Author: Louise Riley

Just back from the Tortoise Club which thankfully is just over the road from our hotel. It is cold here so my one cardigan & one pair of trainers are going to get a lot of wear. Food tonight was very acceptable but very expensive. Our waiter was, however, very attentive & personable. The portions were big but not huge—a noticeable difference from NY. I’m worried that by the time we get to New Orleans we will be eating half a cow each!!  We are both pleasantly surprised by the wine—previous experiences of American wine don’t make happy memories. 

Tomorrow is another day & we are looking forward to meeting up with never before seen members of Doug’s family, Crispin & Cécile.

NY this morning was foggy & overcast, somewhat different from the last few days. We had a car to Newark airport  with a very pleasant driver who was Moroccan in origin. He had been in U.S. for18 years & happy with his lot. After a lot of help from United Airline staff we eventually got checked in & our bags taken from us. It is a different system in U.S. & you pay for each checked in bag as you check it in. We bucked the system by having ‘overweight’ bags but the staff were extremely helpful & somewhat apologetic about the cost. The plane left more or less on time & the flight time was 2 hrs. 

There was a car waiting for us, this time with an Eastern European driver, lacking a few language skills we think. From airport to hotel took about 45 mins & we eventually cottoned on to a 1hr time change. The hotel is lovely & all the staff very friendly & helpful. Chicago is different from my expectations, more modern & open than I had thought it would be. The weather however is much colder & there is snow forecast for tomorrow!!! We have dinner booked tonight at the Tortoise club which is literally just across the street so we won’t have far to totter. It is Mother’s Day tomorrow & there seem to be lots of events associated with this.

We have a city tour organised for tomorrow & then we will be meeting up with Crispin & Cécile, so more news to follow.

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 from the Hudson

We have had a fabulous time. The weather has been amazing,which helps of course but the city itself has been so welcoming. The people here are keen to be of service & want you to gave had a good time. It is not a cheap place even with a favourable exchange rate. Food & drink, which has been our main expenditure, comes at a cost. Nevertheless, we have had a ball. Tonight, on the river was very well done. The staff were friendly & helpful, the food was good & the trip itself very interesting. We saw everything from a different perspective & hopefully caught it all on camera/IPhone. 

Chicago & very different weather beckons tomorrow.

Ground Zero & Greenwich Village