Cubs Rally @ Daley Plaza

At noon today there was a Cubs Rally at Daley Plaza. Somehow I have never made it to a rally for any of the Chicago sports teams before. Since Ryan is a big fan I wanted to go with - he could fill me in on the inside scoop. Only Sai and Vishal came with to check it out. I have to say, it was KIND of boring.

When we first got there, they were playing scenes from when they were division champions in the 80s up on a big screen. But when it came time for the actual rally, even though there were a billion cameras, they didn't put it up on the screen! ABC has a new studio right across the street and they did broadcast the live feed but from where we were standing we would have to turn around to see it.

There were a few neat things though. They put a Cubbies hat on the Picasso! We got to hear Eddie Veddar's song about the Cubs "Go All The Way". And Jim Belushi was the master of ceremonies and he kicked things off singing "Sweet Home Chicago".

Daley was there in a Cubbies hat (hee hee) and so was the governor but everybody was booing him and we left for lunch.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ The Riviera (9/29)

Tiffany and I went to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at The Riviera. I only know one song "Dig, Lazarus, Dig" which must be their most poppy song because the must was much harder than I expected. We hadn't seen each other in a while so we wanted to catch up and I guess a concert isn't the best place for that though. The music was good but the crowd was great! There was a wide range of ages and I think almost everyone there had at least one tatoo.

TCN Launch Celebration

I LOVE my co-workers! This TCN team is one of the best teams I have worked on in a long time. And tonight was our celebration - drinks on SHC!!! We went to Rock Bottom Brewery and had a bunch of fun. Unfortunately for me I didn't say no when shots were offered so I got too drunk and acted like a silly white girl. At least I had fun!

Full set of photos on Flickr.

Night Fishing

I thought my co-worker was crazy when he told me he was meeting up with another co-worker to go fishing - that night. The hope was to catch salmon who had returned to the place they spawned. To me, catching salmon in a Chicago harbor seemed REALLY strange but I was game to check it out. That was at 7pm or so as I was heading out the door from work. So I told him that if he could convince his wife to go I'd come back downtown and we can hang out while the boys fished.

By 8:30 I confirmed with them that it was a go and I got down to their place by about 9:30. The boys were still working so we didn't leave their apartment until about 10:30 and we still had to stop at Jewel to get beer and food!

I have no idea what time we made it down to Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor but it was way after 11. I think we stayed until 3am and they caught two ratty fish. Then we went and got some Polish dogs at Maxwell street. It was a fun night - I didn't get to bed until almost 5am!

Scotland: Day 10 (Edinburgh)

This was our last full day in Scotland. Dick had golf plans so mom and I got to wander around on our own. It was raining but it wasn't too cold so we were fine. We shopped in a few department stores and then cut over back to "the hill". We stopped in a cute little pub and I got to have my last order of bangers and mash. And then we shopped some more before heading back to the hotel to meet up with Dick.

For dinner we ate at the Mussel Inn which is another restaurant know to have good seafood. For appetizer we got the oysters. I was the only one who ordered the mussel for dinner but they were great! It was the perfect last meal for our trip.

Scotland: Day 9 (Edinburgh)

Everybody on our tour left today for their next destination or to head home. But we decided to sleep in for a while and then pick up exploring Edinburgh where we had left off the day before. So (after finding the train station to figure out where Dick would catch the train the next day for his golfing venture) we headed to Holyrood House. We all did the audio tour option and kind of wandered around together. This was the house of Mary, Queen of Scots so we learned alot of intriguing things about her. We spent a good amount of time there and, since we were at the bottom of the hill, we started walking uphill and found a pub have lunch.

The rest of the afternoon we just wandered around shopping and stopping off for a beer. It was a nice and relaxing day. One of the best places we stopped was at Greyfriers Bobby's bar and there was a statue of little Bobby outside which we all pet for good luck. For dinner we headed back to "New Town" where our hotel was and had dinner at a pub nearby.

Scotland: Day 8 (Edinburgh)

I LOVE EDINBURGH! What and AMAZING city - definitely one of the best in the world. It has the same affect on me as Salzburg does. Cute and not too big but tons of culture and neat stuff.

Our day started out with a city tour. The bus dropped us off at Edinburgh Castle where we spent about three hours exploring every nook and cranny.

After we were finished we headed down the hill to Deacon Brodies (which was recommended to us). Story goes that Deacon Brodie was the inspiration for Jekyll and Hide! After lunch we wandered the streets. There was so much shopping to do and I think we went in every store.

We decided to check out the Scotch Whisky Heritage Center and learned everything we wanted to know about Whisky. And after we were rested and filled with Scotch it was time for more shopping!

For dinner we went to Creelers which was recommended by our bus driver when we told him we wanted some oysters. And indeed our oyster appetizers were so good we ordered THREE plates! And the rest of the dinner was wonderful as was the wine so overall we had a fabulous day!

Scotland: Day 7

Today was the day Dick was waiting for the entire trip. Today we went to St. Andrews - home of GOLF. Blech!


In the morning we went to Glamis Castle which is the legendary setting of "MacBeth" and the home of the Queen Mother. This was the nicest castle of the entire trip (not best, just nicest) because of all the items in it! Richness like you can't believe. And it's filled with ghost stories and so much history that it's just what a castle should be.


We finally arrived at St. Andrews in the afternoon and Dick was like a little kid! The golf course is public which means you can literally walk through it. Right through the middle even if people are in the middle of teeing off! I'm not much of a golf fan but it was neat because of all the history involved. And the town itself is amazing. GREAT architecture and shops and all things golf of course.

In the evening we arrived at our hotel in Edinburgh. Finally, back to city life! We didn't have time to explore though because there was some type of organized dinner which involved Scottish music and bagpipes and dancing... and haggis!

Scotland: Day 6

Today we got to sleep in! And it was actually a short day of touring and absolutely perfect. We started out visiting Crathes Castle which was great and my favorite castle of the entire trip. We got a tour of the house and it had all these amazing winding staircases and rooms the jutted out everywhere. There were so many neat things inside like swords and armor. My favorite room was some type of women's room and there were old things for children it - little tables and chairs and even a walker. I've been to a few castles but never remember seeing things for kids before. And as amazing as the castle was, the best part might have been the gardens which still have a ton of flowers even though it was fall. Definitely the best gardens of the entire trip. GREAT photo ops!

After the castle, we went for afternoon tea and a really cute tea house. Since it is the time of year that the salmon run, they brought in a fishing expert to tell us about salmon and their migrations and all that. The house was right next to the Falls of Feugh and even has a balcony where you can sit over the river. ALSO, one of the ladies working at the restaurant plays the bagpipes so she played for us. She asked for a volunteer to teach and I jumped right up. It is CRAZY HARD to play those damn bagpipes. I never realized that they just stand there and blow really hard the entire time. It's all about the lungs which I wasn't expecting so I could barely blow the damn bag up. But it was fun trying!

Scotland: Day 5

Today was my least favorite day of the trip. TOO MUCH BUS TIME! But I guess to see the country you have to spend some time commuting. And at least there were some good views.

The one thing we did do, I loved. We went to Culloden Battlefield and I got to spend a few hours learning all about the history of Bonnie Price Charlie and the England vs. Scotland issues. I love it any time I can dork out and spend the afternoon in a museum.

On the way to our next hotel we stopped at Baxters which most people complained about but I actually liked. While they are known for their soups, they are a UK food company and we got to see all the different food that regular Scottish people liked. Being the foodie that I am, this was right up my alley.

Our hotel in Aberdeen was almost like a castle! I definitely was someone's estate at some point in time. There were a lot of business people there and it was nice to sit in the bar and meet new people, even though most were from the US.

Scotland: Day 4

Most of the day was rainy which is perfect for Scotland I suppose. But lucky for us it was clear in the morning. Our first stop was to take a ferry ride over to the Isle of Mull and see Duart Castle. It wasn't a typical castle that I was expecting and in fact was somewhat small, but it let us get to know more about Scottish Clans.

In the afternoon we went to the seaside town of Tobermory and had some of the best seafood imaginable. It was LITERALLY right out of the sea.

I slept most of the afternoon on the bus as we took ferry after ferry to get back to our hotel. But I had haggis for dinner and it was AMAZING!

Scotland: Day 3

Today we got up early and our first stop was in a little town called Luss. It is right on Loch Lomond which I guess they think we would have liked. I loved the graveyard behind the church there. I had a latte and scone before we boarded the bus again to our next destination which was a river cruise on Loch Lomond. I'm for river cruises but it was raining and you couldn't really see anything so we all sat downstairs. Most exciting part was the "Lomond Special" which is rum and hot chocolate. That and these whisky shots they gave out.

In the afternoon we went to Inverary where we got pretty wet. But we took a tour of the old Inverary jail house which is now a museum and they had some great torture devices.

The best part of the day was driving through the highlands. We passed through Rannoch Moor and heard all the history of the Massacre of Glen Coe about when Clan Campbell massacred Clan Macdonald in 1692. They we stopped at the majestic Glen Coe and got some great pictures.

Our hotel in Ballachulish was right in the middle of the highlands and had the most amazing view. The dining room is backed up to a loch and you can see various mountains and islands off in the distance. There was also a hiking path which was great to take a walk.

Scotland: Day 2 (Glasgow)

Today I slept in and then we transferred hotels to the Thistle Glasgow where our tour kicked off from. After we got settled in our rooms we walked down the street to a pub (Yates's) and I had some Bangers and Mash. This is sausage and mashed potatoes covered in gravy and served with peas. PERFECT food to take off the tiny hangover edge I still had. After filling up I went back to the room for an hour nap and then it was time for our city tour.

Our tour guide's name is Ian and he seems like a historical wiz. His voice can lull me to sleep but he is really knowledgeable and I know were are going to get a lot of great info out of him on our tour. We spent about an hour driving all over Glasgow, many places we had walked past the previous day. The highlight of the day was our visit to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I love art and museums but we were pretty rushed here since we only got an hour. But we did get to see quite a bit and I got my art fix for a while.

We then headed back to the hotel and had drinks with our group followed by dinner. Tonight I had Steak and Ale Pie which was really like a beef stew served with a croissant-type flaky bread. It was all super yummy. I'm liking the food here more than I expected, and I'm not even trying!

Scotland: Day 1 (Glasgow)

Wow! What an amazing first day in Scotland. We flew from Chicago to Amsterdam (with ridiculously small seats but good food) and then from Amsterdam to Scotland (and our flight was an hour late - but the food was good). Out travel agent screwed up and didn't book us a day early in our hotel so we didn't have a hotel for our first night and we ended up at a Holiday Inn Express close to the Glasgow Thistle where we are supposed to stay tomorrow for the start of our tour.

We headed out to the closet pub (Lauder's) and when I asked for a beer the bartender gave me 5 samples. I selected John Smith's Ale for our first beer in Scotland an fish and chips for our first meal. I know, we should have had something more Scottish on our first night but we are going on a tour and will have plenty of Scottish food.

While out for a smoke I met a Andy. (The story is that on our way from Amsterdam to Scotland we traveled with some "football" team with blue jersey's and a Scotland symbol on it. Andy was wearing a similar jersey and I asked him to tell me about the team and he and I figured out that we were on the plane wih junior national Scotish team.) So when I explained to Andy that was in Glasgow alone (which is true since my p's didn't wnat to go out) and I was wondering where to go, He invited me to hang out with them and after a drink where we were we decided to head over to King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (which is a local music club that I had read about and really wanted to go) to see Pearl and the Puppets. The crazy "karma" thing is that I had been looking into going to this club but I had never heard of the band before so I didn't bother buying tickets. However Andy's friend knows's "Pearl" (whose real name is Katie) and he is in love with her. It's un-requitted and totally romatic. So I went with all of them to see the band and the place totally reminded of Empty Bottle excpet it seemed to be in someone's attic instead of someone's basement. We hung out there for a while, heard the band which was AWESOME, had a few drinks and played the juke box. PERFECT RANDOM NIGHT!


And I have to tell you that duck curry when slightly buzzed is a FABULOUS thing! I had to go to the bathroom SUPER BAD after all the bars had closed and I needed to catch a cab - the streets were crazy, but the cops I asked told me if I bought something at Noodle Bar (482 Sauchiehall Street) that they would let me use their facilities. So I chose a Duck Thai Curry since they made me purchase something and it is THE BOMB! I so wish this place was in Chicago.

(Oh! And since my pen wouldn't work and I couldn't do it at King Tut's, I was able to carve Sai's name into the gal's bathroom at the Noodle Shop in Glasgow)

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