st. louis food: part 3!

if i were to subtitle this post, it would be this: dessert and animals!

the dessert part is for this place...

at a gelateria there is really only one thing to order...gelato. mine was a mix of fancy vanilla and caramel. it wasn't the same as my beloved hometown capogiro, but it was quite nice. i'd eat it again. and again.

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now, for the animals portion of this post...basically, i went to the st. louis zoo, which is awesome and FREE, and i wanted to share a couple of pics of cute animals. yes, i know this is a food blog, and so i am hereby stating that these are animals that i have never eaten, do not currently eat, and do not plan on eating, unless i am in a very strange, unforseeable circumstance in a different country where not to do so would mean horrific disrespect or an apocalypse.

so. in no particular order, i give you...

a hippo! this pic isn't even cropped. the hippo swam next to the glass where i was and waited for me to take a picture, and swam away. we are now BFF, like me and neko case.

asian elephant! who doesn't like elephants?

giant tortoise! i have always loved turtles and tortoises. when i was younger i wanted a turtle, but they were illegal, and i got a turtle keychain instead. the end.

this is a monkey. monkeys are the best.

this gorilla's name is joe. he was lounging.

and this is a baby orangutan named ruby. she was playing hide and seek right before her nap. this is her behind. you can tell i like the primates.

some fun bird that stared at me...

a penguin from the new penguin exhibit. i think he's posing...

and then there's the peacock. when i was 2 or 3, my mom took me to the zoo. i looked pretty much the same -- big blue eyes and short -- except i was technically littler. i was shy and quiet and didn't speak out of turn. story goes it was a busy day at the philly zoo, and when we walked in, the first thing we saw, amidst the throngs of people, were some peacocks walking about. i got very excited, pointed to a peacock, and shouted for all to hear, "look, mommy, a buffalo!" people stopped. laughed. stared. my mom looked kindly at me and at the people. she said, nodding towards me, "she doesn't get out much." aww.

28 years later, i still enjoy glimpsing the mighty buffalo.