We parked at school and took the metrolink in, stopping to buy special shuttle passes ($5) good for metro shuttles back and forth to Soulard from the metrolink station. The metro people have been doing this for awhile- they basically doubled their capacity, running trains every seven minutes, and they had probably a dozen busses on full cycle to handle all the partygoers. There was still a huge line of people to get onto the bus. Lots of colorful costumes, lots of people already wearing beads.
It was kind of chilly when the bus let us off at the drop point. Actually, I really liked the setup. Soulard is separated from the rest of St. Louis by a freeway, and the busses dropped people on the opposite site. There were beer tents already set up, and a huge bank of port-a-potties, and to get to Soulard, you had to cross through light security, checking for coolers, and then cross a pedestrian bridge. It was kind of like, once you crossed the bridge, you were in Mardigras land. As soon as we crossed, we all pulled out our flasks and took the first swig of the day. It was a little after ten AM.
I thought mardigras, especially in the early, cold morning, a little pathetic and a lot forced. Sad penis necklaces. The crowd not yet feeling the effects of booze, but forcing a bit of joviality in the face of watered down hurricanes and a dearth of coffee. We found a good spot for watching the parade and stuck to it. After awhile we were able to move closer and closer to the point where we were right behind the people up against the barrier.
The parade was long with a lot of hit and miss with floats. Not one, but two Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle themed parades. The best was apparently a repeat- a group on bicycles representing Finding Nemo. There were a lot of beads tossed, and everyone around us was pretty civil about bead grabbing. Nobody, apparently, really cared about having beads as much as they cared about catching beads. We ended up with a ton, we all caught about thirty beads, and by the end, we looked like we belonged there. And after all that jack, we were a little drunk too.
There was a really obnoxious woman behind Saori in her late middle ages who kept shouting "BEADS!!!!! WE WANT BEEEEEEEEEEEAAAADS!!!!!!!" over. and over. and over. She was also wasted and nearly fell on Saori a few times trying to catch beads. After getting her eye poked for the trouble, she was more careful.
When the parade ended, we bought some really good chicken shish kabobs and a plate of fries, which a random woman tried to steal "just one!!!! just one!!!!" and I had to fight off her grubby hands. We wandered around Soulard for awhile, marveling at the crowds, and enjoying the scene. Tay and I left Saori behind to scope out a bar (1860) which turned out to be packed with a $5 cover. When we got back to where we had left Saori maybe fifteen minutes before, she was gone. We called a few times, and finally she popped out of nowhere.
"Do you guys want to come up on the roof or you want to walk around some more?"
Apparently, she had been waiting on the steps of one of the old houses in Soulard, and the owner had invited her up to see the roof in his house party. Saori had already made a few friends and pulled us up. We said hello to the owner, and followed Saori up the stairs to the roof, where two young girls were dancing for the growing crowd of guys down below. We sat at the roof edge and enjoyed the view: the empty lot below was the corner of a major intersection, and we had an incredible view of the crowds, the old brick neighborhood of Soulard, and the city in the background. It was an incredible thing, and we all felt like VIPs looking down at the crowds below.
Of course, things got out of hand, with random people who kept on coming, and then we were on our way out the door when the owner realized that a growing crowd of random drunks on his roof, some of whom were throwing things, was probably not a good thing, so he decided to throw everyone out. We left immediately.
I was getting pretty tired of dealing with the crowds and I wasn't really into hanging around until dark or trying to fight our way into some crappy overpriced bars, so I proposed we get out of Soulard and hit up a bar on the way back home. This was met with general approval, so we headed back out of Soulard, crossed the bridge back to the shuttle busses, and quickly found ourselves back downtown. We walked the few blocks to Bridge tap house, and found a table in the relatively empty bar.
What a contrast to the scene we had just left! Quiet, dark, luxurious, with great beer, (note to self- Ommegang Rare Vos) and good beer snacks (cheese crisps with thin apple slices and spicy mustard, fresh baked pretzel balls with french onion dip). It was good for another few drinks until Saori started nodding off, which was the sign for us to head home.
We were only at home for an hour before taking off to Freda, Helena, and Laura's house. These are three Chinese-area friends of ours who invited us to their Chinese New Year hotpot party. Lots of people I knew, a few I didn't. Three hot pots set up, all spicy, with tons of vegetables, beef, fish balls, enoki mushrooms, tripe, etc, and everything washed down with beer.
We actually started the party off with everyone taking a sake bomb, which was highly amusing considering only half of the party had ever even heard of one, so there was a short description and demonstration of the methodology. And there was a lot of spillage and early droppers as people attempted to balance their dixie cups of sake over the cups of beer.
It was a lot of fun, Tay and I ate way too much, but we had some great conversations and Tay seemed to enjoy himself. He later confided to me that I had a lot of really nice, outgoing friends. I'm just lucky that way, I guess. Anyway, we finally headed home and when we got there, we were both wiped out. As Tay pointed out, we'd basically been drinking from 10am until 10pm.
The next day was not nearly as much fun, but at least, by spacing the drinking out through the entire day and taking lots of water, I wasn't nearly as bad off as say, after the farm party.
I was getting pretty tired of dealing with the crowds and I wasn't really into hanging around until dark or trying to fight our way into some crappy overpriced bars, so I proposed we get out of Soulard and hit up a bar on the way back home. This was met with general approval, so we headed back out of Soulard, crossed the bridge back to the shuttle busses, and quickly found ourselves back downtown. We walked the few blocks to Bridge tap house, and found a table in the relatively empty bar.
What a contrast to the scene we had just left! Quiet, dark, luxurious, with great beer, (note to self- Ommegang Rare Vos) and good beer snacks (cheese crisps with thin apple slices and spicy mustard, fresh baked pretzel balls with french onion dip). It was good for another few drinks until Saori started nodding off, which was the sign for us to head home.
We were only at home for an hour before taking off to Freda, Helena, and Laura's house. These are three Chinese-area friends of ours who invited us to their Chinese New Year hotpot party. Lots of people I knew, a few I didn't. Three hot pots set up, all spicy, with tons of vegetables, beef, fish balls, enoki mushrooms, tripe, etc, and everything washed down with beer.
We actually started the party off with everyone taking a sake bomb, which was highly amusing considering only half of the party had ever even heard of one, so there was a short description and demonstration of the methodology. And there was a lot of spillage and early droppers as people attempted to balance their dixie cups of sake over the cups of beer.
It was a lot of fun, Tay and I ate way too much, but we had some great conversations and Tay seemed to enjoy himself. He later confided to me that I had a lot of really nice, outgoing friends. I'm just lucky that way, I guess. Anyway, we finally headed home and when we got there, we were both wiped out. As Tay pointed out, we'd basically been drinking from 10am until 10pm.
The next day was not nearly as much fun, but at least, by spacing the drinking out through the entire day and taking lots of water, I wasn't nearly as bad off as say, after the farm party.
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