Chicago. Part 1.
Greetings from the Windy City! Our time here in Chicago in the last 48 hours has been marked by a series of adventures and good spirits. A quick rundown of our time thus far...
Wednesday
After checking into our luxurious hotel, we visited the Elite Member Lounge (of which we have access to during our stay, thanks Papa McCoy!) for free internet, appetizers every evening from 5:30-7:30, dessert every evening from 7:30-10:00 and a gourmet breakfast every morning. It's a wonderful perk for being part of the in-crowd with Marriott and I'm grateful we get to take advantage of it for a few days. We are staying right on Michigan Ave in the heart of downtown across the street from Nordstrum's and the shopping district. Fantastic! After deciding the bell hop would probably give us a more accurate appraisal of good food to hit up over the Concierge, we took his recommendation and enjoyed an amazing Thai meal before returning for the evening to prep for interviews and relax.
Thursday
I took my time Thursday morning enjoying a late breakfast and relaxing before heading to Placement aka the zoo. There are 1150 candidates interviewing with 400 institutions thru Sunday and between the mailbox rooms, the work rooms, the interview rooms, and the food court, the place was a packed house! I had two interviews yesterday and both went well. I was invited for a second interview with both but after some soul searching, decided to only accept one of the invitations.
Last night, we visited the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the Institute's FREE Thursdays. Every Thursday, thanks to Target, the museum is open to the general public for free viewing from 530-830p. We had an amazing time walking the museum and checking out the works of Monet, Degas, Jackson-Pollock, Frank Lloyd Wright, and more. It was awesome. We were not as successful in selecting our dinner spot (no bell hop recommendations to go on) and ended up at a Mexican restaurant that served straight tequila which they called Margaritas (the upside) and some less than desirable food (the downside).
Last night also marked my first experience riding the subway system of Chicago. I gotta say, people are movers and shakers and I felt on a few occasions that if I didn't move out the way, I'd be trampled!
Today
I had two more successful (in my opinion) interviews this morning before meeting up with an old friend from the Admissions circuit for lunch at Corner Bakery (yum!) Afterward, Catie and I did a bit of shopping, had our picture taken with an actual Oscar (which I'll have you know weighs A TON), enjoyed some spirits in the hotel bar, and are now waiting for our compadre to return from his interviews to discuss dinner plans!
We are free tomorrow and hope to visit the Field Museum and perhaps Navy Pier. All in all, a great trip to Chi-town thus far.
Cheers!
Wednesday
After checking into our luxurious hotel, we visited the Elite Member Lounge (of which we have access to during our stay, thanks Papa McCoy!) for free internet, appetizers every evening from 5:30-7:30, dessert every evening from 7:30-10:00 and a gourmet breakfast every morning. It's a wonderful perk for being part of the in-crowd with Marriott and I'm grateful we get to take advantage of it for a few days. We are staying right on Michigan Ave in the heart of downtown across the street from Nordstrum's and the shopping district. Fantastic! After deciding the bell hop would probably give us a more accurate appraisal of good food to hit up over the Concierge, we took his recommendation and enjoyed an amazing Thai meal before returning for the evening to prep for interviews and relax.
Thursday
I took my time Thursday morning enjoying a late breakfast and relaxing before heading to Placement aka the zoo. There are 1150 candidates interviewing with 400 institutions thru Sunday and between the mailbox rooms, the work rooms, the interview rooms, and the food court, the place was a packed house! I had two interviews yesterday and both went well. I was invited for a second interview with both but after some soul searching, decided to only accept one of the invitations.
Last night, we visited the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the Institute's FREE Thursdays. Every Thursday, thanks to Target, the museum is open to the general public for free viewing from 530-830p. We had an amazing time walking the museum and checking out the works of Monet, Degas, Jackson-Pollock, Frank Lloyd Wright, and more. It was awesome. We were not as successful in selecting our dinner spot (no bell hop recommendations to go on) and ended up at a Mexican restaurant that served straight tequila which they called Margaritas (the upside) and some less than desirable food (the downside).
Last night also marked my first experience riding the subway system of Chicago. I gotta say, people are movers and shakers and I felt on a few occasions that if I didn't move out the way, I'd be trampled!
Today
I had two more successful (in my opinion) interviews this morning before meeting up with an old friend from the Admissions circuit for lunch at Corner Bakery (yum!) Afterward, Catie and I did a bit of shopping, had our picture taken with an actual Oscar (which I'll have you know weighs A TON), enjoyed some spirits in the hotel bar, and are now waiting for our compadre to return from his interviews to discuss dinner plans!
We are free tomorrow and hope to visit the Field Museum and perhaps Navy Pier. All in all, a great trip to Chi-town thus far.Cheers!
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