Barbecue and a public library that looks like a giant bookshelf were the two things that drew me to Kansas City. Literarily located in the middle of nowhere the United States, Kansas City with its pretty bridges, old brick buildings and lovely fountains were such a relief to my eyes after seeing countless corn fields and farmyards for most of that day. Driving in prairies has its own charm, but may quickly become boring if you're more up for striking scenery rather than the calming serenity of grass fields.

Kansas City is famous in many ways. It grew significantly in the 19th century thanks to its huge stockyard that was selling cattle, sheep, hogs and other domesticated animals.

At the same time, Kansas City has a serious cultural footprint. It claims to have more fountains and boulevards than the majority of old European cities.

Barbecue has become so popular in Kansas City, that it has the highest number of barbecue restaurants per capita than any other American city. And I can tell you that the barbecue chicken wings I tried at one of the restaurants were the best I've ever had.

The downtown area looked suspiciously empty on a Friday night. Perhaps, it's because it was Friday before Christmas?

Power and Light District offers plenty of shopping, food, fun and pretty much what a casual tourist wants.

My favourite part of Kansas City was the old brick buildings. Perhaps the most famous one is the New York Life Building. Completed in 1890, it became the first skyscraper in Kansas City and the first one that had an elevator.

But I actually liked its parking garage much more.

"The Community Bookshelf is a striking feature of Kansas City's downtown. It runs along the south wall of the Central Library's parking garage on 10th Street between Wyandotte Street and Baltimore Avenue. The book spines, which measure approximately 25 feet by 9 feet, are made of signboard mylar. The shelf showcases 22 spines which list 42 titles, reflecting a wide variety of reading interests as suggested by Kansas City readers." (from the Kansas City Public Library's website).

In conclusion, I would highly recommend Kansas City as a separate destination or as a place to stop and stretch your legs while doing a road trip from east to west or from north to south.