We were looking forward to the train tour but we had no idea how problematic and uncomfortable the journey was going to be. Firstly,when we went to check our luggage in to the hold, both of our cases were overweight so we had to start emptying stuff out and putting in into our hand luggage and luckily, I had a Marks and Spencer bag for life. It certainly saved us !!! Back-packing would have been more appropriate for travelling by Amtrak. John was really thrilled !!!
Our number was called so we were able to go and board the train. Miss Roberts was our train attendant. She showed us to our ‘roomette’. To say it was tiny was un understatement !!! To have ‘room’ in the name must definitely be against the Trades Description Act !!!
There were two seats facing each other and our knees touched when we sat down. It was very cosy !! These two seats became the bottom bunk and a second bunk came down from the ceiling. It certainly wasn’t any kind of room. It was more like a ‘tomb’.
We were actually looked after very well on the train. Meals were included so we had dinner in the evening and in the morning we had breakfast and they were OK. We passed through a number of States, New York State, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. We went through Cleveland at about 3.30 in the morning. During daylight, we saw interesting countryside and that was very enjoyable.
We arrived in Chicago and took a taxi to our hotel. The hotel was a lovely surprise. The Hilton Palmer House Hotel is a hotel that has great history in Chicago. The original Palmer House was burned down in the fire of 1871 and was subsequently rebuilt by the owner – Potter Palmer. There was a bar in the hotel called Potter’s Bar. I wondered if there was any connection with the Potter’s Bar in Herts.
The Peacock door is a beautiful structure.
We had a good rest before starting to explore Chicago, ‘the Windy City’.
It is very hot here in Chicago so the air conditioning is welcome.
We are thinking of all our friends and family at home and other places as well. Hope everyone is keeping well.
Lots of love
from
Sally XX and John XX
sally's space 