My Weekend, Let Me Tell You About It.
Jun. 25th, 2012 02:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apple_pathwaysWeekend in Chicago was fun!
The road trip there and back was very successful and stress-free, except for the point on the way home when the machine at the toll booth ate our $5.00 bill, the attendants had no idea WTF to do about it (apparently, just giving us our $5.00 back wasn't an option), and some middle-aged douchebag decided to play Big Damn Hero and put an additional $1.50 in for us (despite my explicitly telling him not to), effectively screwing us out of our money. (Had he not done that, they could have printed us a receipt to get our money back? IDEK.)
OTHERWISE: very good road trip. I got to do most of the driving, which I like. We took my friend's husband's car, which is a GIGANTIC Chrysler 300 touring car. Behold:
So, three women driving around in the sort of car that rappers would buy and put spinny rims on. Since both my friends were afraid of driving around the city, I got to play thug and captain this monstrous boat. Excellent.
Spent Friday night touring the hipster side of the city with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
evilhippo, and then spent the night in the spacious and delightful accommodations that are Chez Hippo. (Thanks again for putting me up!) I also got to experience the Shakespearean side of Chicago on the journey home when a particularly dramatic man shouted "...makes me THROB!" (never did find out just what makes him throb...) and managed to freak out some native Chicagoans when I actually chose to sit next to the crazy man who was loudly talking to himself. (Hey: he didn't smell, which is my first criterion for public transportaion seat mates, and a chance to sit down is not to be passed up.)
Quoth my new friend: I a flame, a Phoenix--a burning torch! She a wolverine. ROWRR! *cat swipe*
Then began the outrageously expensive portion of my day.
We had breakfast, which was yummy, then I went back to the hotel to shower and dress while my friends did a little shopping. (VERY happy to have this little bit of the day to myself!)
We met up with the other revellers, and then had a really yummy sushi lunch at Friends Sushi. I had a summer roll, with white tuna, cilantro, and a bit of lime, and it was very aptly-named: refreshing and very summery.
At some point, we'd managed to waste most of the day, and had very little time at the Art Institute of Chicago. (Plus side: one girl's sister-in-law is a member, and so we had passes to get in for free.) I finally managed to drag everyone over to the Roy Lichtenstein retrospective about 20 minutes before the museum closed, and it was rushed, but well worth it!
Some highlights:
Dinner was at Nellcôte. Food is served tapas-style, so we all had little bites of a bunch of different dishes. The best: a saffron rissoto; homemade spaghetti with a spicy, crunchy sauce; two different cuts of lamb served with marrow; Alaskan halibut; and the bread. Their gimmick is that they mill their own flour. Yummy!
In the evening, we went to a drag show at The Baton Lounge. It was your classic drag show with lip-synching and outrageous outfits. Some of the acts were great, with amazing choreography and stage presence. Some of them mainly consisted of the queen walking back and forth across the stage collecting dollar bills while Lady Gaga blared in the background.
I was only appalled and upset once or twice. (When people tried to put the money in the act's cleavage or mouth, or tried to tease them with the dollar bill. I know most people look at it as part of the experience, but I find it demeaning. You do not get to demean another human being because you're going to give them a dollar. If I ever went to a strip club, my head would explode. I doubt many would make it out alive...)
Back to the hotel for presents and penis cake then.
In the morning, we had dinner at the hotel, where I did my best to not complain loudly about paying close to $10.00 for a bagel and a cup of coffee (I...failed) then we went to beach across the street. (Those who follow me on Twitter know our hotel overlooked Lake Michigan and Navy Pier!) Beach was lovely, and so relaxing! I only got a bit sunburned.
Then drive home, complete with asshole in SUV who thinks he's the boss of the world.
THEN Billy Bragg concert in Ann Arbor withplanejane! It was a great show, about which I should say more, but I'll leave that for another time.
Whew. How was everyone else's weekend?
The road trip there and back was very successful and stress-free, except for the point on the way home when the machine at the toll booth ate our $5.00 bill, the attendants had no idea WTF to do about it (apparently, just giving us our $5.00 back wasn't an option), and some middle-aged douchebag decided to play Big Damn Hero and put an additional $1.50 in for us (despite my explicitly telling him not to), effectively screwing us out of our money. (Had he not done that, they could have printed us a receipt to get our money back? IDEK.)
OTHERWISE: very good road trip. I got to do most of the driving, which I like. We took my friend's husband's car, which is a GIGANTIC Chrysler 300 touring car. Behold:
So, three women driving around in the sort of car that rappers would buy and put spinny rims on. Since both my friends were afraid of driving around the city, I got to play thug and captain this monstrous boat. Excellent.
Spent Friday night touring the hipster side of the city with
evilhippo, and then spent the night in the spacious and delightful accommodations that are Chez Hippo. (Thanks again for putting me up!) I also got to experience the Shakespearean side of Chicago on the journey home when a particularly dramatic man shouted "...makes me THROB!" (never did find out just what makes him throb...) and managed to freak out some native Chicagoans when I actually chose to sit next to the crazy man who was loudly talking to himself. (Hey: he didn't smell, which is my first criterion for public transportaion seat mates, and a chance to sit down is not to be passed up.)Quoth my new friend: I a flame, a Phoenix--a burning torch! She a wolverine. ROWRR! *cat swipe*
Then began the outrageously expensive portion of my day.
We had breakfast, which was yummy, then I went back to the hotel to shower and dress while my friends did a little shopping. (VERY happy to have this little bit of the day to myself!)
We met up with the other revellers, and then had a really yummy sushi lunch at Friends Sushi. I had a summer roll, with white tuna, cilantro, and a bit of lime, and it was very aptly-named: refreshing and very summery.
At some point, we'd managed to waste most of the day, and had very little time at the Art Institute of Chicago. (Plus side: one girl's sister-in-law is a member, and so we had passes to get in for free.) I finally managed to drag everyone over to the Roy Lichtenstein retrospective about 20 minutes before the museum closed, and it was rushed, but well worth it!
Some highlights:
Dinner was at Nellcôte. Food is served tapas-style, so we all had little bites of a bunch of different dishes. The best: a saffron rissoto; homemade spaghetti with a spicy, crunchy sauce; two different cuts of lamb served with marrow; Alaskan halibut; and the bread. Their gimmick is that they mill their own flour. Yummy!
In the evening, we went to a drag show at The Baton Lounge. It was your classic drag show with lip-synching and outrageous outfits. Some of the acts were great, with amazing choreography and stage presence. Some of them mainly consisted of the queen walking back and forth across the stage collecting dollar bills while Lady Gaga blared in the background.
I was only appalled and upset once or twice. (When people tried to put the money in the act's cleavage or mouth, or tried to tease them with the dollar bill. I know most people look at it as part of the experience, but I find it demeaning. You do not get to demean another human being because you're going to give them a dollar. If I ever went to a strip club, my head would explode. I doubt many would make it out alive...)
Back to the hotel for presents and penis cake then.
In the morning, we had dinner at the hotel, where I did my best to not complain loudly about paying close to $10.00 for a bagel and a cup of coffee (I...failed) then we went to beach across the street. (Those who follow me on Twitter know our hotel overlooked Lake Michigan and Navy Pier!) Beach was lovely, and so relaxing! I only got a bit sunburned.
Then drive home, complete with asshole in SUV who thinks he's the boss of the world.
THEN Billy Bragg concert in Ann Arbor with
planejane! It was a great show, about which I should say more, but I'll leave that for another time.Whew. How was everyone else's weekend?