Hilton Chicago Northbrook

... Two very different trips: one focused on food, fun, and friends, and one a solo, soul-searching adventure to a land filled with ancient history (OK, I don't really know if Kevin was "soul-searching" but it sounds good, and there's bound to be some of that on a 5 day hike). Although centered on different themes, our recent escapades did provide interesting conversation and a commonality between us. Not only were both of us from small towns, but we ...

... part is how they're trying to sell us on how beautiful the office is out there with "rolling cliffs near by." Mind you, we sit on the 30th floor on Michigan Ave overlooking Millennium Park. Sorry Unilever, but Chicago wins. Hands down. And where are these rolling cliffs you speak of? I have been there numerous times and all I see is a building that reminds me of Office Space. I call *********. <br><br>So, Nathan and I ...

... br>Arghhh! Luckily at the train station some lovely ladies lent me their cellphone and I managed to get through to the hotel somehow. But while I was calling, our hotel shuttle turned up and even though Tracey was over there, he just went again! So I called the hotel who told me he would be back in 15 minutes....40 minutes later he turned up to pick up some cold and grumpy guests with extremely sore feet.It was so good to get to our room and needless to say that was one<br>tip we didn't pay.<br>

<br>Hit the road out of Mankato on time of 8.30 this morning, and drove straight to Rochester, MN to a mall there, as Josh left his jacket on one of the two planes coming over and by evening here, you definitely need a jacket. At the moment the temperature is about 15 &#8211; 16 degrees, but the windchill at night...brrrr. The Mall we stopped at was HUGE, had at least 3 full size department stores: JC Penney's, Macy's and Sears, plus lots of ...

... this HUGE mole. no joke- it was the size of a marble. And I noticed it sort of jiggled every time the woman it owned chewed. Well now we are back at our home for the night and us girls (me and Cait) are pigging out on candy while we watch Over The Hedge. So bye because I like this part. -Cookie

... pack of wolves and bears in the wooded hills. The girls posted their great photos in their blogs. Then, we got to Chicago. What a great place to avoid!! I don't think that I have ever seen! We are 'cruzing' through a 45 mph zone being honked at and flipped off for doing the speed limit! Then when we did the speed that everyone else was doing, it was just terrifying! No more crazy traffic!! So, we were able to drop the stress at ...

... from the airport (30 minutes). This hostel is also a walking distance from many of my destinations. My Student Budget (which I love so much) :$3,500.00 (My flight cost) -$ 778.13 (My hostel ...

We caught the bus to the Tribune Tower to take a look at the art exhibition in the square. The Tribune Tower has interesting bits and pieces of famous landmarks set in the walls, journalists collected them as they traveled around on stories. I think there is even a bit of the Great Wall in there. After we had exhausted the exhibition, we jumped on another bus to go to the photography museum. Unfortunately after walking in the wrong direction and ...

... we would not be able to get on the plane. This after them telling us 6 weeks ago that we had actual seats on the plane. After talking to multiple incompetent people, then the Spanish standby passengers got on the plane in front of the Americans even though we were supposedly number 1 and 2 on the waiting list. So after standing at the gate to wait to be told we couldn't get on, we spent an hour at the customer service desk imploring ...

... talking about a post-graduation Europe trip since about 8th grade, so we are both extremely excited about the trip. Phil just graduated from Michigan, and like me, is currently looking for a job. Many people will be reading this blog so I will try to keep it G-rated as much as possible. If it seems like I'm not saying something, or trying to hide something, just send me an email, and I'll let you know what ...