I spent a few days in Chicago before I went back to the Quad Cities for Christmas. I took a cab from Midway to Cecile’s, where she, Jon and Matt we waiting with delicious BBQ brisket sandwiches from Fat Willy’s.

Friday Cecile took the day off work and we ate at Hot Doug’s and saw "Juno" at River East. That night we had dinner at Irazu with Ian, his brother and his girlfriend, Kate, Andy, Lindsay, Conrad, Katie and her boyfriend Pat. After Irazu, Ian, Lindsay and I went back to Lindsay’s apartment. We played some Guitar Hero while we waited for Ian’s friends, then we went to The Violet Hour. Bizarrely, this was the same bar that Kate had set off to find after dinner and it was amazing. It’s a speakeasy with a very understated storefront, sleek decor and delcious old-fashioned drinks. We closed the bar, then Ian, Dan and I walked to the Continental and closed that bar too.

Ian crashed at Cecile’s too, since the trains weren’t running to Evanston anymore, and he and I met Mark for brunch at Earwax where Lindsay was hostessing. Post-Earwax I met my parents at the Nau store and we made the trip back home.