Chicago: Day #2

It's Friday. I start the day by getting up at 6.30 in the morning, well rested. This never happens. I am obviously jet-lagged in a weird way since I have suddenly turned morning person. I start the day by going for a swim in the hotel pool. Lots of work-out-crazed people in the gym, only me in  the pool. Amazing.

hotel pool. source

Breakfast buffet too good. I'm bursting by the time I'm finished and I still want more because there's so much delicious food.

Us five girls go over to the venue where everything's going to happen and turns out it's huuuge. Gigantic. Everything's bigger in America. Even the hallways are enormous, high high up under the ceiling. They tell us 2500 people are coming to see this show. Crazy!

Anyway, the day is spent waiting, waiting, waiting, walking, waiting, walking, done. I'm lucky enough to get very comfortable shoes, as comfortable as stilettos get that is. We learn and practice our choreography but most of the time is just waiting and watching while the other skinny bitches, and there's a lot of them, learn and practice their choreography. It's a strange feeling being surrounded by girls who are all taller and three sizes smaller than me. This is going to be a big show.

Finished not too late after all, around 4 pm Chicago time. Me, Jeanette and Detty went downtown looking for food and playing tourists with our cameras. I'm not very impressed by this city. It's big, flat, somewhat worn down and a form of segregation is still evident. For example, at our hotel almost all of the staff except for the receptionists are coloured, either black or hispanic, while almost all the guests are white. Scary stuff.

Anyway, ewe found a cute little sushi&smoothie place, bought take-away and ate at the hotel. On the way back I had to stop by Dunkin' Donuts and buy myself a glazed donut. It's tasted like pure sugar. I am truly in the land of the fat. It's actually hard finding something healthy to eat.

Fell asleep at ten.

Chicago: Day #1

Okay, since I never got past day #2 for the London trip I've got a new plan. No pictures until later because that's what stopped me. Choosing pics takes forever, so I'll just write, you can handle some posts with just text, you're grown ups sort of, and then I'll post pictures later.

Okay so I'm in Chicacgo in the USA, first time in the states for me. The TIGI team decided to send the collection girls (that's me and the four other girls) to participate in hair shows in Chicago and in Bologna in Italy. Bologna will be next week.

The flight over was long, I didn't sleep much. The arrival at the O'Hare airport was... peculiar. The first encounter one gets with America is an interrogation with the customs officer. After talking to the other girls later I concluded that all US customs officers take their job veeeeery seriously. Mine looked ridiculously American with short short blond hair, a large jaw, he was white, slightly fat, never smiled and called me ma'm. In a very strong American accent he said: "for how long are you staying the states? Have you been in the states before? Are you here on business? No, why then? That's a strange reason for a first visit... What city do you live in? What do you do? Okay have a pleasant trtip ma'm". Never even a hint of a smile. It's kind of scary knowing that the US government is now in possession of my name, passport number, photo and fingerprints.

After picking up my luggage I was met by  a brute of a man standing there with a sign with my name on it, just like you see in the movies. He looked like a bodyguard and told me to wait here while I get the car around. 

The hotel is big. It has 800 rooms, a gym and a pool. Breakfast is stupidly expensive but de-lish. I'm sharing a  room with Detty, the hungarian. I fell asleep at 9.30 in the evening and slept very well until Friday morning.  

the hotel. source