Free in the City

Some of us had no conference obligations today, so my travel-buddies and I took a double-decker bus tour of the city. You can hop on and off when you want, so we had a look at Union Station and spent some time in the Africa and Egypt exhibits at the Field Museum. It rained off and on, so mostly we just stayed on the bus and saw the sights, but on the final leg of the tour, to Navy Pier, the skies cleared, so Gerri and I rode up on top where we had an unobstructed view.

Chicago is a beautiful city. Interesting buildings from several eras attractively combine to create what many believe to be one of the world's most beautiful skylines. The streets are clean and adorned with planters full of colorful floral arrangements. We've felt very welcome here, too. Today the ticket seller at the Field Museum who let us in for free. This is my third trip here and I'm enjoying it just as much as my first. More photos here.

Navy Pier

Navy Pier is a 20-minute walk from our hotel. We got tickets for Cirque Shanghai - Chinese acrobats. We marveled at their strength and flexibility. They put on a fun show. Afterwards, Ann and I rode the giant Ferris wheel for a breathtaking view of the Chicago skyline at night. Photos are all on Flickr.

The Elephant and Castle Pub in Chicago

What a great welcome to the Windy City! When I arrived in Chicago with my colleagues Gerri and Valerie yesterday, we set out to find someplace that looked good for lunch. It was raining and as the rain began to really come down, we happened up the Elephant and Castle Pub. We, along with many others, took refuge inside and waited for a table. After a short wait, we were seated and placed our orders. Shortly thereafter, the hostess came over to chat and offered to comp us a dessert because, she said, "I like the way you women look. There's a good vibe about you." Well that was nice! We shared a really delicious and decadent bread pudding and then set off to explore Millennium Park in the rain. A great first day!

"Chicago, Chicago...

...that toddlin' town!"

According to Answers.com, to toddle is to:

1. walk with short, unsteady steps
2. walk leisurely; stroll

I might just possibly be doing both when I revisit Chicago (this'll be my 3rd trip) for the Annual Conference of the American Library Association, July 9-15.

I really enjoy Chicago and always have a great time with my friends and colleagues at ALA conferences, so I'm really looking forward to the trip. I'll be posting here (the fun stuff) and on our group blog MSLA en Mass. (the professional stuff).

So, activities that result in definition #1 are more apt to be found here!

Bliss

What could be better than sitting out on my deck in the stillness after supper, listening to the birds sing, watching them flit from the bushes to the feeders, smelling the just-cut hay in the field below, thinking about the grand-daughter soon to come? Life is good.

Busy Last Day at the Disneyland Resort

We packed a lot into today, trying to squeeze in everything we wanted to do before our time here in Anaheim runs out. We started today with a monorail ride into Disneyland. While walking through Downtown Disney to get to the monorail station, we were overtaken by four people, two men and two women, dressed entirely in black, the women carrying black parasols. You see all types here, so we didn't think that much of it, although these folks certainly looked about as un-Disney as anyone possibly could. When we got to Disneyland, there were more goth-types walking around, most of them in groups, and later we saw more at DCA. Turns out that this is the 11th annual Bats Day in the Fun Parks Weekend, the "premiere Dark Alternative Subculture event on the West Coast."

We did a couple of rides in Fantasyland and then decided to say goodbye to Disneyland. It was getting very crowded and we had plans to tour the Grand Californian to learn about the Arts and Crafts influences in the architecture and decor of the hotel. The one-hour tour was fascinating and lots of design details we had overlooked were pointed out to us by our guide Sierra. Several artists were commissioned to work on various elements of the hotel, like the tiles used on the front of the registration desk and the stunningly beautiful stained glass doors at the hotel's entrance. I took a lot of photos which are all posted on Flickr.

After that tour, we were picked up by a representative of the Disney Vacation Club and taken to their building about a block away to learn about DVC membership. We (mostly I) have been tossing around the idea of joining DVC since we take so many Disney vacations, but what we had pretty much figured out on or own was verified by the DVC rep - renting points from DVC members rather than buying our own membership is a better way to go for us. We were shown a model of the DVC units that are currently under construction here at the Grand Californian and they are stunning, but we don't visit Disney parks often enough, or take long enough vacations, to ever break even on this large an investment.

After the DVC tour, we went back to DCA to see the Aladdin show one more time and use the FastPasses we received for taking the DVC tour. The park was mobbed, so after riding Soarin', we came back to the hotel and had a nice last dinner in the Storyteller's Cafe. Now we're packing. Right below us in Downtown Disney, a flamenco guitarist is performing. During our days here we have seen a violinist, dulcimer player, and a percussionist performing outside at night. Downtown Disney is a great venue for adults and we have really enjoyed staying here, right next to all it has to offer. And for a fitting finale, we are watching the Disneyland fireworks from our balcony.

This has been a great trip. We feel that now we have really "done" Disneyland and will look forward to coming back sometime if the circumstances are right.

All the photos from this trip are posted on Flickr.

Food and Wine Festival

Last night we decided to go back to DCA to do the Wines of the World "walk". They had four stations set up, each representing a different country or region, with a choice of three wines at each. I was given a "passport" containing a brief description of wine making in each country, that was stamped at each station. I didn't write down the names of the wines I sampled, but I remember that I tried Trumpeter, a white wine from Argentina, a Pinot Noir from New Zealand, and two other reds - one from Italy and one from the "Old World". The samples were thimball sized, but it was fun to walk through and hear a little about each of the wines.

Before going back to Disneyland for the fireworks, we decided to have a full-sized drink and something to eat in the lounge at the Napa Rose, the "fancy" restaurant at the Grand Californian. We ordered the Sizzling Beach Stone appetizer, which included shrimp, beef ribs, and chicken, garnishes and dipping sauces, and was artistically presented in a wooden box.

We walked to the monorail station in Downtown Disney to ride into Disneyland for the fireworks. I love the Disneyland monorail. It has been recently refurbished with shiny new trains and it carries you past DCA and right into Disneyland after making several loops over Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We rode a couple of rides and then decided to make a full circuit of the park on the Disneyland Railroad before the fireworks. We were held for about 20 minutes between the New Orleans Square and Mickey's Toontown stations at the rear of the park because there was a mechanical problem with the train in front of us. When we finally arrived at the Toontown station we were told we'd be held there another 10 minutes, so we got off and started to walk, but we didn't make it back to Main Street before the fireworks started, and by then we were caught in the crowd couldn't find anywhere to stop where we could see, so we just left and went back to the hotel.

Today we spent the whole day enjoying DCA and the Food and Wine Festival. We started with Soarin', a glider ride over California - exactly the same as the ride at Walt Disney World, but still wonderful. We improved our scores over yesterday's on Toy Story Midway Mania. The park was not as crowded as I thought it would be for a Saturday during the Food and Wine Festival. I took lots of photos of the flower arrangements and landscaping in the Golden State area. They have a lot of beautiful container arrangements set up for the Festival and it looks really nice. We managed to catch several of the street performances today, including High School Musical 3, Drawn to the Magic (a musical tribute to Disney animators), and the Miner Forty-Niners, a hillbilly band.

We also attended a seminar about wines from the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite). Tables for the seminar participants were set up on a patio at the Golden Vine Winery, with three samples for each of us to try. The Rothschild representative described each wine and the vineyard where it was produced. We were given a booklet with detailed information about the wines and the history of each vineyard. We tasted a white bordeaux (Reserve Speciale Bordeaux Blanc 2007), and two reds, Blason d'Aussieres AOC Corbieres 2006, and Amancaya Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec 2007. After the seminar I got a glass of Hill Family Merlot (Napa Valley) to sip while we strolled around the park and watched the entertainers. We saw celebrity chef Cat Cora doing a cooking demonstration in Sunshine Plaza. The more time I spend at DCA, the more I like this park, particularly the Golden State and Hollywood Pictures Backlot areas. With all the changes planned, DCA should be even better in the next few years.

We had dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square, so after a break in our room, we walked through Downtown Disney and into Disneyland. The Blue Bayou overlooks part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (which unfortunately, has not been running so far this trip) and simulates an outdoor, lantern-lit patio. We both ordered the Jambalaya, which was good and spicy. We shared a sampler plate of three creme brulees for dessert (good, but SO sweet and rich). After dinner we rode the Haunted Mansion, watched the Swing Dance Party for a while, and browsed the shops on Main Street until it was time to stake out a spot in the middle of the street for the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks - a great show highlighting many of the attractions in the park.

Tomorrow is our last day at Disneyland. We'll probably spend some time in both parks and we've also signed up for the "Art of the Craft" tour of the Grand Californian.

Click here for more photos.

California Adventure

What I love about staying at the Grand Californian is its proximity to so many places. We have our own entrance into Disney's California Adventure (DCA), we can walk right into Downtown Disney and take the monorail into Disneyland, or, if we prefer, it's an easy walk, and we are close to the other Disneyland resort hotels, Paradise Pier and the Disneyland Hotel.


We spent the early part of today at DCA, starting in the Paradise Pier section and making a counter-clockwise circuit of the park. There is a lot of construction going on right now as they build an area for a new "nighttime spectacular" - World of Color - that looks like it will be like a cross between IllumiNations and Fantasmic.

There is a long range plan to transform DCA into a more Disney-esque park. There is even an exhibit in the Blue Sky Cellar, where you can see a preview of some of the plans for the future. They have already changed the Sunwheel into Mickey's Fun Wheel, with a giant Mickey head replacing the central sun and given it a red and yellow color scheme, and Games of the Boardwalk, Disney's version of carnival games, have opened. We rode a couple of the tamer Paradise Pier rides, Mulholland Madness and Jumpin' Jellyfish, and then joined the queue for Toy Story Midway Mania. This interactive ride-through virtual arcade is really fun. Mr. Potato Head greets riders as they enter the queue and today he noticed me. Commenting on the sunglasses I had on top of my head, he said, "That woman's hair must be famous, it's wearing sunglasses."

After that we left the hustle-bustle of the Pier behind and strolled through the much more laid-back Golden State area. The Food and Wine Festival is in progress and there are places to participate in Wine or Beer "Walks" where you can sample a variety of these, and there are special Festival items on most menus. We checked out the offerings in the Pacific Wharf area, and decided on table service at the Wine Country Trattoria. We had a nice quiet meal there overlooking the wharf.

After lunch we wandered through "a bug's land" and Flick's Fun Fair just to see what they were like - and they're very cute. There are some very pretty flower gardens in this area too. Then we went over to Hollywood Pictures Backlot to check out the Disney Animation building, where we watched the zoetrope in the Character Close-Up room, had our voices (singing Hi Ho, Hi Ho) stolen by Ursula in the Sorcerer's Workshop, and were amused, as usual, by Crush in Turtle Talk. There was a chef's demo going on in Sunshine Plaza, but it was full and in progress, so we didn't stop. I picked up a Food and Wine Festival t-shirt and then we decided to go see Aladdin again before heading back to the hotel.

We have adopted the Hearthstone Lounge at "The Grand" as our place to relax, and have a light meal or snacks. We picked up a cafe au lait and a latte there for a mid-afternoon break in our room. We'll go back to Disneyland later tonight for the fireworks. The park is open until midnight, so I'll probably include my comments about that in tomorrow's post. I have added all of today's photos so far to Flickr.

A Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour

Today we participated in a private guided tour through Disneyland with 3 other couples. A Walk in Walt's Footsteps is full of facts and trivia about the creation of Disneyland, including recordings of Walt's comments about the building of the park. We were given a peek into the lobby of the exclusive members-only Club 33 (where Gerri and I had dinner during the ALA conference last June), lunch, and a collectible pin. We visited several attractions, among them, the Jungle Cruise and the Tiki Room, and heard about several others, like it's a small world and the Matterhorn. Did you know that then-vice president Richard Nixon participated in the opening of that ride?

The tour began before the park was open, so we had Adventureland and Frontierland to ourselves before anyone else was allowed in. These areas were deserted except for a few cast members.

Having grown up hearing Walt Disney talk about his plans for Disneyland on his TV program every Sunday night, I was a little nostalgic learning how the dreams of this talented and creative man came to fruition.

After our tour and lunch with the rest of our group, we walked over to California Adventure to see Aladdin. This 45-minute show, in its own theatre built especially for this production, is full of costumes, puppets, amazing special effects, great singing and dancing, and lots of humor, most notably from the genie. We went on a couple of other rides in DCA before leaving the park for a break. Later, we returned to Disneyland to see the new parade, Celebrate! A Street Party, followed by a few more rides until the park closed.

We had planned to have something to eat at the bar in the Disneyland hotel, but after walking over there, we found out it was closing time, so we returned to the Grand Californian's Hearthstone Lounge where we had some good pub grub.

We're going to take it slow and easy tomorrow because the time difference between the two coasts has caught up with us.

Don't forget to check out all our photos on Flickr.