It’s been a couple of days (or more) and here I was thinking I was getting back into the swing of blogging. Turns out that blogging isn’t high on the list of priorities when you’re swanning around gorgeous National Parks, about which there will be more, later.
Today we’re in Chicago. Yesterday we were in Chicago. It has been raining the whole time. I normally love cities when it’s raining. The streets washed clean of grime and rubbish. Sparkling, almost, and ready for a new day. But I’ve found that there’s a limit to how much rain a person can reasonably tolerate. I reached that limit sometime yesterday afternoon as I huddled under an umbrella trying to find a destination, any destination on a map, and a record amount of rain fell on the city. We had decided to go the Art Institute but by the time we had organised ourselves and made it there the line stretched a little too long and we didn’t feel like standing still in the rain for goodness knows how long. So we walked. And walked. Around the Loop and in the rain. And given that we spent most of our time under umbrellas, I don’t know how much I actually saw of this city. Or if we even found a destination. But it is a good city to walk around.
What I did see, I liked. Chicago seems like a city I could really like, if only I had the chance to really get to know her. And what with the rain and our limited time, I don’t think that is going to happen. So I will enjoy today at the Art Institute (we’re organised today and will be there relatively early, hopefully avoiding the queues) and whatever else we decide to do because the forecasts say that the rain will be clearing by evening.
I’m not so keen on the hotel or maybe it’s just the staff at the hotel that I’m not too keen on. The hotel itself is charming but the staff are not. Maybe I was just spoiled by the attentiveness of the staff at our previous hotel, where nothing was too much trouble and every request was anticipated before you’d finished forming the thought, let alone the question and was expecting more than a vague gesture in the direction of the lifts when we arrived on Friday afternoon, obviously wet and staggering under the weight of our bags. Unfortunately, with two days of our stay down and two left, they haven’t managed to redeem themselves.
Enough of the complaining.
It’s time for me to shower and head out for the day.
Maybe it will stop raining soon.
My stepmother is from the Chicago area and always talks about that great city. I’d put the Art Institute on the top of my list, too!
Isn’t it funny how sometimes great service is almost invisible, but mediocre service is painfully apparent? OK, maybe not so funny. There have been times for me when just having a bed and shower is enough, but on a vacation, you definitely want more.
Unfortunately, parts of the Art Institute are being remodelled so much of their collection wasn’t on display but we did spend 5 hours (out of the rain) looking at what was there. It was wonderful. Sigh.
The service at the hotel improved slightly by the time we left but it was still far from stellar. Oh well. Turns out that the service was the least of the “problems” with this particular hotel which, although it was charmingly old fashioned, overlooks the El. Noisy when it was running and noisy when it was closed down for the weekend to be maintained. And let’s not mention the construction work across the street…