the Blues" (whatever the hell that is). But couldn't figure out how we would explain to friends and family that we were moving to St. Louis on a whim. They already think we're crazy.

Later that day we want to L's wedding. The ceremony was held in the chapel of the Student Catholic Center at Washington University. It was really beautiful, presided over by a Jesuit priest - a family friend of the groom's - who had been flown over from Dublin for the occasion. His lilt was so soft it made me tingle, the same way my Mysticism professor's did at Yale. (Yes, I took Christian Mysticism. I thought it would be an enjoyable gut class. It was very enjoyable... especially since the elvish professor's voice seemed to put me in a meditative trance. But I seem to remember getting a crap grade... well, by Yale standards anyway. Maybe I was too much of a neurotic Jew to truly "get" it.) L looked beautiful. Afterwards we walked to the reception in Forest Park. The best wedding band, ever! I could not stop dancing. Even at the end of the night, when my feet hurt and my eyes were closing involuntarily, I had to get up for Proud Mary (as did AW, who was quite the boogier... ). The whole "Motown Review" thing was excellent.

Okay, it's almost midnight and I am exhausted. Tales from Washington University, the St. Louis Zoo, and the craziest, campiest hotel this side of Transylvania will have to wait until tomorrow.

Oh, and one more thing... GO SOX!!! (Please don't hate me, dear Philly family.) -- D