I would also like to say that I had a wonderful time this weekend with the very charming Catman. What also made it really nice for me was doing some of the "tourist" stuff that you don't normally do in your own town. I had not been on the architecture river cruise but had heard it was wonderful and I had not been to the Chicago Historical Society since I was a very little girl. There is so much to do & see in Chicago and I really enjoy showing off my fair city to others (which I believe to be the greatest city on earth)!
knowitall: Dim Sum at 3 Happiness would be great! Please let me know when would be a good time for you & we can set something up. I'm assuming you reside in the Milwaukee area (the main Beertown I know!) so drive on down 94 & visit for a spell! As for the cows, I didn't get it at first either (who's ever heard of cows in downtown Chicago?) but it's actually pretty cool. There are approximately 300 plaster or some material cow sculptures that are decorated in various ways by local artists, some sponsored by companies. The Doublemint cow that Catman referred to is a cow with a head on each end painted green with some doublemint arrows on it. When Catman's pics get to NJDavid's site, you'll be able to see the "adopted" mascot of FlyerTalk with Catman himself! Don't worry, we're not looking to take the "America's Dairyland" title away from you!
Punki: Sounds like we definitely have something in common: SHOPPING! Being a native, I do love shopping here as well, with Water Tower Place being one of my favorite malls! Don't forget that when staying at a downtown hotel, make sure to ask the concierge how to get you're Marshall Field's "visitor's bag". It contains 1 yummy Frango mint chocolate bar & (most importantly) 2 10% off coupons for any sale or non-sale priced item in the store! They will either make you show your room key or out-of-state driver's license to get it.
One of these days when my schedule is a bit more stable, I will host a Chicago FT get-together (thanks to Catman's compliments of my hosting abilities!) Stay tuned!
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Regards,
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Anna