Chicago Part 2
After the adventures of the museum, the aquarium, and the conference on day 1, I was excited about the second day in the Windy City. My morning was taken up by research and a computer mishap (aka failure and hours of fixing) but I'd set some time aside for some shopping, Chicago Style, in the afternoon. I'd heard about North Michigan Avenue from Gena (a friend and city resident), and had been looking forward to the experience for days (ok, weeks), but I wasn't wholly prepared to go from Saskatoon to Michigan Avenue.
The day had dawned bright and sunny, with a reasonable temperature for walking around, and it had the decency to stay that way all afternoon. I caught a cab from the Hilton and got dropped off at the top of the "Magnificent Mile", directly in front of Louis Vuitton, and across the street from Bloomingdale's and Stuart Weitzman. The label addict in me was drooling. I sauntered (yes, sauntered) into Louis Vuitton just because I could, admired the goods, and made my way across the street, ensuring the VISA remained firmly ensconced in the purse.
Bloomingdale's was a mall area - a treasure trove of stores on 5 levels. Armani, Ralph Lauren, Banana, Gucci, Kenneth Cole, Charles David, Cole-Haan, Burberry...they were all there. It was quite overwhelming. Thankfully I couldn't really afford most of it, so it wasn't like I had to decide on anything - just enjoy the endless parade of bags and shoes. I'm sure there were other clothing type things, but I was highly focused on bags and shoes (you gotta have a focus people!).
And then I discovered Coach. If there was ever an expensive store that screams "Me", it's Coach. The sales people were fabulous, and I did treat myself to a spring bag (with matching shoes), which I absolutely LOVE. Have I mentioned that I love Chicago?
After wandering around more stores and gaping at the prices (yes, you really can hold a $3000 bag) I got a hold of myself and became sufficiently jaded. "Oh, just $500 for this purse?" Wait a minute...did I really just think that?
Time to move away from the shopping and cruise the street checking out the architecture and sights. There were some amazing old buildings and the river was beautiful. I wandered down to the Chicago Water Tower, which was completed in 1869 and survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Joliet limestone blocks used to construct the building are apparently quite hardy. The Chicago Tribune Building and the John Hancock Centre are Chicago landmarks, and amazing fixtures on the Magnificent Mile. The John Hancock building is known for its x-bracing, which eliminates the need for inner support beams (increasing the internal space).
After crossing the river I walked back to the hotel, stopping at Bath and Body Works to fall in love with Coconut Lime Verbena cream (fabulous!). My aching feet deserved a rest, so I was happy to eat dinner in the hotel, enjoying an excellent sea bass with apricot and walnut risotto (if I remember correctly) with my vodka martini. But then, who could forget a day like that?
The day had dawned bright and sunny, with a reasonable temperature for walking around, and it had the decency to stay that way all afternoon. I caught a cab from the Hilton and got dropped off at the top of the "Magnificent Mile", directly in front of Louis Vuitton, and across the street from Bloomingdale's and Stuart Weitzman. The label addict in me was drooling. I sauntered (yes, sauntered) into Louis Vuitton just because I could, admired the goods, and made my way across the street, ensuring the VISA remained firmly ensconced in the purse.
Bloomingdale's was a mall area - a treasure trove of stores on 5 levels. Armani, Ralph Lauren, Banana, Gucci, Kenneth Cole, Charles David, Cole-Haan, Burberry...they were all there. It was quite overwhelming. Thankfully I couldn't really afford most of it, so it wasn't like I had to decide on anything - just enjoy the endless parade of bags and shoes. I'm sure there were other clothing type things, but I was highly focused on bags and shoes (you gotta have a focus people!).
And then I discovered Coach. If there was ever an expensive store that screams "Me", it's Coach. The sales people were fabulous, and I did treat myself to a spring bag (with matching shoes), which I absolutely LOVE. Have I mentioned that I love Chicago?
After wandering around more stores and gaping at the prices (yes, you really can hold a $3000 bag) I got a hold of myself and became sufficiently jaded. "Oh, just $500 for this purse?" Wait a minute...did I really just think that?
Time to move away from the shopping and cruise the street checking out the architecture and sights. There were some amazing old buildings and the river was beautiful. I wandered down to the Chicago Water Tower, which was completed in 1869 and survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Joliet limestone blocks used to construct the building are apparently quite hardy. The Chicago Tribune Building and the John Hancock Centre are Chicago landmarks, and amazing fixtures on the Magnificent Mile. The John Hancock building is known for its x-bracing, which eliminates the need for inner support beams (increasing the internal space).
After crossing the river I walked back to the hotel, stopping at Bath and Body Works to fall in love with Coconut Lime Verbena cream (fabulous!). My aching feet deserved a rest, so I was happy to eat dinner in the hotel, enjoying an excellent sea bass with apricot and walnut risotto (if I remember correctly) with my vodka martini. But then, who could forget a day like that?
posted by Lisa at
10:39 p.m.
1 Comments:
I hope you're happy with your souvineers of A Coach bag and matching shoes... ;-)
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Anonymous, at 8:25 p.m.
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