Last week Global Traveler held its Wherever Awards and The Trazees in Chicago. GT events are always great events, but this one in my hometown was special.

As the only local GT staffer, I happily gave food and sightseeing tips to my GT colleagues. When not working on the ceremony, all seemed to have a fun time checking out the city and food, including legendary Chicago deep dish pizza.

The night before the ceremony the staff met for a group dinner at Alpana. Located in the Gold Coast area, Alpana is an Italian restaurant known for its wine-inspired cuisine. I enjoyed Faroe Islands salmon, perfectly prepared with beluga lentils, carrot ginger purée, zucchini and English peas. It was wonderful chatting in person with the folks I usually only see via Zoom.

Of course, the star of the weekend was the ceremony held at The Peninsula. I had about 25 family and friends attending, several of whom had not met each other. It was fun to see those worlds collide as the circle of friendship grew. I also met travel coach Sahara Rose, journalist Meena Thiruvengadam and travel expert Annie Pezza, all of whom were previous guests on GT‘s Talking Travel interview series.

Sahara Rose

Meena Thiruvengadam

Annie Pezza

The GT staff ended the night relaxing and swapping stories before we went our separate ways. There were a lot of laughs and warm hugs.

As I drove home, I was very tired but a bit overwhelmed by everything. Having so many folks there sharing my night meant the world to me. I felt truly blessed.

— John Wroblewski, online writer