Of Campus Touristry

Despite crashing WAY TOO LATE (11:30pm ... yes, I am a Grandma) and tipsy, my brain still somehow woke me up at 6am (I love travelling westward ... the time difference is soooo pleasant!). So I was a little ball of nerves for a good 3 hours while trying simultaneously to study up on my interviewers and watching Charmed on TV. I LOVE 6am television - it's all the things I never get to watch otherwise!

All dressed up and ready to go!

 After breakfast, I (despite having some issues with getting lost ... I think I walked past the people I was supposed to meet up with at least twice before I realized where I was supposed to be ... whoops!), finally managed to start my campus tour. The grad students I met up with were absolutely lovely and friendly and definitely added to the experience. 

Well, what can I say? The campus was beautiful! The weather was mild and perfectly sunny and the campus was so peaceful, I just wanted to sit on a bench and enjoy the breeze. (Which by the way was definitely ever-present ... so Windy City does deserve its name!).

I loved the beautiful stonework on most of the buildings (and the rest were quite structurally attractive concrete). I think that it was a study week before exams so there weren't many people about, which definitely added to the relaxed air.

The department was (as always) housed in ... less than impressive quarters. That is, the faculty offices themselves were in a delightful old three story house - replete with a tower and creaky spiral staircases and little nooks and crannies. But the labs were across the street in the basement (absolutely typical of my major at most universities) and that was less than stellar.

They were also shared with the Psychology department. Of course. Also, please note my absolutely terrific posing. Clearly, I need to be on the cover of Vogue, right now.

The best part though? The university is right on the lake.

Look, it's Chicago in the distance!

Basically, the sand was white, the water was beautiful, and if it wasn't just a teeny bit windy (whoops, understatement) and chilly, I would have been out there tanning and swimming in a second.

I roped some poor grad student into taking photos of me all day ... No shame. I also took a lot of blurry pictures of random buildings and trees, but I'll spare you from my awe-inspiring photography.

I also encountered another university-specific phenomenon ...

The painted rock. What is it with university students and spray painting weird objects? I know for a fact there's a similar thing going on at my hometown university as well. I never got it. I've taken painting lessons from a young age and I can tell you, painting on rock does not result in the best of paintings. 

And doing my due diligence as a good tourist, I also took a couple of pictures of the city outside of the campus as well.

 By that point, it was 5pm and I was WIPED. Too much talking and listening and people time and walking around (hence my less than stellar photography of Evanston proper). I literally collapsed back on bed on the hotel and vegged out to Law and Order for the rest of the night.

Oh and I may have ordered absolutely delicious room service. This BLT sandwich was heaven in my mouth. I just ... no words.