We got up on our own, by that I mean no alarm, love that. I actually woke up before everyone at the ungodly hour of 4am, why…why why, why Delilah? I don’t know! And I’m sorry for the ear worm! I do love that song! And I do love Tom Jones, who doesn’t?! Back to it, I woke up stupid early, so I practiced my Italian and thought about the day ahead of us.
Everyone was eventually up, we took showers, got dressed, straightened up the house, loaded up the bikes, set out for gas and breakfast, which for some…could give you gas, ha ha, sorry! We went to White Mountain Bagel Company. This was the beginning of Laconia Bike Week, the world’s oldest bike week, at 101 years old this year, imagine! That being said, as we were pulling into Lincoln, NH last night, the bikes were on their way in and this morning, even more so, and it’s going to get even more crowded as the week progresses, good time to get out!
We headed out on the road, we were going to take the Kancamagus Highway, also known as New Hampshire Route 112, it’s 56+ miles of highway that winds across the state, connecting Bath to Conway through the heart of the scenic and mountainous White Mountain National Forest. Stunning scenery, and the Kancamagus is truly a fabulous road to ride. Not everyone does all of it, but apparently I did a few years ago! When I started riding in NH with PSM and friends. It’s also not the easiest road to ride, I didn’t know that, so…. of course, I looked for a shirt that says ‘I conquered the Kanc!’ can’t find one, go figure, might have to make my own!
We pulled over at one point to discuss the next leg of the trip and there was a crash, boom, crack…thunder and lightening, I suggested we get across the street under some cover at the gas station and just as we did, the sky opened up and dumped on us! The rain was coming down so hard, within seconds, you can see it rushing out of the downspout! On went the rain gear, goody!
We rode most of the way to Bar Harbor, or Bah Habah I called it yesterday, in the rain, fun. The rain finally stopped, but it was still cold and wet, my feet were ffreeezzing! I really do need waterproof/leather motorcycle boots! We made it to the Edenbrook Motel, drenched, but happy. Even riding in the rain is better because you’re riding…sort of.
We got into the rooms, there was a very, I mean very hot shower in my future! Everyone else was not too far out and once they got there, we decided to meet by the office to head down together to dinner. I have to say, I prefer a hotel, but…one of the nice things about motels is that for the ones we are staying at, when you ride a motorcycle, you can park right outside of your room, you don’t have to climb stairs carrying your stuff, bonus!
We met at the office, hugs all around, meet and greet two new people for us, hang out a bit, talk about how cold we still are, but looking forward to the evening and this trip! No Uber in Bar Harbor, so taxi it is! They could get 8 comfortably in the taxi, so I called a second taxi while we waited and they sent the taxi back for us, but our other taxi arrived a few moments later, very sweet!
We went down by the water, a five minute ride, and went to Paddy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant. It was in a prime location, looking out over the water, we were cozy at a large high-top table, had a great waiter and settled in for some food, drinks, and frivolity.
We told stories of past trips, got to know each other, and overall had a fabulous time at dinner. I think a sign of good things to come. One of the things we did discuss…who was getting up to watch the sunrise at the top of Cadillac Mountain?
That would be me, PSM, and CDH, he’s our ride captain, he put this trip together, he’s good like that! We work really well together, he plans the rides, I figure out meals, and hotels, we do together, mostly. I say that because for this trip, he found all the hotels, last year, it was a team effort. They don’t call me Julie McCoy for nothin’!
It was such a gorgeous evening, the rain had done some magic with the sky! Isn’t it beautiful! Oh my, I do love being on the water, sigh… After dinner a few folks went in search of ice cream, and the rest of us headed back to the hotel, we had an early morning coming!
So now, dear friends, my feet are starting to warm up, but I am going to say goodnight and pretend to try to sleep, I have to be up at 330am! But I cannot wait to see the sunrise and share pics with you!
Good night! [I tried to find a Bar Harbor phrase for goodnight, but came up empty!] Night!
Was that enough? Well…there is one thing I left out, but I will tell you about that in another post, promise! Let’s start with Saturday morning first thing.
We got up, no alarm, thank you very much! Headed downstairs to grab some food, ran into Uncle A, Auntie L was still asleep, he had already had breakfast, but stayed and sat with us while we had breakfast. We chatted, caught up, it was a lot quieter this morning than it was last night at Nacho Daddy, and of course we couldn’t talk during the show! Well, some of us had nodded off, so that would pose a problem for chatting!
PSM and I were heading to the place we always look for on our travels…an Indian Motorcycle Dealership, of course! We invited Uncle A, Auntie L, and dad, they were all in. I checked with SDL and J&S, they were all going to chill at the hotel and maybe go to the pool. Sounds good. So…we called an Uber, met in the lobby, went to pick up dad at the Paris Hotel & Casino and off we went to Sin City Indian Motorcycle, a very nice dealership and showroom. We hung out for a bit, looked at bikes, bought some t-shirts and we were good to go.
Order Uber. Back to the strip. On to the next adventure! Dropped off dad at Paris, he was going to see how friendly the tables were. PSM and I got off at the same hotel, Uncle A and Auntie L went on to the Mob Museum, National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement. It’s a great museum, in an old retired courthouse. You can rent it for weddings and other events, there is a distillery, and a speakeasy! I went years ago and really enjoyed it!
After we said goodbye to everyone, PSM and I hopped in a taxi and headed to the New York New York Hotel & Casino. I may have mentioned how much I love this hotel…I’m not that interested in the casino aspect, of any of the hotels really, not my thing, but the hotel itself, how they design it, how they style it, now that…I love. The Paris Hotel & Casino have a giant Eiffel Tower growing right up through the middle of it, you can to to the top, you can have dinner way up, the casino looks like Paris of the 20s, the restaurants are themed, it’s great!
New York New York holds a special place in my heart, being from there and all! But I just love the hotel, the casino is just fine, you’ve got different aspects of NYC, a nod to the Chrysler Building, there are man hole covers, shop fronts, the skyline, what more could you want?!
New York style eateries, that’s what you could want! When you head to the eateries, you’re right there in the alleys and back streets of NYC! You are transported, I promise, the street names, the lights, the wires, the lamp posts, the store fronts, all of it!
We went to one of my favorite places I discovered years ago, Greenberg’s NY Deli, part of the NY Eateries. It’s your average good, NYC, Jewish deli. The sandwiches are huge, the prices are ok, but the food is really good, and all sandwiches come with a pickle! PSM got corned beef and I got an egg salad sandwich, it was sooo good! Oh, we also had Dr Brown’s Sodas. As the slogan says, Drink One, You’ll Understand. PSM will have different flavors, I am a Black Cherry only kind of gal, and I’m ok with it! Soda is on my no-no list, so when I treat myself, I treat myself and it’s hard for me to pass up a Dr Brown’s soda! There was also a black & white cookie, some people call them half-moons, but they will always be black & white cookies to me! I prefer the more cookie version versus the cakey version, but it’s all up to the individual. We couldn’t finish it, so we got it to go! It was nice to share this experience with PSM.
We headed back to the hotel to get ready for something…not telling at the moment, but… after the something, PSM, SDL, Miss A, S&J, and I all walked down the street from the restaurant to Freemont Street, in the evenings, it turns into the Freemont Street Experience, a giant party, great for people watching!
Freemont Street itself, is where Las Vegas began, it’s considered Old Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Strip is New Las Vegas, as it were. A little history: The street was first established in 1905 as the center of the fledgling city where business and pleasure came together. Fremont Street was a busy travel route, with Las Vegas’ first train station just a few steps away, so it catered to travelers looking for a place to relax and unwind.
It’s wonderful to see it during the day, less people, and you get get a sense of it, at night, with, well, it seems like everyone not on the Strip, is at Freemont Street! But.. at night, aside from the people watching, you have the signs, the bright, lit up neon signs for the hotels, the businesses, and everything! I recommend it highly, but if you don’t like people, not a great fit! Just be prepared! Oh, and hang on to your wallets, I was told there were not so nice people who might decide they need your wallet more than you!
We started to walk through and take in all the sights, Miss A was loving on the music. We walked as close together as possible, just so we didn’t lose each other! Then we found out there was a free concert tonight! Seether was going to be playing. If you’re not familiar with Seether, they are a rock band from South Africa, Fake It is a song you may know. I like Seether, they are not everyone’s cup o’ tea, as it were.
We listened to one song, then headed out towards a less crowded area so we could get an Uber back to the hotel. Along the way, we saw a Bonafede fight, this guy was hitting on this gal, the other guy didn’t like that and threw the first punch, then they were on the ground punching the crud out of each other, fun! By the time we started to look for a cop, they were already on it. Yup, exciting!
Back in an Uber, back to Planet Hollywood, drop off and say goodbye to J, they were leaving in the morning, PSM, his brother S, SDL, Miss A and I went across the street to watch the Bellagio Fountains nighttime show. Same great show, choreographed to music, but this time, set to lights. Ahhh
Gotta love some MJ!
After watching twice, S went back to him room, we said goodbye, then PSM grabbed a taxi or Uber back to the hotel and SDL, Miss A, and I went off exploring!
We walked down one end of The Strip, people watching, listening to music, walked into a few hotels, the goal on this side of the street was The Venetian Hotel. What a spectacular hotel! There are gondola rides down the grand canal, this is something I’ve always wanted to do in Las Vegas, but haven’t gotten to yet.
We saw some awesome stuff… like this electric harpist!
A first for us too!
We crossed the street and went by the Mirage, which was the home to Siegfried & Roy and their tiger show for 14 years. We walked to Caesar’s Palace, which is a city in itself! We were too late by the time we got there to go in, not to the casino, but to the shopping area, which is the fun part, I know, I know, the casino, but the shopping area, mostly because they have a circular escalator!
So… after we saw Caesar’s, we’ll go back, we found the first spot we could get an Uber and headed back to the hotel. By now…it’s about 1230am, I’m done! Miss A was done! SDL was done! What grand adventure does tomorrow hold!?
What a day! It was a very nice start to the day, no alarm! We got up liesurely, Miss A kept trying to dig herself deeper into the bed, and under the covers, we totally get that feeling!
Got up, dressed, and headed to breakfast. Muffin for Miss A, waffles for SDL, and my usual…hard boiled egg on multi-grain baguette, y u m! And a cup of tea with sugar cubes, of course!
Back to the room to get our stuff to get out to greet the day. We went down to the lobby, called for an Uber, and headed to Covent Garden. The driver dropped us off, we got out and started to wander. It’s a beautiful area, classic architecture, as always, beautiful walkways with shops set in, something to see around every corner, nook, and cranny!
When we got into the center courtyard, well, even before we got there, we could hear the musicians, one cello, and four violinists, how wonderful! Later, there was an opera singer, and later, there were two violinists playing the opening overture from Barber of Seville, my favorite opera.
We walked, explored, looked, touched, admired, bought a few things here and there. Then we went to the Transportation Museum, that was a lot of fun, and full of wee tots! Since it’s a charity, it’s one of the only museums not free in the UK, goes to a good cause, we’re good with that!
After the transportation musem it was time for some lunch, we walked around and found someone to help us with the lift, elevator, to get to the lower level and we went to the Punch and Judy pub, a very nice establishment, very friendly staff, warm, and cozy place to spend some time. I had pea and mint soup, it was quite good, SDL had fish & chips and Miss A had some fish & chips, peas, and sweat peas, there was sticky toffee pudding for dessert, but she wasn’t interested. Truth be told, it wasn’t very good, I think some of the toffee they made was burnt, oh well.
Back outside, we walked around a little more and headed towards Picadilly Circus. On the way, we stopped in a theater, I’ll tell you more about the theater tomorrow, and we got tickets to see Six, the musical about the wives of Henry VIII, I can’t wait! i saw it in Boston with MGS, GES, my dad and Lala, can’t wait for SDL and Miss A to see it, Miss A is going to love it, it’s a 90 minute concert basically!
We continued on to Picadilly Circus to see all the pagentry! The sights, sounds, people, movement, nothing stands still! Sometimes reminds me of Times Square in NYC! We stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe store, of course! I didn’t buy anything because I got GC’s pin at the other location and I got him one at this store when I was here two years ago.
We ventured out of Picadilly towards Soho, which was another thing on our list. It’s beautiful, lots of shops and pubs and people, so much to look at. We were taking photos, someone offered to take ours and then we asked for food recommendations and they pointed us towards Kingly Court.
This was lovely! It’s outdoors with canvas covers at the roof, so you could sit outside comfortably. There were trees in the center, benches and tables for different restuarants, with heat lamps to keep you warm while you sat outside, since the seating was limited in some of the restaurants. There were only restaurants in the Kingly Court, all on the permiter at each level. It really was lovely.
We ended up at Paradiso Burger & Cocktail Bar. Most people were sitting downstairs, but they had room for us upstairs, where the kitchen happened to be. It was kind of nice, we had the place to ourselves. I had a viking vegan burger, no idea why they called it that! SDL had a chicken sandwich, and Miss A had a sweet potato with some butter and magnos, then for dessert, avocado and mangos, not a bad meal overall!
Back out onto the road, wandering around Soho, the sights, sounds, people, feeling, experiences, and finally back onto a main drag to get an Uber back to the hotel, we were done!
Miss A and SDL went down to the pool, and I stayed behind to talk to you! I’m so glad I did, so much to share with you!
Tomorrow is a new day, the alarm is set, not as early as yesterday, but we’re going to see he crown jewels, gotta be up and ready to go in case one happen to land on our heads, gotta look our best!
It’s a new day, day 3 and we have lots to do! First, I want to take you on a tour of the restaurant in the hotel, it’s fun!
It’s a nice restaurant, wide, open, and inviting, if that makes sense. They have a few walls with animal heads, but just wait…the animal heads are all made of newsprint! Most likely paper mache on the outside, if you look closely, you can see headlines and typeset in the ears and on the face, horns, etc. It is very clever, if you take the time to look at it all!
The food presentation is nice, they have everything you might want or need for breakfast, pre-made scrambled eggs, eggs made to order, potatoes, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, think full english breakfast, then there are pancakes and waffles made to order, breads, cheeses, yogurts, fruit, breakfast cereals, muffins, coffee, tea, juices, you name it, they probably have it!
It was time to head out and say cherrio to London, and btw…they don’t say that, just in the movies, and if they do, I haven’t heard it!
They do say love at the end of every sentence, and I have to tell you, I like it, it doesn’t bother me, like in the south when someone , who I don’t know, calls me hun, or sweetie, it’s syrupy sweet and I’m not a fan! But call me love, it works, it’s just part of their vernacular. Ooh, I love that word!
We’re off…we got an Uber to Green Park, we were meeting our tour guide by the Constance Fund Fountain of Diana, isn’t she stunning!? I could just imagine, when it’s summer and the water is flowing.
There were so many tour groups meeting there, we finally found our guide, Alan, who was fabulous, by the way! I always thought if I was retired or we were living somewhere for PSM’s job and I couldn’t work for whatever reason, I would get a job as a tour guide, I would love it! One of these days I’ll tell you about a tour business…shhh…
We started walking, and Alan was very knowledgeable, giving us all sorts of tidbits and history and also very conscious of where the steps would be that we would need to get Miss A’s chair over. For the whole tour, everyone in the group was very aware and helpful where we were and if we had to pull the chair over something.
We started off, our first stop was by this amazing statue, across from the guards station on Marlborough Road, at St James Palace. We were waiting for the band to come out, we had such a great vantage point! While we waited, Alan gave us lots of great information, like there were only 2 guards there, that meant the king was not there. Interesting!
I love that I got Alan’s audio! He was telling us that when you look at their hats, the higher the hat, the higher the rank. There was an inspection first, I hope they pass!
Sorry it was slightly shaky, I was holding my hand up above my head, harder to keep it steady, everyone was so much taller than me!
Alan was trying to guess what they would play, would it be something serious or something light hearted. These are the Scottish guards, apparently they passed muster, here comes the band. Do you recognize the song?
We hated to leave the band, they were so very talented and I love that song! But…if we didn’t leave, we wouldn’t have the fabulous spot we did for the next phase of the tour and changing of the guard! [a lot of really cool background in that link!]
As we waited for the guards, we learned a few things. King Charles does not want to live in Buckingham Palace, understandable, with 775 rooms…it’s more of an office, so that’s why he and Queen Camilla are taking up residence at Clarence House, which only has 5 bedrooms, a little more manageable, which, was where William, the Prince of Wales had their residence, but since the King and Queen are there they’ve moved to Kensington Palace.
Since there were only two guards, that meant that the king was not in residence, if he was, there would be more. Also…the reason they walk back and forth, about every 10 minutes, is because it was a rule set down by Queen Victoria, if they are walking back and forth, they are proving they are not drinking or gambling! Oh my!
And from where we were standing, we could have reached out and touched a horse, we didn’t, but we could have! oh wow! such precision! such beauty!
Here are the guards walking back and forth!
Here comes and there goes the band! I don’t know if I said this, they only have the changing of the guard on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, mainly it’s dependent on the weather! Check out the full schedule in the link!
Here’s Alan telling us about the women in the guard! We definitely saw one! And the police officer at the end was a woman, again, girl power!
This was so exciting to watch, and this up close. Normally, you might be outside the gate or across the street, we were up close and personal! Turns out this is punishment duty! Oh my, that is quite the punishment!
After the tour was over, we got to stand and take pictures with the horse and guard! It’s definitely allowed, as long as you don’t touch their reigns or bridle, I think that’s what it was. I was ok, I didn’t touch anything! But…it was awesome! The horse we were standing/posing with put his head on my shoulder! He did!!!
After the pictures and me squealing about the royal horse putting his head on my shoulder, you are welcome for the ear worm! We walked to Trafalgar Square, it was right up the street. It wasn’t overly crowded, unusual, but nice. The fountain was doing it’s thing, people were walking around, climbing on things they weren’t supposed to, oh well, and the traffic was going by as if nothing would stop it.
I don’t know about you, but we were hungry! So…we went to The Clarence Pub in Whitehall. Thing thing about The Clarence…I was there with my dad in December 2022, then again with my dad, PSM, and my sister’s family in December 2022, a few days after dad and I discovered it. The food is good, they have a great veggie burger and sticky toffee pudding! I think I first saw it either on Gordan Ramsay or The Great British Bake Off and I first tried it in Glasgow, Scotland and fell in love with it and now, I try it whenever I can!
I just had to introduce it to SDL and Miss A and it did not disappoint! They went out of their way to find us a table, SDL had steak and ale pie and a beer, I had their veggie burger and a pot of tea, and Miss A had, you guessed it, sticky toffee pudding with ice cream, she was happy.
It’s a great atmosphere, warm and inviting, cozy, friendly, great staff, great food, great ambiance, what more could you want!? Would I go back? You bet, it might be my go-to for London trips for a good, affordable, convenient lunch!
It’s time to explore again! No the day isn’t even close to being over! We walked back down Whitehall looking at the architecture, the people, listening to the sounds of every day life in London, all the way down to Big Ben and Parliament. We learned somewhere that Big Ben is actually ‘just’ the clock and the tower itself is called the Elizabeth Tower, imagine that!
As we walked back down Whitehall, we were treated to another changing of the horse guard, but we were on the outside this time.
Let’s keep walking… we walked back to Buckingham Palace in all its glory and then we walked Constitution Hill to the Wellington Arch. It started to rain while we were walking, but did we care, nope, not at all! We were in London, the sun was out, and we were having a grand time! As we came out of Constitution Hill at the Wellington Arch, what did our eyes spy…THE Hard Rock Cafe! London!
Now…when I say THE Hard Rock Cafe, I mean THE Hard Rock Cafe, the very first, established in 1971, a very good year, if I do say so myself! The cafe was established June 14, 1971 and it was just that, a cafe. We decided we had to go in! [We really needed a looooo!] We maneuvered in, got a table, SDL ordered cheesecake for herself and a piece for Miss A and I had a pot of tea, there honestly wasn’t anything there for me, and we were just looking for dessert, I was happy with my pot of tea. Let’s just say the cheesecake was a big hit!
After we relaxed a bit and Miss A enjoyed the music, it was cool, they were playing classic videos on the TVs, things I haven’t seen in years! Next, you know we had to, we went across the street to the shop. I don’t know if I told you, but…wherever we go, we always look for the Hard Rock, SDL likes to collect their t-shirts, if it’s cool and the price is right, for me, I have a friend that I always get a pin for! I got him one when I was here the last time, at the store on Piccadilly, and I wasn’t originally going to get one this time, but it’s the original cafe/store! Shhh…don’t tell him!
As we were walking around, this guy who works there offered to take me on a tour of the museum downstairs, SDL wasn’t interested, so I went and it was cool! They had the corset Madonna wore in the Express Yourself video, Slash’s guitar, John Lennon‘s lyrics to Instant Karma (We All Shine On), a chair from Freddy Mercury and more! It was quite the treat!
When I came back upstairs, I found them waiting and Miss A was nodding off in her chair, it was time to go! I got us an Uber back to the hotel, there was no way we were walking! It was 3.2 miles and we had just walked how many miles, no thanks! 15 minutes by car or 60 by foot, hmmm…
We got back to the hotel, ordered some takeout and chilled out, it was a great day, but we were tired! I might fall asleep as I’m writing this to you, could you blame me?! What does tomorrow hold?! It’s only day 3, we have so much more to see!
We woke up before the alarm, that was nice, definitely don’t want to miss this! Got dressed in our yoga gear, put our clothes over it, no changing rooms at the event, yoga mat and yoga towels in the beach bag I brought to carry everything. There was some planning that went into this! Headed out, Dunkin’ Donuts was across the street, let’s wake up! There aren’t any DD’s close to us here, so we stick to Starbucks, which isn’t bad, PSM’s the choosy one when it comes to his morning cup o’ joe! Same in Hawai’i, the DD was not so good there! They got their first DD only a few years ago, they’ll get there. Uber ordered, just waiting.
The way the exhibit works, from their site: Be immersed in 500,000 cubic feet of stunning projection animating the master’s oeuvre and illuminating the mind of the genius. Wander through giant projections that highlight brushstroke, detail, and colour as you have never experienced them. Visitors will be immersed in Van Gogh’s works from his sunny landscapes and night scenes, to his portraits and still life. All of that, while set to music.
Originally, we were going spend a weekend in Chicago and go to the exhibit, and depending on the weather, we were going to take the bikes. I bought the tickets and we were set. Well…about two or three weeks ago, I got an email, telling me about the yoga classes in the exhibit! How could I resist!? I immediately emailed and asked if I could exchange our tickets so we could do this yoga class. As soon as they said yes, I checked with PSM which weekend would work best. This weekend it was, so exchanged happened, and…included with our tickets…we could spend time in the exhibit, win-win!
We got there early, got our temperatures checked, and waited, there was a class ahead of ours. The music we heard was nothing like any music any of our regular yoga instructors play! The room was dim, there were rings of light on the floor, spaced out. This is where they want people to sit, socially distant to experience the exhibit, but worked out for yoga, everyone just took a circle and put down their mats. There were three triangle or obelisk mirrors in the room, turns out they were for the event, but looked cool! The instructor came in and we got started about 8am.
As we are getting into child’s pose to get started, the exhibit began. That meant the music queued up, the video projectors started going, and we were immersed in the experience. It was a normal yoga class, well, not normal for us, we now know why it’s called Core Yoga! Wow! There were only two negatives to the entire experience…a few times, the instructor’s mic didn’t work, it was a big room, acoustics, and just technical difficulties and because it was moving all around us, sometimes the floor seemed to be moving, not good! Oh, and when you do a tree pose and the instructor tells you to look at something that’s not moving, to work on balance, and the entire place is moving…ha ha ha. Other than that…we moved, we stretched, we balanced, we downward faced our dogs! we sweat! So much fun!
After class, we got into street clothes and hung out in the next room, sitting in one of the circles on the floor, we missed an opportunity for a loveseat, all good. The exhibit began. Every space in the room was filled with images and movement. There wasn’t a nook or cranny the images did not catch. Look up, over, down, you name it, there was movement. The paintings were swaying, moving, morphing into the next painting, breaking down or deconstructing the strokes of the paintings, getting a feel for how he created them, the colors, the sights, the movements, all made sense in this amazing feet of beauty.
We sat through it once on the ground level, then moved up for the second time to watch it from the balcony, a different experience, you catch things from that angle that you didn’t see from the ground. You really paid attention, well, I did. “Oh, look over there!” “Now, look here!” and it went on from there. We essentially participated three times, nothing like it.
When we left, we headed to the gift shop, we picked up a few things, PSM bought me a mask with one of my new favorite paintings, after seeing it in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette. I love so much of his work, but his sunflowers series, sigh…you know how I feel about sunflowers! I love this mask!
Everything they did in the space was so clever, they stairs and walls were painted with Van Gogh’s work, the elevator, stairwell, even the signs were clever “Gogh this way” “No Gogh – Do Not Enter” “Goghing Up Elevators”. For one who so loves a funny pup, bad dad joke, I was Goghing Ga Ga over all of it!
After yoga and the experience, it was time for brunch! I was hoping to get to a few of my favorite places in Chicago to eat, but, just like the rest of the country, it was opening back up and things were limited. We ended up going to Kanela’s in Old Town for brunch, it was less than a mile away and had a good rating. We got lucky and didn’t have to wait for a table, wahoo. Our waiter was funny, the place a little kitschy, I absolutely love the signs on the way, berry punny!
I had avocado toast with a fried egg, kale salad, and some seriously crispy potatoes, it was seriously yummy! PSM had an açaí bowl and we shared a plate of challah French toast. Mimosa, decaf coffee, and a masala chai tea for me with oat milk.
Time to walk of brunch! We decide to walk the 3+ miles back to the hotel, it warmed up nicely as we were walking, then got downright toasty! ha ha, go figure! As we came upon Wabash Avenue and State Street, the lights were red and the bell was clanging, there were some sailboats coming and the drawbridge was going up! This is one of my favorite things about Chicago! And they still work!
We watched the drawbridge go up, we loved it, even though we really didn’t have a choice, since we had to cross the bridge when we came to it. Oh, sorry! ha ha. We enjoyed Spring in Chicago, flowers in bloom, all the way back to the hotel. At the hotel, hang up the wet yoga stuff, take our shoes off and relax! Executive decision from someone who is dairy sensitive to someone who’s allergic. Pizza and beer for dinner. How could I say no? We were in Chicago and they have bathrooms! HA HA
We were a few blocks from a Giordano’s, one of the two more famous places for deep dish or Chicago-style pizza in Chicago. There are many fine establishments, but PSM hadn’t been to this one and it was close. We got there, put our names in, ordered our pizza, and waited for a table, ended up walking towards the back of the restaurant and there were two seats available at the bar, sold!
We put in drink and appetizer orders and waited for things to magically appear! We went for the motherland! PSM had an Classic Chicago deep dish pizza and I went for the spinach and added pineapple, and for an appetizer, we ordered the combo, so not right! ha ha. Cheese bread, chicken nugget things, and mozzarella triangles. Hey, if you’re in, you’re all in!
Needless to say, there was more than enough food, for a few people, and we both ordered small pizzas! Normally we would share, but we were in Chicago, home of the deep dish pizza, have to get what you really want! NO, we did not eat it all! Let’s just say, there is a very grateful homeless man in Chicago eating really well tonight!
We didn’t feel like going back to the hotel just yet, so we stopped at Plymouth Pub, Restaurant, and Rooftop Bar. I had been there a few times, with work outings, and friends from work. We weren’t staying, just one beer and we were out. It’s got a nice atmosphere, and a decent view.
We left there, went around the block, because the entrance across the street, really wasn’t an entrance, go figure, to Brando’s Speakeasy! No secret knock, pook! We did have to show our IDs to the guy at the door, I held mine up, he said, “you showed me the back”, but all good. I said “You did say you just wanted to see that we had IDs…” Made him laugh. There was karaoke going on in the front, but no available seating, so we were lead to the back, ended up at the bar, and there was one other person in the room, how exciting…and the music wasn’t our taste.
I went up to the front and asked if there was anything in the front, no dice, I leaned over and said, there’s no one back there, it’s kind of dead, and the music sucks. I can’t believe I said that! So rude! Back to PSM I went. All of a sudden the music changed, it was like 70s and 80s, we were loving it! Then…all of a sudden, the room was filling up and everyone was having a great time, apparently, we made our own karaoke bar! Ha ha! When the guy who sat us came back around, I apologized for saying the music sucked, but thanks for sending folks our way!
The lighting was dim, the front room was washed in red, our room was cozy, with tv’s showing old black and white movies and tv shows. There were classic cartoons, black and white, of course, and old movies with ladies stripping, it was a speakeasy.
After about two hours, there was a two hour limit per table, and we were getting there, we sang our way out of the speakeasy and headed back to the hotel. Shoes off, jammies on, lay down, zzzzzzzz.
Having a moment…can’t remeber if I told you…semi surprise for PSM. And it worked! Wah to the hoo! I’m hoping you know that PSM reads this so I can’t tell you stuff like this!
It ‘s Friday, so a regular work day, to start…one big thing that happened…we got a doggie door! Soooo excited! More about that another time. About 430p, just after the installer left, the Uber arrived and we were off to the airport!
We got there just in time to get on the flight, there was traffic on the highway, so our 20 minute drive turned into closer to 40. Don’t get me started on our driver! If he didn’t drive the way he did… we may have actually missed our flight! I do miss flying… and first class no less, gotta love it! Settled in, headphones in, movie on, let’s go!
Less than an hour flying time, we’re there! It reminded me of inter-island travel when we lived in Hawai’i, there were never any flights longer than 45 minutes, can’t beat it! We headed for CTA, the train into the city, it was a heck of a lot cheaper than $72 for an Uber! Then a 10 minute walk to the hotel. If we had driven from St Louis, we would still be on the road!
We checked in, dropped our stuff and headed back downstairs, there was a Thai restaurant, Thai Spoon, I remember ordering from there when I was here on my project a few years ago, you may remember some of our conversations about my time on a project in Illinois, maybe! The food was good. We had tofu satay with peanut sauce and cucumber salad, fried tofu with sweet and sour sauce with peanuts. I had vegetable soup, then Cashew Nut with tofu and PSM had Tom Kha soup, then Massaman Curry. I haven’t had Cashew Nut anything from a Thai restaurant before and I love Cashews and I didn’t want my typical go-to Pad See Ew, when I don’t know what I want. The cashews were tasty and I liked the tofu and veggies, all cooked well, but the sauce was waaaay too salty for me. Thank goodness for rice! Everything else was fabulous, I would go there again!
While we’re at dinner, we’re talking about everything and nothing, per our norm, ha ha, just the way we like it! Up until tonight, I asked PSM if he wanted to know what we were doing in Chicago, he kept saying no. He sort of knew what we were doing because the original plan was to do it in July, when I could get tickets! The Immersive Van Gogh Experience, which I will tell you all about it tomorrow, because that’s when we’re doing it, and there’s so much more! So that was the only surprise for this weekend. He took care of booking the flights and hotel…points baby! I got us to the airport and took care of getting the surprise set up.
So…while we’re eating, and we’re enjoying it, he looks at me and says…”I’m not doing yoga tomorrow” “What?” and he looks at me and I say “you are” and he gives me another look and I say…do you want to know? “ok, tell me…” We are doing yoga IN the Immersive Van Gogh Experience! Yes, I said IN!!! Again, I’ll tell you all about it after we do it, but…we are going to be doing yoga while immersed in the exhibit! And then we get to check out the exhibit.
He looks at me and you can see the lightbulb going off over his head! But I don’t have any of my yoga stuff with me. And then he looks at my Cheshire Cat grin…why do you think my bag is so heavy…for a 3 day weekend? If we weren’t doing this, I would have brought a much smaller bag! ha ha. “Oh, that’s why you insisted on getting our yoga stuff washed last night!” Yupper! I am so sneaky like that! ha ha. Then I fessed up why I needed to go to Walmart after yoga on Thursday! I bought a travel yoga mat! It’s hysterical! I’ll show you tomorrow! It has the primary poses on it! So…I got a travel yoga mat, it folds up nicely, I snuck into the closet in his office, after he went to bed, of course, and grabbed his travel yoga mat and yoga towel. I also grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt so he wouldn’t have to wear what he brought to do yoga! I then packed all that, my yoga mat, my yoga towel, and my yoga clothes! ha ha! Surprise! The look on his face…absolutely the best! so worth it! He said it was a good surprise!
That’s about it folks, it’s been a long day, up early to take care of the pups, work, flight to Chicago, dinner, surprise! and now, talking to you! I’m beat, how about you?! I cannot wait for our experience tomorrow and to tell you all about it!
Peaches Prattlings 