Prep for the London Olympics at St. Pancras Stn.
ELENA:)
The London leg of the trip started with a trip to Bath after the 8 hour plane ride. Thank goodness i was flying United, i managed to score three seats to myself. I ended up half sleeping half writing this confession email to someone. Not good.
We stayed at the Halcyon Hotel which was perfect for 2 nights as it was very close quarters. The hotel was walking distance to the train station which was very convenient. Also very convenient, the Marks & Spencer. I love going to groceries stores abroad… they always have interesting eats.
Here is a picture from the Roman Bath.
ELENA:)
I love Chicago. Chicago is like the cousin of NYC. You can walk around. Not get lost. People are friendly. Interesting architecture (Frank Loyd Wright) and great food. Last spring, I went with a bunch of guys. But this time it was all about doing things i wanted to do.
Where did i stay? The Trump Tower. Yup. I have a letter from Donald himself. OK, so it might be a form letter… but i don’t care. The room was incredible and it was the size of people’s condos in Vancouver (600 sq ft) complete with a kitchen and a TV in the bathroom mirror (fantastic).
My first nights’ dinner was at Graham Elliot. So fantastic. I need to go back and try the tasting menu for sure. The popcorn sample at the beginning of the meal was so scrumptous i think that i totally ate our tables’ portion. I think that i had the crab cake. It was amazing. Bravo.
The next few days were spent eating (some more) a lot of drinking and shopping. I heart Potbelly’s sandwiches and WowBao’s hot Asian buns. They definitely take the fast casual (someone taught this terminology and I’m giving you credit) to another level. My favorite breakfast in Chicago has to be at the Old Fashioned Pancake House. The sweet pecan pancakes are spectaular. I totally recommend it.
Enough about food, more importantly I got to test out my shopping skills on a coworker. Although she wears scrubs most of the time, she managed to pick up a few things to enhance her wardrobe at JCrew (I love JCrew!) . It’s tragic that she can’t wear normal street clothes more often, she has the body type that 90% of girls would kill for. Not only does she have a great body, but she is the sweetest resident ever so you can’t even secretly hate her!
Of course, bought a few things from Anthropologie. A long blue dress, a pair of jeans and this cute equestrian hip bag thing. I can’t wait until they open here. Maybe I’ll apply for a job.
I fell in love with these butterscotch patent leather pumps (Prada) at Nordstrom’s, but a lady bought my size and they were sold out nationwide. They are the perfect height and shade. I looked everywhere for them, but there was none to be found. (A little update is that i found them online and they are making their way to Vancouver shortly. Thanks Neiman Marcus!)
One night after dinner we all went bowling (10Pin Chicago) which was interesting to see who was a closet bowler. I believe we actually got flashed at one point.
On Friday night after this wrap up dinner, we checked out the Crimson Lounge, where we found out that not everyone knows how to play spin the bottle. After the lounge we found our way Mother Hubbard’s where we made nice with a guy named John who claimed he was moving from San Fransisco but he had a Midwest accent. I don’t know how that worked out. But he managed to get us inside and bought us a round of shots. Which was not a good idea considering i needed to be sober enough to catch a flight to London later that afternoon.
Next up… why Elena should not drink alcohol and text/email.
ELENA:)
Here is the equation…
I’m Single + My friend who owns a restaurant (Terracotta) wants Thursday traffic = Speed Dating Event
Sounds simple…. but it wasn’t.
First of all, you need a mix of people. Do not get your friends to invite their friends because everyone just knows each other. The 6 degrees of separation turns into 2 and you end up wondering why you weren’t invited to a certain party when everyone starts talking.
Second, the room needs to accommodate a large amount of people who all will be talking at the same time. I think i lost my voice because i was screaming so much. There needs to be a flow to the room. People shouldn’t have to wonder where they have to go next.
Let’s talk about hand shakes and lotion. They go hand and hand. I know it’s winter and it’s cold outside. But the dryness of guys’ hands was incredible. Also, if you were planning to shake some persons hand…. shake it firmly – no wimpy half handshakes please.
The guys weren’t bad. There were some nice guys. Maybe 1 that i would consider hanging out again. 1 out of 20… not bad. There was one guy who kept checking his phone and could not do any amount of eye contact. The same guy asked me if i liked guys to wear boxers or briefs. Really?
The topics of conversation were light… but I will say this, i agree with the play This. Asking a person, what they do really equates to… how much money do you make and do i make more you?
My friends friend was telling me he thought that there were alot of girls with walls up. While washing my hands in the bathroom, this girl approached me and asked if i was having i fun. I was like, “Sure… it could be worse” Her reply was, “You’re a really good hearted person.” I didn’t think it was THAT bad. Or maybe I’m that nice.
ELENA:)