Getting out at last

So, if you've been keeping up with the blog the last week or so you've probably noticed that I haven't been doing much except surfing the internet while laying in bed. And you know, okay it's a bit of a waste of life considering that I'm actually in a different city and what but coming off my forced bedrest of yay ten days and then Sameer disappearing of to campus (loneliness is me) and the depressingly overcast weather, there was really nothing pushing me to move. Seriously, the one day I just got up to brush my teeth. And then I just sat here with my laptop in front of me, remote control nearby and a handy supply of Garrett's popcorn to snack on. Fortunately I'd also gotten a bottle of water for myself the previous night and that was right next to the bed so I really didn't have to move at all for a good ten hours. :P Pathetic - I know! But imagine how cool and futuristic it would sound if I was telling this story fifty years ago. You have this little electronic book on your lap and from there you can play games, watch movies, read books, the paper, magazines, write your journal, send "telegrams" to your friends, and even have a telephone conversation with your parents. Do you really ever need to move? I think there's a horror story in this somewhere or at least a very creepy revisionist version of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.

At last, yesterday I actually dragged my sorry ass out of bed but only as far as the Citi Bank one street over to collect our bank cards and then four blocks the other direction to go to the supermarket for supplies. It was during this walk that I realized we live only a few blocks from Harpo Studios. I started to wonder if I shouldn't spend a few mornings hovering around in the hope of catching sight of some celebrity or Oprah herself.

Today we woke up late and decided to go to Navy Pier to have a look around. We caught the bus one street over and it was on the way there that we realized this pier probably had a very kiddy orientation. The bus was filled with parents and children, most of who were whining and screaming. Sameer and I started having second thoughts about that baby issue. :P

Anyway, we got there and started to wander around. The building itself looks like the Waterfront. Lots of munchies, bits and bobs being sold from barrows in an atrium, loads of food shops and an Imax cinema. Outside it's similar to Kalk Bay or Simonstown area with a sort of Sea Point vibe. Lots of people walking along the pier, kids in buggies, people rollerblading or biking. And we noticed loads of young girls dressed as cheerleaders. It turns out that a cheerleading competition had been held at the convention center by the pier. I didn't really want to whip out my camera and take pics of the scantily clad little girls (how creepy!) but this group were all posing for their entourage of mums, dads and grans so I took the liberty of sneaking a pic.

Then, because there wasn't much else to do, we decided to ride the ferris wheel ourselves. Here's a picture taken from the top.



After that we collected fliers for bike and boat tours and decided to come back another day. And then we headed back up to Michigan Avenue and found ourselves once again at Borders. We checked out a lot of travel books for the USA because we're hoping to take a few side trips along the way. We also got coffee but it was so disgusting, we've sworn off it.

After that, we started walking back in the direction of home. Along the way we stopped at a place called Wow Bao, which looks awesome and tastes great! The decor was sort of a split between Simply Asia and Vida and the food was Asian fusion - slightly Chinese, slightly Thai. They had these little buns called "bao" which are made of a sweet dough and stuffed with your choice of fillings, then steamed in a pot. They are yummy! You can also get Thai style soup with Chinese style dumplings in them. The dumplings are similar to the boa, just shaped differently and with different flavoured fillings inside. And the other great thing they had there was the iced ginger ale, which is made with freshly grated ginger. Fabulously refreshing and a great change from gassy, over-sweet cooldrinks. For me, it's even better than Panda Express and is now on the top of my list of favourite fast food places in Chicago.

After that we stopped at another Borders where they were having a draw for Wicked tickets and we tried our luck but failed. Incidentally, they drew about ten names and three times people turned down the tickets because their partners had just won the previous round. It was so strange. Anyway, we've decided to go back for tomorrow's draw. You never know, we might get lucky.