Hannibal, MO

Hannibal, Missouri, is a small quaint sleepy town on the edge of the Mississippi river. Its main claim to fame is that it was the boyhood home of Mark Twain and the setting for his books The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Downtown Hannibal is a fun place with a number of shops selling antiques and Native American items. There are also a few art galleries. The streets are lined with wooden shop fronts and the original historical buildings are still standing.

It is possible to tour Mark Twain's house and go on a horse-drawn trolley ride around the town. Hannibal was also the home of Margaret Brown or, as she is better known, The Unsinkable Molly Brown - one of the survivors of the Titanic tragedy.

Mark Twain's homeMy husband grew up in a small town about an hour away from Hannibal so every time we visit the US we like to drive to Hannibal. I have always wondered why a small town in the mid-west has the same name as the ancient general from Carthage who had marched over the Alps to try and invade Rome. I suppose it is just one of those curious things in life. But the town of Hannibal is just one of those places which has a 'homely' feel to it. I like to call it a place with a heart.

View of Hannibal from Lover's Leap