Chicago!

Anna and I took a quick business trip to Chicago this week. The business was an appointment at the French consulate to obtain her long-stay visa for her upcoming trip to France. The paperwork involved in this process was extensive, which made the 5 minute appointment somewhat anticlimactic. However, the opportunity to visit Chicago, however brief, was a great one and we made the most of it.

We arrived Thursday evening at the residence of David Wong, my college room mate and his family. After a dinner of deep dish pizza, Anna and Wai-sinn entertained us with some Christmas carol duets.

Friday morning was our appointment at the consulate. Before heading up to the 37th floor, David asked Anna to take our picture with his phone. Just as she snapped it, security descended on us. "NO PICTURES!" It is a very nice lobby, and I'm sure they don't want anyone to poach design ideas. None of us were jailed.

After the appointment (handing in a stack of signed documents, paying the fee, having a photo taken "don't smile!", and having her fingerprints scanned) we went out to North Michigan Ave. This is Anna saying "I'm going to France!"

Before leaving, we stopped at the sandwich shop Hannah's Bretzel. Incredibly delicious sammies, but check out the wall 'o chocolate. We chose a few to bring home.

This one is for Belle-mere. She like.

The drive home was uneventful, save for a hairy 20 miles around South Bend where a band of lake effect snow turned the highway into a snow covered skating rink. Many cars and big rigs down in the ditches. I took it slow and was grateful for snow tires.