Chicago!

Chicago pix, finally! The first two days were for work; the second two days were for play. It had been about ten YEARS since I'd seen Regina, so this was fantastic! And we did have a good time! I do like Chicago very much.

CT to see the family is next, followed by a long weekend in NYC in mid-May. Much more local, but I'll still have some fun. :)

The hotel was very nice: the Blackstone, which is now a Marriott Renaissance. Al Capone used to stay here, as has nearly every president in the 20th/21st century. It's really lovely. Just look at my room features!



And classic old details, like the elevator floor. My view toward the lake and the Field Museum and Bears Stadium (if I craned my neck the right way, that is), wasn't bad either.



Our first stop was the Children's Museum.

We did like a few things, including this skyscraper-building group activity, these cool column covers, and this sound device.




The museum is in a funny mall-like place over on Navy Pier. While we were passing through, Captain America made an appearance.


Next was the new family wing at the Art Institute of Chicago.

I liked their idea of dress-up, and their fun seating in the family room.



We then toured as tourists for a few, so I snapped a few of the "highlights."

Georgia O'Keefe's Abiquiu, which is where I went hiking with Kirt while in Santa Fe. Yes, it's that beautiful. There are blog photos from that trip too....

Above, Grant Woods's American Gothic and below, Edward Hopper's Nighthawks.


They also have a magnificent collection of paperweights, of all things, one of which is HUGE.



And an incredible room of miniature rooms. These remind me very much of a room at the Baltimore Museum of Art, but the external room details and the lighting on these is truly amazing. I couldn't capture them well, but these little knights of armor were incredible.


The next day was the Field Museum, and the Ancient Americas exhibit was the main reason we were here. They also had the best children's space we have seen yet.


One great thing was the food wall. It was really well done.




I really liked this little pot.


Funny, my former director is everywhere!


And, it is the Field Museum, which means the most famous Tyrannosaurus Rex in history, Sue.



Then, it was off with Regina! She lives in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, which is heavily Swedish.

So, we started our weekend with a fantastic Swedish brunch.



Then it was off to the Swedish-American Museum, and some shopping.



On the corner was this funny little cart that does puppet shows. When you place money in the tip window, the puppet animals retrieve it and dance with it for a while. It's really sweet.



Then we headed downtown for Moroccan dinner and the symphony, which was tremendous. It was a night of Russian composers, led by a guest conductor from Moscow. I'm sure I have my paperwork somewhere, but I can say that I liked the Rachmaninoff best, followed by the Prokofiev, then the Stravinsky. But what an amazing treat!


Yes, a fun sign. This one under the 'L.'

This sculpture has a name too, something very ethereal sounding. However, it's known to Chicagoans as 'the bean,' which is all I can remember now! It's whimsical and fun, and provided us with the only picture we have of ourselves for the weekend!