Best Of

Our tour of the Great Lakes on Ponant’s Le Bellot, Chicago to Toronto began last night. We arrived at Chicago mid afternoon and the Tauck rep was ready and waiting to direct us to our driver. The drive into the city was an hour to the Fairmont hotel. Tauck had emailed us a couple of weeks before, warning us the check in was not until 4pm. It was 3-15pm but our room was ready. We just had time to quickly read our documents, fill in the paperwork required and head downstairs to meet the tour guides at their desk as they were due to finish up at 4pm.
The Welcome reception began at 6pm in the Fairmont. Those staying at the Four Seasons had been bused here. We have stayed at the Four Seasons before, so we knew it is further out and a large additional expense of several hundred dollars to stay there, the other choice for this tour.
We entered the reception room and tables were set out with the names of the five tour directors who will be on the tour. We had to choose one of the tables with the name of the TD’s we had met and been assigned earlier. There was more than one table for each of them. It looks as if the tour is full judging by the number of tables!
There was a jazz band playing as we all sat down, so it was extra difficult to even hear the person sitting next to you, but the band was excellent. A young ‘flapper’ sang All that Jazz’ and a male singer sang something, I can’t recall what. Later, a Motown singing group came on. Three men, one woman, they were excellent and at one point invited men to join them on stage to sing. My husband was up there in a flash! The women were encouraged to come up and dance, so I don’t have pictures of him. many people danced during the evening. We really enjoyed it.
The paperwork for the evening we received earlier, had said this was the time to dress up, there was a huge variety, jackets, plaid shirts, flowered shirts, collared T shirts and literally a sport jacket for the men. I saw one or two cocktail dresses on the women. Most wore pants with a whole variety of top types, floaty, shirts, colorful T shirts. I made note because so many people ask about attire.
We chose the sea bass entree, it was disgusting! A thin very over fried up piece of fish, two very burnt long thin carrots and a dollop of what was supposed to be risotto. The salad, dessert and wine were good.
The five tour directors talked a little about the tour, Two different times buses came for the Four Seasons people and the rest of us drifted out.
Our room is on the 21st floor, it’s large and comfortable.
Our first breakfast at the hotel was in a special Tauck room, pretty basic, bacon, fried potatoes, scrambled egg, yoghurt parfait, a few tiny croissant, pain au chocolat, tiny muffins, bread for toast. No fruit, no omelettes, no cereals—-and this is a Fairmont hotel. I wish I knew if the Four Seasons people were also in a different room with limited choices. I had to wait ages for more hot water for my tea, after a while, I asked another server, they were just standing around, I had to go up to them to ask. Then, the first sever arrived, the second one never came back. I just mention this because we have already met several people who this is their first Tauck tour, and it’s a very expensive tour. I’d like to think they will be impressed.