🌟 Weekend Getaway from St. Louis | 48-Hour Kansas City Guide

🚗 Day 1: Miniature Museum 🏠 + Princess Garden Roast Duck 🦆 Arrived in Kansas City in the afternoon and headed straight to The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures (p1-5). 🏘️: If you love miniature worlds (like the one at the Chicago Art Institute), you’ll enjoy this! Slightly smaller than Chicago’s but focuses more on toys—tiny pianos, violins, Barbie dream houses, and more. Super cute! 🕑: 1-2 hours (closes at 4:30 PM) 🎫: Walk-in tickets available, around $15-20 per person 🍽️: After the museum, we ate at Princess Garden for their off-menu roast duck! The skin was crispy, but the slices were thick and filling. You can ask them to prepare the leftover bones salted-pepper style or as soup. (We took ours home since it was short-staffed on Thanksgiving.) 💡: Ended the day with a city drive—Kansas City’s suburbs are gorgeous during Christmas! Streets lined with decorated houses and festive lights 🎄. 🍖 Day 2: BBQ Brunch + Water-Moon Guanyin 🌿 🍽️: Woke up naturally and headed to Q39 Barbecue for brunch (their award-covered walls scream authentic KC BBQ!). We ordered the beef brisket + smoked ribs combo and grilled wings—juicy and flavorful. Seriously the first time I truly enjoyed American BBQ! 🍗 Paired with a fresh salad, extra onion rings (thinly sliced and perfectly seasoned!), and local beer/juice. 🎨 Afternoon: Visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Highlights included the Chinese gallery’s Water-Moon Guanyin statue—highly recommended by a Chinese auntie I met at Boston’s MFA! The calming atmosphere and intricate exhibits left a deep impression. Don’t miss the giant shuttlecocks outside 🏸. 🎫: Free entry (just get a wristband at the front desk) 🕑: 2-4 hours 🌟 Tips: The drive from St. Louis to KC takes about 3.5-4 hours 🚙. Grab burgers/fries for the road and start exploring as soon as you arrive! Two days are enough to cover most highlights. If you leave on Friday, you can add Union Station and more food spots to your list. #WeekendGetaway #StLouisTravel #ChristmasVibes #MuseumHop #FoodieAdventures #WinterPhotography #USATravel #StudyAbroadLife