YOU MUST HAVE HEARD about the musical ?St. Louis Loves Dem Filipinos.? But there?s more to St. Louis than the much talked-about musicale about the Filipino experience at the World?s Fair, more than a hundred years ago. Even more than meets the Arch, another St. Louis landmark.

In fact, this is another story about St. Louis (pronounced seint/loo/wee), a very charming city named after King Louis IX of France, also known as a sports city in the Midwest, home to the world-famous St. Louis Cardinals.

I got a chance to visit the city when my previous company sent me there for a one-month training fellowship in Experiential Marketing.

It was spring when I arrived but one could still see traces of winter on the leaves of sycamore trees. St. Louis is a pleasant, small city inhabited by more than 400,000 people (Greater St. Louis Population is 2.8 million, 2007 US Census). St. Louis is home to a notable number of African-Americans (around 50 to 60 percent of the total population). It?s 300 miles south of Chicago and north of Memphis.

Founded in 1764 by the French fur trader Pierre Laclede, it still breathes a European air in its culture and architecture. And who can beat that ? St. Louis has produced two of the greatest icons of the 20th century?T.S. Eliot and Chuck Berry! Other famous people from St. Louis are best remembered in their own version of a Walk of Fame along Delmar Boulevard, with the names of Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, Tennessee Williams, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and many more famous St. Louis people.

You?ll hear about other world-famous attractions ?the Missouri Botanical Garden, the St. Louis Zoo, Grant?s Farm (former US President Ulysses Grant?s cabin is still there), the Gateway Arch, the numerous parks that adorn the city. But the real pleasant surprise for me was the International Bowling Museum with our very own bowling great Paeng Nepomuceno?s life-size image prominently standing at the entrance door. Other bowling greats have their photos mounted on expensive frames but our Paeng is at the entrance, looming tall and proud.

His bowling ball and Team Philippines uniform are also notably displayed near his life-size photo. I couldn?t contain my pride that I had to tell the unsuspecting guard that the person I was looking at is from my country, the Philippines. But I wasn?t prepared for his almost instant reaction. ?I know he?s from the Philippines and he?s great, buddy. By the way, how?s Imelda Marcos?? The car rental driver I hired to take me to the airport echoed that, jokingly asking if we still have a shortage of shoes, now that the Marcoses are no longer in power. I was tempted to tell him to visit SM Department Store (more than 20 million pairs of shoes sold last year, beat that.)

Food binge

Food tripping was another pastime in St. Louis whose restaurants offer a taste of the world. Sidewalk cafés are everywhere, especially along Delmar Blvd. (in which McCann?s Momentum is housed), where you can also see charming brick houses on both sides of the street. There too is Blueberry Hill, an old music bar owned by the legendary Chuck Berry. There are neighborhood boutiques and galleries, and steakhouses, ethnic bistros and famous Italian restaurants all over. Downtown are Clayton, The Hill, The Loop and many more little complexes with authentic international restaurants. Some even say St. Louis pizza is the best in the world.

A visit to St. Louis would not be complete without the customary tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, which hosts thousands of guests and tourists every day. The very detailed tour is capped by, what else, a hearty serving of ice-cold Budweiser in a mall-like complex of Anheuser-Busch novelty items.

I would also say the people of St. Louis are a bunch of peace-loving people. They have their own share of local bad news but not one would merit world attention. During my month-long stay, one of the biggest news was a group of delinquent teens spraying paint on the gates of rich neighborhoods. An animal that got sick on the zoo even merited a feature on local TV news.

They have their regular share of hailstorms and tornado landings here and there. In fact I experienced one really bad hailstorm coupled with a huge tornado landing right where I was driving!

St. Louis as a whole deserves to be in the itinerary of those who want to explore the American Midwest. With Memphis and Chicago nearby, a US trip would certainly be more special than the usual Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York or Las Vegas. I guarantee you, as a Filipino, you will love St. Louis. Who knows, you might even catch the Cardinals playing at the Busch Stadium.