Chicago: My, Yours, and Whoever's Kind of Town
- TheBetterHalf
- May 19
- 3 min read
As our faithful readers learned last week, Cutest and I, emphasis on I, drove to Bloomington, Indiana for Cutest's granddughter's college graduation. The following day, after much celebration the night before, and a too short of a stop in Indianapolis, we motored north to Chicago.
Chicago, home of the Cubs, have the dubious distinction of being the only other professional baseball team that loses more than the Royals. However this city by the lake has many redeeming qualities, some of which include expansive museums and mouth-watering foods served in great restaurants. And great public landscaping.
Chicago was incorporated in 1837. To illuminate the distant and more recent past of not just the city but of national and world people and events, several granite and marble structures downtown house huge collections of historic importance.
Cutest and I chose to revisit the Art Institute of Chicago, just a jump from the shores of Lake Michigan, to investigate. As you would expect, famous paintings and sculptures filled the walls and halls. A special Matisse exhibit expanded our art knowledge too. It would take years to absorb all that was there, not our three or four hours.
Arrow through >, below, to see pictures of the originals by Matisse, Renoir, Monet, Seurat, Mosely, a couple others and one highly fascinated spectator. If you hover towards the bottom, a title may show up.
A variety of mini museums give you a change of pace. Nearby is the American Writers Museum in which a wide range of American scribes of books, poems and music are spotlighted. There’s even a collection of antique typewriters, remember that class back in high school, where you can see if 65 words per minute is still achievable. It’s not, especially on a 1956 Underwood.
Each evening, Cutest was anxious to explore Chi town’s renowned restaurants. One favorite was The Purple Pig which served, among other items, a bone marrow entree, capped with bacon onion jam and onions. Another evening stop was at NoMi in the Park Hyatt where the view from our table was superb. From there we looked out over the famous Water Tower structure and its trees and flowery surroundings.
Windy conditions, usually present in Chicago, and spits of rain harassed us for our last day in town. But we were lucky as on our architectural river boat tour, we were able to stay dry yet still admire the amazing super structures that poke up through the clouds.
To get up and personal with the stratosphere, we elevatored that evening to the top of what once was known as the Sears Tower, in its day the world’s tallest structure. Its current moniker, the Willis Tower, still gives you jaw dropping vistas of downtown Chicago and Lake Shore Drive. My first visit to the tower was free. Now some fifty years later, there is a healthy price tag to pay. It's still worth it.
The next day we motored home. I tried to stay away from fast food restaurants, not Cutest’s favorites, and found a few country/small town diners which were tasty and friendly.
Now we are home, preparing to go to our bunker during the upcoming soccer tournament next month. But fear not, dear readers. We will sacrifice ourselves so that you need not. One of us will draw the short straw and venture out to report our insights.
Comments