St Louis was the change of scene I've been looking for - it's mid sized town with a big arch as it's main attraction, but the hostel is located just south of downtown in the French Quarter, Sulard. Initially sceptical, I bumped into a few drinking buddies and discovered Sulard has bars on most corners, all hosting some excellent Rythmn and Blues music, and serving fine long island ice teas !

The people playing are all local and superb muscians - and there is a really nice vibe going around, as they invite other musicians up to play bass for this song, and then play this other song as it's someone in the bars favorite. It was the tonic I needed from big city tourism, so I've decided to extend my stay for a couple of nights and party some more.

Thanks for all the mails, apologies for those I don't have time to reply to ! It's really nice to hear what's going on at home, so do keep me posted. Saturday night I should be on an overnight bus towards Nashville or Memphis - pushing onwards into the southern states !