Ethel's Chocolates

I'm a huge Chocolate fan and always thought Godiva was the best out there, then on a trip to Chicago, my husband and I stumbled upon Ethel's Chocolates. I couldn't believe how amazing their chocolate was. We picked up 12 pieces then went back for more just a couple days later. Ethel's, thank God, has a website where some of their chocolates are available, but if you want to really experience Ethel's, you should check out their shop below the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago. They give you free samples and, for the taste, their chocolates are reasonably priced. After I finish the ones I brought home with me, I'll definitely be ordering more.

Hampton Majestic Chicago

We stayed at the Hampton Majestic while in Chicago. The people were great. Rony and Darryl were the absolute best. Having either of them as the first impression of the hotel is a great idea. You have to go to the 4th floor for registration, but the elevators come quickly and registration only takes a couple minutes. Also on the 4th floor is the breakfast, which was one of the best hotel breakfasts I've ever had (and I've traveled a lot over the years). Each morning they have a different hot food like French Toast Sticks, Eggs and Ham, Eggs and Sausage, etc, along with a variety of cereals, yogurt and fruit. They also have bread product every day, sometimes it was amazing cheese danishes and sometimes cinnamon coffee cake. If the only thing that was good about the hotel was the breakfast, it would totally be worth it.

But luckily breakfast isn't the only good thing about the hotel. They also have a new program where you can get limited view seating from the LeSalle Bank Theatre for only $25, so we were able to see Jersey Boys while we were there and didn't have to stand in line for 3 hours before the box office opened in the morning. The only problem is they don't advertise this program so if you go, you have to ask for info on the limited view seating. The tickets are completely worth it.

Other than that, I had a problem sleeping in the bed, but most people sleep well in the beds. Also, the location is right inside the loop, within walking distance to tons of different CTA locations. Within 1 block there are Blue and Red Line stops, and the buses stop on ever other corner. This hotel is totally worth the money and we will definitely be staying there again.

Celebrity Apprentice

I was a bit disappointed when I saw that Piers won, but I do love his charity and his charity deserved it. I've liked Piers on America's Got Talent, but he was rude and alienated everyone he worked with. He was brash and abrasive, which is sometimes good in business, but I don't think it was right here. On the other hand, Trace was soft spoken, had good ideas and everyone wanted to work with him. I also think that his charity is just as important and Piers' charity. I'm glad that so much money was given to charity because of this show, and I do kind of hope that NBC brings it back again, but then again, I'm a reality junkie.

The Price is Right Game

This game has all the elements of the Classic Price is Right except Rod Roddy's voice and Bob Barker (who were always my favorites). The game is interesting, but if you play it long enough (which actually isn't that long) you get repeat items and repeat Showcases. If you've got a good memory that will be good for you. You play as long as you can until you have 3 strikes against you. You get strikes by not winning the Contestant's Row or the Showcase Showdown. It's actually quite hard to win the Showcase Showdown, the computer players almost always get between $.90 and $1.00. You will also get to play some of the favorite Price is Right games like Plinko, 3 Strikes, PunchOut, and Hole In One. This game is worth the money if your a fan of the Price is Right, but expect a lot of product placement that you wouldn't get in other games.

Crowne Plaza O'Hare

This hotel is nice if you have a conference there. The staff that was working on the conference, security, caterers and customer service people were great, but it's very far away from everything, except O'Hare. The food was good, especially the vegetarian selections. The beds were nice, but the with the airport so close, it was very loud all night. The biggest problem was the staff wasn't ready for the size of the conference we attended. The last day of the conference the bags were originally placed in an unsecured room where anyone could have taken anything they wanted. It's a nice place to have a conference, but if you're going for a vacation, you should try something a little closer to town.

Amtrak Again

I would like to amend my original Amtrak experience with the new one from today. The large seats and tons of area for my feet in the first train that was a double decker was completely different in this one which was a single level. The single level one barely had any room for my legs and was a bit overcrowded, but it was only a half hour late instead of an hour and a half late. I think I would prefer the leg room and later arrival than the less leg room. Still I met a few people on the way back from Chicago and had tons of fun talking to them and that made the time pass much faster. I'd still recommend Amtrak for short trips, less than 5 or 6 hours.

Museum of Science and Industry

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry today and had tons of fun. The problem, we didn't even see half of the museum. We got to see the Circus, Eye Spy, Farm Tech, Energy Lab, Plumbing, Petroleum Planet, Genetics, Baby Chick Hatchery exhibits, which were interesting, but something that might only be done once or twice. We also saw that Henry Crown Space Center which was amazing. We spent an hour and a half just in that exhibit. We got to see the inside of a Gemini capsule, a mock up of the lunar landing and got to play a game that was landing the shuttle and another that docked the shuttle with the international space station. We also spent the $1 per person to get a NetWorld necklace and do all of the fun stuff in that section. That is highly worth it if you have kids with you. We watched the Sea Monsters Omnimax presentation, but I don't think it was worth the time. Had the tickets not come with our CityPass, we probably wouldn't have gone. Probably the most fun was had in the ToyMaker 3000 section. In this section they have robots that you can interact with and an assembly line that makes Gravitrons. You can pay $5 to get a Gravitron made specially for you. Picking from Orange, Green and Purple, you watch your Gravitron being assembled. They even engrave it with your name, the name of the museum and the date to remind you of your trip. I suggest that if you are planning a trip to Chicago you plan on 2 or 3 days at the Museum of Science and Industry. It is completely worth it!

Jersey Boys

I had a dream and that dream was to see Frankie Valli in person some day. That dream almost came true last night when I was given the gift of seeing Jersey Boys in the LaSalle Bank Theatre. I know that Jerrod Spector isn't Frankie Valli, but closing my eyes, he sounded almost identical. There were a couple things like he sounded a little more throaty than Frankie, but his performance of Can't Take My Eyes Off of You literally made me cry it was so close to the one I listen to almost daily. Jarrod's portrayal of Frankie was incredible.

The rest of the cast was great too. The harmonies of the guys who played the Original Four Seasons reminded me of the real Four Seasons, and since I love 4 part harmony it really touched me. The fact that the musical is pretty close to a biographical piece made it all the more amazing. I knew a lot about Frankie Valli, but the things in musical were mostly things I didn't know.

Our seats were in the Dress Circle in the limited viewing section, but I could see almost everything and worth the money. We were lucky enough to get the tickets through our hotel so we paid only $25 per ticket and were able to order them with just 24 hours to spare. If you are anywhere Jersey Boys is playing, I suggest you take the time and money to see it, you won't be disappointed.

Adler Planetarium & Shedd Aquarium

I was so excited to go to Adler Planetarium in Chicago today. It was one of the thing I looked most forward to when planning our trip to Chicago. All of that excitement was for nothing. There really isn't much at the Planetarium and what is there is pretty lame. The only interesting things were the Gemini and Apollo exhibits and that's just because I'm a huge NASA fan. If you're coming to Chicago, don't waste your money on the Planetarium.

On the other hand, the last time I visited Shedd Aquarium, I was bored. I had decided not to use the ticket that came in my CityPass to see the Aquarium again, but after the hour I spent at the Planetarium, I had tons of time and nothing to do (it was snowing and I couldn't go to the zoo), so I decided to check out the Aquarium because I had seen an ad for their Lizard exhibit on the subway. I was actually impressed this time around. There were way too many people for my comfort, but everyone was very polite and it was pretty easy to see everything I wanted to. The Lizard exhibit was amazing. This Monitor Lizard seemed to be posing for the picture.

The Exhibit ended in this Komodo Dragon that looked rather bored, but was none the less amazing to see in person.

Also, they have an exhibit called Amazon Rising that was pretty cool. I got to see a lot of interesting fish, tons of turtles, Plecostomuses (which remind me of my grandpa) and even some birds in the exhibit. We didn't do a couple of the other things because we had already done them, like the live dolphin show because we were on a schedule, but I don't think we really missed much. I would highly recommend seeing the Aquarium if you're coming to Chicago.

Field Museum Chicago

My husband and I had the complete pleasure of going to see the Field Museum today. There is so much to see and learn about. We used the #12 bus, and it was a bit confusing which stop was for the Field Museum, so we ended up having to walk a little way. The Shedd Aquarium stop is the one you need if coming by #12. The things I liked the most about were the Hall of Gems, Birds of the World, and the Nature Trail. There are so many amazing things to see in these areas. Be Careful going around the Hall of Gems, people don't move very quickly in this area, so you'll either run into people or skip arts of the exhibit. I would suggest just waiting, it's worth it. The Nature Trail and Bird of the World takes up one whole side of the museum so give yourself a bunch of time to get through it, I think it took us an hour or an hour and a half to get through it. The best part of the whole trip was actually a paid exhibit, meaning you have to pay more on top of the museum entrance fee, The Underground Adventure. There are so many fun facts, hidden things to look for and at the end a computer game that helps you understand the importance of soil on our environment. Problems I had with the museum were the Ancient Egypt exhibit, Evolving Planet and the Ancient Americas. Ancient Egypt had some interesting things in it, but there was hardly any room to move, the halls with the exhibits were very narrow and not conducive to a wheelchair. Evolving Planet was kind of interesting, but for someone who doesn't believe in Evolution it was a bit boring. Ancient Americas had hardly any North American things and my American Indian heritage was completely skipped in the exhibit, which was disappointing. Even with the bad, if you're planning a trip to Chicago, the Field Museum is a must. Make sure you pay the extra for the Underground Adventure, it's worth every penny. If you don't want to have to pay the extra for Underground Adventure, get the CityPass, it gives you free access to the exhibit. Next time I'm here I'll probably go again.

Wildfire Restaurant

This restaurant is a good one time experience. I had their Horseradish Filet Mignon and I liked it, but I don't think it was really worth the money we paid for it. My husband had the Peppercorn Filet Mignon and again, he liked it, but not really sure it was worth the money we spent. We could hardly understand our waiter and the smell of the wood burning stove was overwhelming, covering some of the taste of my food. The one good thing about the evening was they have a Martini Flight that gives you samplers of their four most popular Martinis. The Green Apple Martini was probably the only reason I would go back there, and since I don't drink that much, it's not likely I will actually return. If you're in Chicago or planning to come here, it might be a good one time thing, but don't be surprised if you're not satisfied with the experience.

Museum at the Art Institute of Chicago

I have wanted to visit the Museum at the Art Institute of Chicago as long as I can remember. Well, I was highly disappointed. Not only did the American Gallery cost an extra $8, there was a private event in the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room so I couldn't see that either. There were a few good parts, I loved most of the European, Impressionism, Post impressionism and Architecture galleries. I loved all of the architecture by Alder and Sullivan, they were just amazing. The food in the Cafe was actually pretty good too. The staff was very friendly and very helpful. I will definitely go back to see the galleries I missed, but would suggest that if you're planning a trip to Chicago, you wait until their construction is finished next year. The picture below is of Two Elevator Enclosures Grilles from the Chicago Stock Exchange that were designed by Alder and Sullivan.

St. Patrick's Day in Chicago

We were lucky enough to have the once in a lifetime experience of seeing the Chicago River turned green. For an Irish lass like myself, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to see the Chicago River green. I didn't go to the parade because we're here with a conference of non-Irish people who didn't really care so we were watching a friend's presentation at the time. I was quite disappointed. I'm hoping though that this won't be a once in a lifetime experience because I would love to bring my dad here to see the river maybe for his 60th birthday. Anyway, here's a picture I took of the river. One other thing, being an Irish Protestant I was quite disappointed in the Catholic church for moving St. Patrick's Day to March 15th this year so it wasn't in Holy Week. Though, it is giving me an excuse to celebrate St. Patrick's Day twice this year. I'm also hoping to find some green beer and some Guinness while I'm here.

Arun's Thai Restaurant

We went to Arun's Thai Restaurant last night for dinner. There is a fixed price of $85 for the 12 course tasting menu, and it is well worth it. I like Arun's much more than I expected to. The front end staff were absolutely amazing. They were helpful, on the ball (our plates were cleared and within 3 or 4 seconds we had new utensils from a different person), they refilled our water for us from the bottle left on our table (we didn't have to do it ourselves like every other restaurant I've ever been to), and when I asked for a menu of the evening, an email of the menu was waiting for me when I got back to the hotel. At the end, just before we paid our bill, they offered to call a taxi for us, which I thought was really nice. Also, I called a couple weeks ago to make the reservation and then two days before our reservation, they called to confirm, which really helped me because I had forgotten what time I had scheduled. I give the front end staff at Arun's a 10 out of 10 (though if I could I would give them 11 or 12 out of 10, but well...)

As for the food, I've never experience that quality of food in my life and I've been to a couple other fine dining restaurants. The highlights of the evening were the Spicy Crab Cake that was served over a watercress salad, the Rice Dumpling filled with Chicken, Shrimp and Jicama, the Filets of lightly Fried Striped Bass with Three-Flavor chili sauce and the Crepe with Sankhaya Pandanus Cream Custard and red beans with poached strawberry and strawberry coulis. Our first experience was the Crab Cake and that one dish was worth the entire price. The crab cake was tender and juicy, and the watercress was a perfect compliment with a tangy yet sweet flavor. The Striped Bass was also served with some lightly breaded then fried vegetables, but what really made the dish was the Three-Flavor chili sauce, it was the perfect combination of sweet, sour and spicy. This dish was also served with an intricately carved carrot in the form of a fish. It really was amazing. By far, my favorite of the night was the crepe though. The strawberry and strawberry coulis were the perfect compliment to the crepe and the Custard Creme. I had tried crepes before and never really liked them, now I understand, I've seen the light. Those crepes made me feel like I was in heaven they were so amazing. I give the Chef and food at Arun's a 10 out of 10 as well.

As for the atmosphere of the restaurant, some of the decorations seemed a bit cheesy to me and you could see screws hanging out of the walls in some places. The chairs weren't really that comfortable, which if you're going to be sitting in them for two hours, they really should be. The restaurant's location isn't in a real great part of town and taking the CTA buses will only get you about 4 blocks away from the restaurant, so it's probably the best idea to take a taxi. Because of the neighborhood and the bus ride to get there, I was quite stressed when we sat down for dinner, but after the first couple of courses, I was very relaxed and feeling much better. I give the atmosphere at Arun's a 5 out of 10, but the Front End Staff and the Food more than make up for this.

The one thing I didn't experience was any of their wine. I'm not really a wine drinker (mostly because I get drunk off it really quickly), but their wine list is very extensive. I think there were somewhere between 20 and 30 pages of wines. One thing I did notice is that most of their wines are only available by the bottle, the list gets much smaller when ordering a half bottle and smaller still when ordering just a glass.

Overall, Arun's is an amazing experience and next time I'm in Chicago, I'll be dining there again. Also, sorry about the lack of pictures, but I was so excited to eat the food I forgot to take its picture.

Amtrak

I took my first ride on Amtrak today and it was a great experience. The train ran about an hour behind picking us up and about an hour and a half late getting to our destination, but the experience and hassle-free ride were well worth it. I've ridden on several planes and I, by far, prefer the train. The ride is much, much smoother and you get to see things like deer running through a field and, in my case, the massiveness that is the US Steel complex in Gary, Indiana. The food in the snack car was okay. The Turkey sub was well worth the $5.50 I paid for it, but they had just discontinued their only salad which kind of upset me. They also sell Amtrak souvenirs like Playing Cards, which is great because my husband collects them. The lady in the snack car was very friendly and helpful and one of the conductors was also, but the other was quite rude to the people sitting in front of me. Overall, for the money we spent on the trip, it was well worth it and I will be riding Amtrak again and again.

Chocolate Castle

This puzzle game is tons of fun. There are three types of puzzles you can work on, Easy, Medium and Hard and there are 40 puzzles in each type. You have up to 5 different types of animal that need to eat up to 5 different kinds of chocolate. The trick comes in that as soon the chocolate is eaten, the animal disappears, so you have to make sure that all of that kind of chocolate are touching to make it through the level. If you like puzzle games, you'll love this one. It's well worth the money.

Doggie Dash

Yet another Diner Dash spin off. In this game you can play as Walter or Scarlett and you are running your very own Doggie Spa. The levels are harder than any in Diner Dash and I've had to play some 6 or 7 times just to beat them, but the game is fun. Unlike in Diner Dash, you get to choose what upgrades you will buy. If you like Diner Dash, you'll like this game. It is worth the money.

Purrfect Pet Shop

This time management game is fun, but really geared toward kids. You are running your grandmother's pet adoption agency. You can play as Sofie or Peter. There are 4 modes, Kiddies, Juniors, Normal and Hard. As you go you have to bathe, feed, water and medicate the animals. You get to help dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles. Again, this game is fun and, if you have kids in the house, worth the money.

Posting

So I'm trying desperately to do this posting every day of the year thing, but I'm having problems coming up with things to say. That's all I have to say.

Veronica Mars

We just picked up the third season of Veronica Mars on DVD and in it they show you the pitch for Season 4. I was really amazed that it wasn't picked up, and now that the Writer's Strike has caused problems with TV in general, I think that Rob Thomas should pitch it again, maybe to another network this time. It was really interesting and I think if they brought it back with Kristen Bell but call it something else, they could sell it to any of the networks. I really miss Veronica Mars, but if this was picked up, I could miss it much less.

Scrabble Journey

Scrabble Journey is a very fun word game with an adventure twist. There are two modes to the game, Quest Mode and Quick Play Mode. In Quest Mode, you get to play Scrabble around the world. You get to visit Stonehenge, Rome, Calcutta, Singapore, Mt. Fuji, Oahu and many more. The twist comes in that it's not a normal Scrabble board, you have to start at the star like usual, but you have to build to the arrow so you can more to the next location. You also get to choose from different paths some easier and some harder. In Quick Play Mode, you can choose to replay levels you've beaten in Quest Mode. You also win trophies like an Ancient Roman Coin and Golden letters. I am very much enjoying this game. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys word games, but particularly Scrabble.