Chicago, The Windy City, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Peter Sagal

Hi,

My first time (9/8-9/10) in Chicago. Loved it. BTW, in case you didn't know, the reason for Chicago's other name being Windy City has to do with the its 1893 World's Fair. I had come to know this on NPR a few years back. Lest I offend my new friends I don't want to go into the details. Of course, Chicago is also known as the "city that works" and I think I can see why. Also, its public art is amazing.

Went to see the taping of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell me!" on 9/9 at the Chase Auditorium. As per expectation, it was outrageous. Mayor Daley had just announced that he wouldn't be running for election again, and this gave the host Peter Sagal much opening fodder for the show.

Took a lot of photos and some test video on my new Smartphone (Dash 3G by HTC--a fab machine that streams all my audio, including from Youtube to my car radio! a feature important to me) and here are the stills (the amazing Lincoln Park Conservatory, the skyline from the tour boat in River Chicago, Millennium Park art work, and the zoo):

http://picasaweb.google.com/rohinir171/ChicagoSeptember8102010?feat=email#

And the very, very short videos (same thing as above):
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XJ5bieHsHU
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U-r3ZZCwR8
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF28jdbX8_4
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXySoUS4oNU
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=448M5IOURHY

I have a few friends from the Midwest and so I have experienced the Midwestern hospitality first hand and when I was in Chicago my experience was no different. Of course, what they sell as panini bread in their restaurants is just the regular Italian bread. Sorry, I had to vent about this. My first brush with their helpfulness came when I felt lost on the subway and had to figure out quickly how to get to where I wanted to go. The help came in the form of Meghen, a young, ex-military employee, now making a new life for herself in Chicgao, her hometown. For my sake, she, actually, chose to get off at my stop and walk to her stop a few blocks away. That evening we met for dinner at Pasta Bowl near Lincoln Park, and which is where though my sandwich was good, the bread was really not Panini!

I stayed at the Chicago Getaway Hostel, conveniently located near some major attractions like the zoo and even the Loop. Normally, I like staying at B&B's but after doing some careful research based on certain criteria I had in mind, I booked a room at this hostel. It turned out to be a lively place with much ambiance and was abuzz with a lively and mostly young crowd. Free computers and free printing facilities, a parlor, big-screen TV, a large dining room, pool table, a large kitchen, a lovely lobby, a large paved backyard with tables and benches and the facility to store your luggage free after you check out made this hostel a real winner in my book.

It's not a ritzy place, but perfect for a bohemian like me. I had a private room with a private bath, etc. and an amazing view of the Chicago skyline, which is one of the pictures I've posted above. The large silhouettes on the wall of my Spartan room were unusual and caught my attention. On the wall were silhouettes of four men--three of them sporting the popular, mid-century Guerra hat and one a police officer's. The largest figure overlording the action evoked Alfred Hitchcock though the belly was not overly over sized, then there was a policeman in the background looking at what was going on, which was two other men were pouring a liquid into a manhole. It certainly looked like a crime scene and I thought I was on to something and therefore my guess that the large man was Hitchcock must have been. However, my new friend Meghan mentioned Al Capone and this is when I connected all the dots. The scene on the wall had to do with the glory days during Prohibition and the liquid being poured into the manhole was bootlegged liquor.

During my three-day stay, I met a couple of adventurous young women: Helen (her ancestors were Japanese) was an engineer in the Brazilian government and the Vanessa, who eventually, plans to become a mid-wife but was in town to interview for a job as a nanny to two small boys whose mother worked from home. Vanessa used to live in Columbus, Ohio.

I bought some orange juice from a store nearby and kept it in the fridge with my name on it. It came in handy.

The continental breakfast served by the hostel is adequate but there is no juice (though there were bananas, apples and oranges) or milk even for your coffee. Coffee by the way is excellent.

All in all, it was a memorable trip.

Later.

Ciao!