A Foot-tour of Chicago

What a day. What a day. What a day.

The day started with a nice breakfast at the hotel, followed by a lovely conversation with a sweetheart of a lass I met at the Blue Agaverestaurant (the one on N. State St.) Wednesday night. Her name's Karen and she's a bartender there. Wednesday night she thought she might be able to join me today for sight-seeing around Chicago. Sadly, she got a case of conscience since her boyfriend is out of town. C'est la vie. 'Twould have been only sight seeing, but she figured her guy wouldn't like it much. I couldn't blame him, really. She's a cutie and a delightful person.

After that, the walking began and went all day. Seems like I walked all over Chicago. I started at my hotel, the Hilton Chicago, walked down to the Buckingham Fountain and stopped to listen to a gospel choir sing gospel Beethoven -- or at least what they think Beethoven would have sounded like if he'd been black (that's a quote, btw ;-). It was clever and fun. And the choir was quite good.

Then I walked over to the Museum Campus. I stayed a couple of hours at the Adler Planetarium, then I headed for the Shedd Aquarium. Sadly, they were only open for another hour, or so. Having seen other aquaria (like Epcot's Living Seas and Sea World's Shark Encounter), I decided to forgo Shedd for the Field Museum of Natural History (they have the world's largest, most-complete and best-preserved skeleton of a T-Rex named "Sue"). Sadly, they'd already stopped admitting visitors. I'll have to call on Sue another time.... :-(

Btw, Sue fetched $8.7 million at auction. That's a lot to pay for some dusty old bones, eh?

Since I could hang out with Sue, I decided to hike to the Navy Pier. What a kick that was. Talk about tourist overload. I think everyone who was visiting Chicago decided to hit the Pier.

While I was there, I caught the The Matrix, Reloaded at the IMAXtheater after which I ate dinner at Joe's Be-Bop Cafe and Jazz Emporium.

Being pressed for time (it was 10:30 when I started back to the hotel), I caught a cab instead of walking back to the hotel. If I weren't leaving so early, I would have completed my walking tour afoot. Next time, I will.

Well, I have to go. I have to catch a 6 AM flight out of O'Hare and have to be out of the hotel by 4 am. So, I want to catch a couple winks before then.

Chicago is a rockin' burg. I really do have to make it back here sometime. Maybe Karen will be single, then... hehehe

Btw, as nearly as I can tell, I walked about six miles... ;-)

Verekai! on Friday!

I didn't think to make an entry for this on Friday: I went to see the Cirque de Soleil traveling show, Verekai! (in French) -- after a late lunch at the Frontera Grill!

Oh...

My...

GAWD!

I've seen La Nouba (the French version) the permanent show in Orlando, three times. I think La Nouba remains my favorite, however, Verekai! was an exhilarating feast for the senses. The performers were amazing, the music was mesmerizing, the vocalists were awesome and the make-up and costumes were inspired. All-in-all, Verekai! was a remarkable experience, that could be enjoyed many times without losing its luster.

HIGHLY recommended!

In Chicago

Chicago, "Chi-Town," "Windy City." I'm here... and it's a fun place. Great town. Great eats (in fact, I've been to the Frontera Grill three times). Good people.

I could learn to really like this place! ;-)

I came here for the ACFE Fraud Conference, representing Visual Analytics, and stayed a couple extra days to see the city. Great choice, I must say!

We'll I'm off to see the sites. More later!