(no subject)

[jhollywood]

Of the two, I am liking the Chicago W City Center better than the Chicago W Lakeshore. Both have great beds. I stayed at the Lakeshore first and the crowd in the bar/restaurant/lobby was a little (ok, waaay) too glamorous for me, and their business center sucks. The one thing the place really had going for it was a fantastic view of Lake Michigan. I was amused by the fact that from their room service menu one could order strawberries with whipped cream and chocolate, which also came with plastic sheets and a disposable camera. Didn't order it though as I am traveling alone and it costs 50 bucks. The City Center has a much better location and it's all dark in the lobby (which I really like), has a very friendly staff, and the internet is free. My room's almost half the size of my apartment and the bathroom is humongous -- there must be 15 feet between the toilet and the bathtub. In general I really like Chicago. Today due to a serendipitous El navigation error I had a late lunch at a place called Russian Tea Time. They make their own flavored vodkas so I tried a flight of cranberry (much sweeter than say, Absolut Cranberry), coriander (ok, but too perfume-y) and horseradish (loved it, I want to take a vat of it home with me), along with a "lamb samsa" which was lamb, onions and spices in a little puff pastry which was really tasty. Last night I ate at Piece, which my guide described as "New Haven style" pizza. N.H.-style my ass! It wasn't bad, but it was nowhere near Sally's or Peppy's territory. But what can you expect in the land of deep dish pizza?
I do miss Aleks.
Tomorrow morning I finish the library conference then fly to Honolulu by way of Minneapolis.
On Saturday begins the grueling Honolulu - Tokyo - Singapore flight. Thank god and Dr. Tessoro for ambien!