Chicago Trips

This is a little delayed (okay, okay, a lot delayed) but I took a trip to Chicago on December 19th to pick up my student visa and I'm finally posting about it. Better late than never, right? :-)

I took two trips to Chicago, one to apply for my student visa and one to pick it up. The first trip I was quite lost and disoriented so the whole day is just a blur. My boyfriend, Justin, and I took the first trip together on Halloween. We left at 1am from Cleveland on the MegaBus (check out MegaBus, it's a great, CHEAP option for traveling in the US). We got to Chicago around 6am (7am Ohio time) not as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as we would've liked to have been. Being the already sleep deprived college students we were, we knew it would be a long day. Justin and I wandered down Jackson Blvd., then turned around because we realized we'd gone the wrong way, and finally caught a bus that said Jackson Blvd. to Michigan Ave. It was the first time either of us had ever really taken a public bus and it must've shown on our faces because the bus driver seemed as mad as a hornet when we stepped on the bus. 

Anyway, I digress. We eventually made it to the Spanish Consulate and I applied for my visa. We spent the rest of the day lounging around in cafe's and various Starbucks working on our laptops (I had a couple of tests coming up that week!). At 4pm on the same day we boarded another MegaBus and arrived back in Cleveland around midnight. That pretty much sums up the first trip.

So, the second trip is about the same because we were completely and utterly exhausted the whole day, but this time I went with my friend Lorene. My trip with Lorene is better summarized with the photos I took that day. So, here they are! Enjoy. :-P

Lorene being tired in the Barnes & Noble Starbucks.

Me being tired in the Barnes & Noble Starbucks. Lol.

The list of things we wanted to do while in Chicago. 

Yay, photo of us taken by random stranger.

Looking admiringly at the bluish-green lion.

Growling at the bluish-green lion. Lol. 

It was a beautiful December day. 

A cool view down one of the streets off of Michigan Ave.

I couldn't believe Justin and I didn't see this huge sculpture
when we were here. It's called Cloud Gate (I think?).

Aw, we're so pretty. We almost look like twins (triplets? If you
include Amanda!).

We were fascinated. This thing was huge!!

Me! :-) 

Lorene called it "the Bean". I think that's appropriate! Haha.

Another street off of Michigan! 

Finally, I have my visa! (It's just a sticked in
one page of your passport!!

End of the day exhaustion. 

Lol. My end of the day face.

That's pretty much it. Once again, we caught the MegaBus around 4 to head back to Cleveland. What a day!!!