A night in a train station

With shifts covered and Baxter dropped off at Aunt Amy’s, last night Will and I arrived in Indianapolis, IN and had a great dinner with friends at a restaurant downtown called Palomino.  This is the first time I’ve gone anywhere without Baxter for a whole week so I was trying to enjoy my scallops and not look compulsively at my phone for updates or missed calls from Amy.  I was anxious about my boy not eating or sleeping and moping around looking for me; but once the text came through that he was having fun playing outside and has eaten well, I relaxed, had a mojito and became part of the lively conversation.

This morning my plan was to explore the city, but I only have two hours before Will gets back from his meeting and we need to drive on to the next place; so I’m staying put. Honestly, I am intrigued with our hotel and want to explore it more.

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza, an historic building transformed from a train station into a hotel that has retained its train station appearance and simply moulded rooms into the original design!  The platform is now carpeted and rooms are built around it, where the tracks should be; I’ve never seen anything like it!  To make it even better, part of the original train station remains next door to the hotel.  Downtown Indianapolis Union Station is literally separated from Crowne Plaza by a wall, so when a train goes by you can hear it and feel the ground rumble for an authentic I’m at a train station vibe.  Hopefully these pictures from the booked.net web page will describe things better than I can.  In the meantime, I’m off to take some of my own! 

Catching Up

I know I’ve been quite again for a while; but in my defence, nothing worth blogging about has been going on.  Will was in Africa for three weeks and I was just working and catching up with friends at J Crew.  Actually, I take that back... I did spend a week working at a fabulous hair salon in Atlanta called Douglas and Co. (as a receptionist! Settle down, they wouldn't actually let me cut anyone’s hair!!).  It was a great time and learning experience; with the best part being the before and after transformations of clients: enter dishevelled hag... exit Malibu Barbie (extremity of cases varying of course!) 

I also came away from it with a new, God-sent hair dresser; the kind you can consult with before an appointment and trust that they actually have your best interest in mind.  I’ve always wanted a hair dresser I can blindly trust and now I have one! YAY! Thanks Erica x Needless to say, I will now recommend Douglas and Co. to all friends/ acquaintances/ dishevelled hags I come across in need of a decent salon and boast shamelessly about how fantastic and healthy my hair looks and feels.

Moving on... Will is setting out for another work trip tomorrow (yes, he has only been home for 5 days) and this time he insists on me accompanying him since we’ve hardly seen each other this past month.  This will be a weeklong trip to Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin; including 4th July spent at a street festival in Chicago!!  I am therefore trying desperately to get my shifts covered at J Crew so I can go... fingers crossed!

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is the first book I've managed to complete reading since Edward Rutherfurd's New York months ago.  I finished it in half a day - I couldn't put it down! Entertaining and exceptionally easy to read; it's also heart wrenching and plain tormenting at times.  I saw the movie almost a year ago and have found it to be a very accurate portrayal of the book (for a change!).  The actor choices were great, I can't imagine anyone better for the three lead parts and while reading, my mind drew pictures of scenes and actors from the movie.

I would recommend this book and movie combo to everyone (over the age of 16) and will definitely add it to my pile of favourite books that I re-read in rotation every few years or so.  The main character Jacob Jankowski comes to such a heartbreaking and honest end that I hope I never forget the resolutions this book inspired within me to make.  I wonder how many resolutions or emotions it will stir within others?

Savannah trolley tours

This morning I woke early; as the geek within was eagerly anticipating the trolley tour of Savannah's Historic District that Will and I would be spending most of our day aboard.  With so many tours to chose from, we spoke to the concierge from our hotel yesterday and after  getting his (apparently unbiased) advice, we chose the on-off tour that allows people to hop off, or re-board the trolley at 15 designated stops around the city; giving us plenty of time to explore points of interest at our leisure.  Coincidentally, the on-off trolley tour is the only pet friendly one in the city, so we decided that Baxter would come too.   

The photos speak for themselves; Savannah is an incredibly beautiful city, but to learn about its history and get a real appreciation for the place, I definitely recommend the trolley tour conducted by Savannah Tours.