So ... here I go again ... saying, "It's been a while since I last blogged", but this time, I have a great excuse! Steve and I cashed in frequent flyer miles and hotel points for a long weekend in Chicago. It was fabulous!
Many people make detailed plans and purchase advance tickets. Steve and I aren't among them. So, the first thing we did was to ask the hotel concierge which riverboat cruise would be best for us. We told her we loved history, art, and architecture. She said, "I have just the tour for you!" and she made a quick telephone call, scribbled a number on a piece of paper (which got us a 20% discount through the hotel!), and told us to hurry. The tour started in under a half hour. It was PERFECT.
The guide had a great voice. She was a volunteer docent from the Chicago Architecture Center. Within moments, we were in love with Chicago. The next ninety minutes flew by. (Toward the end, I whispered a joke in Steve's ear: "We should hide in the bathroom and stay for the next tour!") The day couldn't have been more beautiful. I took dozens and dozens of photos. Some of them are at the end of this blog post.
After the riverboat cruise, we walked to Millennial Park to see "The Bean". Even from a distance I knew it had to be by Anish Kapoor. I'd seen a small piece in Nottingham, England. This one, however, was giant-sized and shaped so that crowds could walk all around and under it. The ultra shiny/mirror-finished/reflective surface was dazzling. Some people were transfixed with awe. Others were laughing hysterically at the distortions of themselves ... as if in a circus fun house. Most, like me, had their iPhones out to capture some of the sheer joy of this psychedelic experience.
Walking further south, we came to this incredible fountain. As antiquarian book and print dealers for the last thirty+ years, this was special. We knew this location from dozens of photogravures and engravings that were published shortly after the 1893 Columbia Expedition. Once upon a time, there were pavilions for various countries and industries surrounding this fountain. People who came were stunned by the new technology that was on view ... like light bulbs. Because many of the illustrations documenting the expo were ones that would never sell, I used some for art ... including a series called The Button as Art. (Click here for a blog post featuring several!)
From there, we walked along Lake Michigan to the famous Shedd Aquarium and stayed until closing. It was wonderful! We saw jellyfish, an octopus, various lobsters and crabs, eels, seahorses, eight Beluga whales, an otter, penguins, coral, and more fish than I could possibly describe. We stayed for a great dolphin show too. I also got to pet a stingray. (Sure ... most of the people in this area had small children with them. I didn't care that it was just Steve and me! Stingrays are so very, very soft! It was amazing.)
That night, we sampled Chicago-styled, deep-dish pizza from one of the famous, local chains, Lou Malnati's. It was excellent!
The next day was rainy. The Art Institute didn't open until 11:00 AM but the concierge suggested that we go to the Chicago Athletic Club Hotel first ... because it was literally across the street from the museum. (We mentioned the Columbia Expo of 1893 and were told that this building dated to 1890 and that the interior would thrill us ... and it did!)
We weren't the only people stepping into this historic hotel who weren't booked there. Plenty of people came to visit the coffee shop, the bar, and other amenities open to the public ... or ... like us ... to admire the ornate woodwork, mosaic floors, or ...
... the former swimming pool area (now filled in but with tiles that mimic the former swimming lanes!)
This five-star hotel was originally built as an all male athletic club. The renovations included work by over one thousand fine craftspeople and other artisans.
Steve and I had heard that there were two ballrooms on the eighth floor. We pretended that we "belonged" and boarded the elevator with guests who used their key card to activate the buttons. I said, "Floor eight, please". The grandeur was worth the deception! It was fun to think about Victorian high society dancing under these then "modern" chandeliers!
At a little before 11:00, we left the hotel and walked with quite a crowd into the Art Institute of Chicago as the doors opened. Six hours later, we were ushered out at closing time. We never sat down. We also missed entire sections because this museum is BIG. There are so very, very many fabulous pieces ... from ancient times to this decade. Several of the most famous paintings were constantly surrounded by admirers ... like this one, a self-portrait by Van Gogh.
This was the first time I saw one of El Anatsui's wall hangings. Made of recycled tin, it shimmers. The construction shows the hours of handwork.
I admired the giant size and the fact that it doesn't hang perfectly flat. Nor is it perfectly square. There's a quality of life in the organic ripples.
Like the architectural tour, I took pictures until my batteries died. Yet, I tried to NOT take too many photos. I challenged myself to just LOOK, to try absorbing the beauty, to avoid spending more time reading labels than just staring at the surface. After all, the Art Institute of Chicago has an amazing website with thousands of images, each with detail information. This was my opportunity to just SEE the work. Still, I took hundreds of pictures! LOL! Some of them are further below.
Of course, Steve and I took the tourist souvenir picture at the start of route 66. In the background is the Art Institute. We were happy after such a full day but our feet hurt. Dinner came from Whole Foods and was enjoyed in our hotel room!
Although we had to sadly leave Chicago midday on Monday, we had time in the morning to walk to Navy Pier and to visit the American Writers Museum (where reading everything really is the key to enjoying the place!) Perhaps we will return to Chicago ... because we had a great time and there were so many more things we could have done! Now ... below ... more photos!
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