Chica-go!

Well, glad you made it safe. Turbulence and planes dont sit too well with me..

I am ready for the good stuff...like what you and BB and ? did...spill it!!

Part 2: Where the El am I?

Since my flight was about 8 hours before the Birmingham bunch's, I got to have me a little adventure--I took the El from the airport to the hotel. Fortunately, Mermaid was kind enough to do some homework for me, and found a travel blog from someone who had gone from Midway to our exact hotel, so it was pretty easy.

I went to ask a CTA employee what to do, just for good measure. This was my first exposure to the friendly people of Chicago. She told me exactly what to do, and she was gracious and friendly about it. I found more friendly people on the train--the place was just packed with friendly people!

When I got off the orange line, the friendly people who got off with me were nice enough to point me in the right direction. Along the way I saw someone about my age struggling with a suitcase and another bag, and she looked at me and said, "Can I follow you? You look like a city girl who knows how to do this!" I told her I had extensive knowledge of the rapid transit system of rural north Georgia...

I found the hotel and the Mers, who are amazing mer-people. Mermaid had already talked to the powers that be and requested that I get a good room. She did well...

I officially had the "party room" because of the view.

FTLOG! That picture is as big as your room! :shock:

I got the blues real bad...

By the time I got to my beautiful room, I was exhausted. I got up at 6:30 a.m. eastern time, and it had been a long, long day already. I tried to take a little nap, but didn't have much luck with it. There are a LOT of sirens in Chicago on Friday afternoons, apparently...

The Merms came back by and suggested that I go for a walk and see what I could see. I thought that was an odd instruction--tell a single girl in a huge, strange city to go for a walk?! But they assured me that 1) I would be perfectly safe, and 2) I would have a blast.

They were right. I walked south on Michigan toward the park where the Blues Festival was going on, but was immediately distracted by Wacker Drive. My recent boss (an artist who loves architecture) had already told me to look for 333 Wacker Drive, but the whole street was just jammed with gorgeous buildings. I walked 2 blocks along the river with my head in the air before I remembered that I was walking away from where I wanted to go--beautiful stuff!

I got to the entrance of Millenium Park and asked directions to the Blues Festival. The lady at the information tent not only told me how to get there, but she took the time to tell me the easiest, most beautiful route.

She didn't tell me about all the pretty things I would see along the way, including my first glimpse of the Bean:


I also really liked the amphitheater:


I walked along the shore and watched the yachts bobbing like toys:

I got to the park where the blues festival was being held, and sat on a bench to catch my breath and call the Mers. A local sat down next to me and struck up a conversation. She said she had lived there for about a year, and gave me her opinions on the best food. She also told me about a movie set in the north end of town, and gave me her friend's phone number if I wanted to call about it. Such nice people...

I went to find the Mers, who were in a crowd of approximately 8,487,699 beer-drinking people:


Fortunately, they found me. We stuck around for a while, but then headed back. Here's the Bean at night:

My class just got dismissed...I'll have to pick up later or let BB or the Mers continue!

"I went to find the Mers, who were in a crowd of approximately 8,487,699 beer-drinking people"
**********************

Truth is stranger than fiction and this is one of those times, because the Mers--brace yourselves here--did not have a beer. In the midst of glorious music we were one note short. No beer!! Why, may you ask? Because el cheapo Mermy was still in shock at having paid $6 only hours before at O'Callahan's Pub for one miserable little beer. Horrors. A dollar more than even Bud & Alley's and no sunset to compensate. Thank goodness for NoHall's "party room," which despite declarations that it was "for the view," wasn't. It was because of all of us, she was the only one blessed with a fridge. For Mermaid's beer, of course.

"I went to find the Mers, who were in a crowd of approximately 8,487,699 beer-drinking people"
**********************

Truth is stranger than fiction and this is one of those times, because the Mers--brace yourselves here--did not have a beer. In the midst of glorious music we were one note short. No beer!! Why, may you ask? Because el cheapo Mermy was still in shock at having paid $6 only hours before at O'Callahan's Pub for one miserable little beer. Horrors. A dollar more than even Bud & Alley's and no sunset to compensate. Thank goodness for NoHall's "party room," which despite declarations that it was "for the view," wasn't. It was because of all of us, she was the only one blessed with a fridge. For Mermaid's beer, of course.

I am not surprised in the least. :funn:

I am not surprised in the least. :funn:

You know me well!!!

But back to business. We all had a fabulous time in the city. It's all kind of a blur now because for three days straight we were on the run. Here. There. Everywhere. There was no holding us down! Some hightlights--NoHall and BB went on an arichtectural river cruise and later, to the Field Museum. I heard that someone took someone on a verrrrrrrry long scenic hike to the Field. Which is very fitting (though the someone with the tired feet could claim otherwise) because the Field Museum is all about the natural sciences. I know a few SoWallers who saw the scenic Grant Park, the majestic Buckingham Fountain, the sparkling waters of Lake Michigan and more all on their very own Chicago nature hike.

Merman and I took the #6 express bus down to the south side of the city to a juried art fair on the edge of the University of Chicago campus. Beautiful neighborhood and even more beautiful campus. We bought some pottery at the fair, then toured the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House, visited the Smart Museum of Art at U of C, attended a gala concert at the Rockerfeller Campus celebrating the restoration of their organ and carillon, ate at the beloved-by-generations-of-students Woodlawn Tap (where one overstuffed rueben sandwich, large plate of fries and two pints cost....$12 ), all before taking the double-decker electric train back to the Magnificent Mile. You can understand why the trip is a little blurry because at that point we hadn't even gotten together to compare the day's notes and head out for dinner!!! go go go

Great reporting, but wtf has happened to your font, Mermy?

Great reporting, but wtf has happened to your font, Mermy?

Love the reports, Mermy and NoHall.

Great reporting, but wtf has happened to your font, Mermy?

Oh, you didn't catch the part where I said the Chicago trip was all a blur??

Oh, you didn't catch the part where I said the Chicago trip was all a blur??

...I ALMOST went and looked for some reading glasses!

You know me well!!!

I heard that someone took someone on a verrrrrrrry long scenic hike to the Field. Which is very fitting (though the someone with the tired feet could claim otherwise) because the Field Museum is all about the natural sciences. I know a few SoWallers who saw the scenic Grant Park, the majestic Buckingham Fountain, the sparkling waters of Lake Michigan and more all on their very own Chicago nature hike.

Why does this sound familiar as well.

Ok, where's the most important picture?

enjoying the recap! Your font looks like an old fashioned typewriter!

Grrrr....I just deleted part of my trip report.

After the Blues Festival, the Mers took me to the InterContinental Hotel, which is decorated beautifully. I wish you could see it, but I can't find any pictures of the inside. Moorish-ness, Camelot-ishness, and Renaissance-y stuff. I could see the outside from my room--it's the one with the gold onion on the top.

The Birmingham Bunch finally showed up at 10:30 and FFF took us for pizza at a place that was closed. So we had Italian Beef and the like at 11:00. Yum! (It was very filling!)

We went to the Billy Goat for Breakfast, which was a great experience. One member of our party ordered a cheeseburger, and was told, Soup-Nazi fashion, that she could only have a double cheese.


Then we went on the aforementioned architectural boat tour, which was one of the coolest things EVER. I can't begin to remember all that the wonderful guide told us or post all the pictures, but we started at the base of the Wrigley Building:


This was next door to Trump's newest ode to his own wealth. I was able to monitor the progress of the back of the building from my room as well:

We also were properly introduced to the Tribune Building, a gorgeous piece of Gothic architecture with pieces of other great buildings (the pyramids, the Vatican, Edinburgh Castle, the Parthenon, etc.) embedded in its base:


We got to see the Sears Tower on the way, as well:


These are known to the locals as the "corncobs:"


The Merchandise Mart is so ridiculously large that I can't even remember how ridiculously large it is:


My former boss kept telling me that I needed to see 333 Wacker Drive because of the way it curves with the river. (I hear that's called "contextualism.")



The Opera House has its back defiantly toward New York:


And this is the view from the beginning/end of the tour:


I have to admit that I didn't take any of these pictures. The FF (who really needs a new name) took them and I ganked them from him. Somebody once told me that I should never take pictures without people in them, and I took that a little too seriously. I never take pictures without people in them and then wish I had pictures like these.

The next leg of our journey requires a whole new set of stolen pictures, but first I need to do a little packing for my trip tomorrow.

(And don't believe Mermy--any room that I inhabit is the party room. :funn

Well, glad you made it safe. Turbulence and planes dont sit too well with me..

I am ready for the good stuff...like what you and BB and ? did...spill it!!

Um...sorry. No trips to Tiffany's (we did walk right by it, though.) Oh, well. But I had a really good time with a really good travel buddy...we don't have to get married for him to take me to New Zealand--I'm a modern girl...

FTLOG! That picture is as big as your room! :shock:

And it's bigger than the rooms the rest of you had!

Why does this not sound familiar as well.

Ok, where's the most important picture?

No no no!! I have an alibi. It wasn't me who took no prisoners on the green grass of Chicago!! I was on the #6 bus heading south!!!

(Miss Kitty, for you, back to the regular programming, er, font)

We did the coolest thing ever on Sunday morning. A foodie tour:

http://www.chicagofoodplanet.com/

Nearly three miles and more than three hours long, a culinary trip off the beaten path. Eight stops along the way to sample the best food Chicago has to offer!! It was heavenly.

Actually, it really WAS heavenly! As in one-third of the way through and the heavens opened up. It all happened in an instant. One minute we were happily walking along with our tour guide and the next minute the winds whipped up off the lake and torrents of rain poured down upon us. We scurried for shelter under some scaffolding along a building, congratulating ourselves at being so clever as to outwit Mother Nature. Too soon! The rain came too fast and furious and the thin boards above our heads were no match for Mama. We were soaked through and through. We couldn't have dived into the lake itself and been any wetter. And it was coooooold. We went from sweating in the sultry heat to shaking in the wet wind. NoHall and BB were sensible and bailed while Merman and I, gluttons for punishment, soldiered on soaking wet after the rains subsided.

I told NoHall that every trip needs a reason to return and going back to Chicago to finish that glorious foodie tour is one of them. We literally ate our way through the northside neighborhoods. We stopped at a pizza place, a tea shop, a chocolate lounge, a celebrity catering business and more. And everywhere we went we learned a little bit and ate a little bit. Sampling the wares was never better than on a foodie tour.

Mermy skipped ahead on me. I insist on giving every gory detail in order! (I'll tell y'all later how much I hated bailing out but why it was completely necessary...)

We got off the boat and looked at the map. The next stop was the Chicago Field Museum, which can be seen from the Yacht Club on the other side of Millenium Park. (See post #5) I wanted to show them the Mirror Bean and the Pritzger Pavilion on the way. (Also in post #5) It didn't look like it was very far.

Turns out that some of us like walking more than others of us, and for that I wholeheartedly apologize.

Our chaperones abandoned us at the Field Museum because 1) we were bound and determined to see every bit of natural history that we paid to see (we're not so much romantic as really, really cheap) and 2) we wanted to walk back.

The Museum was rully cool.



The view of the city and the shore was wonderful.



Inside was spectacular, too.


The thing I was excited to see was the Tsavo lions. They ate a lot of people, and were the subject of the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness," which was a great means of watching Val Kilmer for 2 hours. (He's hot.)


We stopped to see the Buckingham Fountain on the way back (after we had found a place to watch the horse race.)

(I didn't take any of these pictures, either.)

I traced our route roughly here. It wasn't that far...sheesh...:roll:

After we got back and I got my preliminary tongue-lashing from the chaperones (apparently I will continue to get these tongue-lashings until the end of time) we got cleaned up and went to eat some deep dish pizza that is still lodged somewhere in my system. (But it was really, really good! )

I wanted to go to the Hancock Building that night, but the old people wanted to go to bed. Oh, well.

The final part of the trip will be reported as soon as I find my bathing suit and toothbrush.

Kudos to the photographer, they are great photos. What hotel did you stay in, I got dizzy just looking at your view from the camera.

Great trip report. Glad you had a great time.
Wonderful pictures, too. (I know the area well. ;-))
.

>>After we got back and I got my preliminary tongue-lashing from the chaperones (apparently I will continue to get these tongue-lashings until the end of time) we got cleaned up and went to eat some deep dish pizza that is still lodged somewhere in my system. (But it was really, really good! )<<
******************

NoHall, if BB gives you any more tongue-lashings about making her walk to the ends of the earth, you can remind her that her poor tired worn-out abused footsies were amply rewarded by the subsequent Nordstrom shopping trip that produced those fabulouso pink Donald Pliners.

more more!!!

Yes, what hotel were yall in??

more more!!!

Yes, what hotel were yall in??

34th, 36th, and 38th floors of the Marriott on the Magnificent Mile. We all had different views though NoHall's was hands-down the best. Which is as it should have been, seeing that it was her very first visit to beautiful Chicago.

Thanks for sharing the photos, I really must get up there sometime. I have a dear friend who has lived there for years, they own a seat on the Chicago Board of Trade. But just never made the trip.

This might inspire me.

Kudos to the photographer, they are great photos. What hotel did you stay in, I got dizzy just looking at your view from the camera.

The Future Fiance (I guess he might cave in and marry somebody someday...) took a LOT of pictures. We were at the Marriott on Michigan Avenue.

The last chapter, and then I must go to bed:

After a wonderful, pizza-induced sleep we got up Sunday morning and packed up our stuff. Our flights didn't leave until early evening, but we had to check out of our rooms. FFF was still at his seminar, so we put the bags in storage at the hotel.

It was a beautiful morning, and our foodie tour started north of the hotel on Michigan Avenue across from the Hancock Building. We had a wonderful breakfast in a little restaurant at the bottom. I still didn't get to go up, but that will be a good thing to do next time. No less than three of my male co-workers all gave me explicit instructions to go up to the Signature Lounge on the top floor. I asked why it was so important, and they told me that the views were great and (I'm not making this up) it was a perfect place to wear a little black dress. (These are teachers at a military school, remember! )



Before the tour, I walked with the FF and Merman to the Lamborghini dealership to see some mid-life crises waiting to happen. It was across from a Catholic Seminary. Worlds do collide sometimes.




The start of the tour was around the corner from Filene's Basement, which has a lovely view of the old water towers from the women's shoe department:



We went back toward the Hancock Building and around the corner of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, which has a 3-year waiting list for weddings. I guess if you can survive an engagement that long, the marriage might stand a chance:



From there we walked to Chicago's Gold Coast, which features the Viagra triangle. Apparently when the old rich dudes emerge from their Lamborghinis and Maseratis on the weekends, they are attacked by hoards of younger women whose intentions are probably completely honorable:


The Gold Coast had some beautiful homes--


Including the original Playboy Mansion, which was later donated to the Art Institute and became a freshman dorm. I'm not making this up, either. (It is now a residential property.)


It started to sprinkle while we were there, and we were able to get around the corner and under some scaffolding. (We were across the street from a house that had undergone a $26 million-dollar renovation...egad...) Scaffolding will only protect one from a limited amount of rainfall, in case you've ever wondered. I think I would have been dryer had I been hit with a fire hose. I had my purse (with my camera and my phone) squished between me and FF, who was being squished from behind by BB, and both the purse and FF were still soaked.

We were literally dripping. BB had a look on her face that was similar to this:


She stepped inside an apartment building to call a cab and the doorman gave her the same look. But we had a plane to catch later and had to see about digging our dry clothes out of our stored suitcases and finding a place to change into them.

After an uncomfortably long and cold wait, we found a cab with the smelliest driver in all Christendom. We went back to the hotel and they graciously allowed us to change in the fitness center (which had a sauna, which is very pleasant after being unexpectedly cold and wet.) By then FFF was finished with his class, so he picked us up and we went on to the Art Institute.

There are a lot of pictures, and the FF took lots of pictures of them, but my favorite is still the one in my avatar, which is a small section of Seurat's Sunday on La Grande Jatte. (If you've ever seen Ferris Beuller's Day Off, you'll remember that Cameron liked this picture, too.)


We all went to the airport after that (very nice that I didn't have to take the El back by myself) and FFF was kind enough to ask me if I wanted some ice cream. My two favorite food groups are 1) chocolate and 2) ice cream, and he brought me back a 5-gallon bucket (okay, I am making that up!) of brownie, hot fudge, chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, and nuts. That is the first time in my entire life that I have ever been unable to finish a chocolate ice cream dessert, but the FF (who is a health nut, incidentally) was chivalrous enough to step in and help me with it. Maybe it's true love after all.

My flight home was perfect, and now I'm exhausted. I'm headed to an inferior beach in the morning, and will have little or no internet service. Given my long absences from SoWal this week, I hope I've provided you all with enough reading material to last you until Friday night!

~love~

So a friend sent me this video, apparently NoHall didn't want to tip the Valet...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8-RjDXb7qs"]YouTube - Car Flies into Chicago River[/ame]