And Last But Not Least…The Food!

Before heading to Chicago, just about everyone I know had Chicago tips for me.  While there were some tips about sights I needed to be sure to see, most of them were about the food.  Everyone mentioned how much they loved the food in Chicago.  Of course, that was wonderful news.

They were right!  Here are some highlights…

Garrett is the epitome of gourmet popcorn.  When I was first told about a popcorn shop, I didn’t think it sounded very appetizing.  I’ve had gourmet popcorn before – that stale kind that comes in tins around the holidays.  Ehhh, I wasn’t sure I would be impressed.  I was wrong.  Garrett’s popcorn is delicious.  I had the Chicago mix – half cheese popcorn and half caramel – both so fresh they were warm.    
We couldn’t wait to get it home to try it.  We opened it on the bus and sneakily ate some so the bus driver wouldn’t catch us.

After the visit to Oak Park, we headed back into the city for dinner at the Hop Leaf. 
 
This place is GIANT and sold every kind of beer one can think of.  Their menu is very unique, combining interesting flavors. 

I decided on the CB&J which is a grown up PB&J that came with stilton mac and cheese.

Up until that night I had never tried frozen custard.  It is like ice cream, but with more eggs in it.  Apparently it’s a Midwest thing.  We headed to Scooters after dinner. 

I had the chocolate.  It was very creamy and very rich.

After the river cruise, we wandered around the city and stopped into Vosges Haut Chocolat – a high end chocolate company based in Chicago. 

They are known for mixing different flavors in their chocolate like bacon, peppercorns, chilies and other herbs and spices.  
I bought some peanut butter bon bons and a small box of mixed truffles home with me.  The bon bons are gone…the truffles are being savored.

On my last night in Chicago I FINALLY got to try deep dish pizza at Giordano’s.We ordered a salad to share and our pizza with pepperoni.  Deep dish takes almost an hour to cook, so we ate our salad while we waited, and waited.

It was well worth the wait – so cheesy and so saucy.   
My mouth is watering as I write this.  It was SO good.  Unfortunately, after the weekend’s debauchery, I was only able to eat about three-fourths of a slice.  I wanted more, but just couldn’t do it.  Since then, I’ve been dreaming about this pizza.  I’m going to have to try to make this at home some time.

Everyone was right!  Chicago’s food is delish!

The Architecture

Due to the weather, we didn’t take the architecture river cruise until my last day in Chicago.  I am so glad we waited because, even though it was still hot and humid, there was blue sky which made me happy.

Even though I DID pay attention on the cruise, I  can’t really remember the names of all the buildings because I was also very busy taking pictures. The views were so good from that vantage point.  The architecture is quite diverse.  Some of my favorite pics…

After the river cruise, we walked to Millennium Park…   …and The Bean!

I really wanted to go up in the Hancock Building.  

The views promised to be incredible from the 100th floor.

But rather than pay $23 per person to go up in the elevator, we paid $23 total to each have a drink at The Signature Bar on the 97th floor (including a free elevator ride).  The view and the cocktail were worth it!

Chicago is a beautiful city!

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Oak Park

We headed just outside the city to Oak Park, IL on day 3.  Oak Park is a suburb of Chicago well known for having the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright’s properties in the world.

We started off with a tour of his home and attached design studio. 
Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed inside the home or studio.  Which is too bad, because so much of it is unique and quite modern for its time.

After the tour, we wandered around the neighborhood looking for other homes that Wright designed.  We had a map of the neighborhood that listed which homes were his, however most of them weren’t too hard to pick out due to his original style.

The first few homes we spotted actually didn’t look too much like what he is famous for.  They are his earlier homes, known the “bootleg houses”.  

I like them a lot – not as linear as his later ones. 

As we walked in and out of streets, his known style became more pronounced.  Here are just a few. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of his style, but really appreciated our visit because his design and his life were so interesting.

Stumbling upon Ernest Hemingway's childhood home was a nice surprise while in Oak Park. 
My most (The Sun Also Rises) and least (The Old Man and the Sea) favorite books read in school were written by Hemingway.  

Oak Park is a beautiful neighborhood.  We had a nice visit.

The Art Institute of Chicago

We spent my second day in Chicago at the AIC.  What a great museum!  The amount of well-known art in this place was incredible. 

We brought our lunch and sweated sat in the beautiful garden outside. 

The grand staircase installation by Jitish Kallat called Public Notice 3.

After some quick looks around the first floor, we headed up to the Impressionist’s Wing.  Since my favorite period of time for art is the Impressionist and Post Impressionist, I was like a kid in a candy store running from painting to painting, gasping. 

A Sunday on La Grande Jette by Georges Seurat 
It is a giant painting!
  
Equestrienne by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
The Norton Simon Museum has the preliminary sketch for this in its collection.


Monet has been an overall favorite of mine for years, and the AIC is full of his paintings.  Several of the haystack series as well as the lily ponds are housed in the AIC.   

One of my favorite Van Gogh's – The Bedroom

We visited the modern art wing next.  I’m not a big fan of most modern art, but some pieces and some artist appeal to me. 
 
I do like some of Picasso’s earlier work like The Old Guitarist.  Henri Matisse is also a favorite of mine.  This is Daisies.

There were several pieces that I know of but don’t know too much about.  It was so interesting seeing them in person and learning a bit more about the artists.
American Gothic by Grant Wood.
The Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

I am so impressed with this museum.  Up until my visit, the Norton Simon in Pasadena and the Musee d’Orsay in Paris were the top two art museums I’ve visited due to their Impressionist’s collection.  I will have to add the Art Institute of Chicago to my list as well.

On a side note, when we left the museum I was amazed to see how many photographs I took of the art inside.  Why do I do that?  Photographs of this art is available online if I ever want to see it, and I’m certainly not going to to enlarge any of these photos to hang on the wall.  I guess it’s just because I am truly giddy when I see originals of the art that I have studied and love.  It’s silly really, but I just can’t help myself. 

Where Did July Go? (7 for 7)

After waiting for an entire crazy school year to end and finally being summer break, I can’t believe that July is over and I have to go back to work in a couple of weeks. 

I think this month’s calendar for the Kathryn Wheel Calendar challenge is my favorite thus far.  Having the time to decorate some of the days, was fun and I like the bright colors.

I washed the journal page with acrylic and then “dirtied” it up with drippy paint, ink, and gesso. 
  Instead of using store bought  paper, I made my own with acrylic wash to use as the date squares.  I like how bright they turned out.
 
I didn’t spend ANY time journaling in this journal at all in July.  I did however get a chance to start my Sketchbook Project book.  The theme is “Travel With Me”. 
It’s been fun to sketch some of the local places I’ve been so far this summer.
Chicago also offered some good sketching opportunities. 

Only 7 full pages to go until the sketchbook is finished, and I have until January.