What a day!

One of us is more interested in railways than knitting,and the history of American railroads is a particular speciality. It happens that the largest railroad museum in the country is just outside Chicago and so we planned to spend some time there today. Just before we left, we looked over the route on the map and I noted the place name "Marengo" (one of the handful of useless historical facts I retain is the name of Napoleon's horse) I also remembered that one knitting shop I identified as worth a visit in the Chicago area was in Marengo - poor Mark!

 

The railroad museum was ho-hum and though the exhibits were stunningly beautiful in a huge-engine kind of way, they were crammed into the tightest of spots, making photographing them difficult. As Mark walked around exploring the place, I sat on a bench and drew a couple as the heat caused the metal to creak and groan - they were almost alive!

We didn't stay long; the fact that some amazing engines were there but we were not able to view them comfortably was frustrating to say the least. It was an interesting morning though and it's always fascinating to drive out of a city and explore the smaller towns out in the countryside.

Sure enough, The Fold was not far away and was a wonderfully welcoming place. Heaps of Blue Moon Fibers which I've only seen online and a completely different selection of yummy yarns I'd not heard of before. I picked up some yarn for my knitting project for next week (wait and see) and a hank of Blue Moon Rio, in Lagoon colourway. I can see that I am going to be tempted by more Blue Moon before long!

Heading back to Chicago later in the afternoon, our hire car, a Jeep of some description, decided to play silly. As Mark was refuelling, I hopped out of the car to speak to him and heard my door click behind me. Yes, the keys were still in the ignition - and the car had locked itself automatically. Oh ********! Fortunately, the chap staffing the petrol station was friendly and after a few false starts we remembered that our UK AA membership means we could use the AAA service. An hour later, rescue appeared in the form of a knight in shining tow truck! The paperwork took longer than the process of unlocking the car, needless to say.

Returning to the hotel to pack for a 5.30am start in the morning, we found the place in darkness. As we walked into the lobby, we were greeted by a young man offering us candles and a lightstick - to enable us to manage their first ever power cut. We were glad the lifts were still working and we didn't need to walk up the stairs to bed - on the 27th floor.

We decided to leave the packing until dawn broke and instead went to bed in darkness, worrying about how we might get our airline tickets, passports, laptop etc out of the safe if the power stayed off.

The lights all came on again just as we fell asleep around an hour later. Phew.

Just got in from the Windy City

...and yes, the Windy City is mighty pretty. But today, we seemed to have an eye for the amusing rather than the picturesque.

 

Firstly, we enjoy watching the policemen on their Segways. They look cool.

 

Secondly, I've watched German loo seats swivel around as they are cleaned in between each use, but this is the first time I've used a loo which has a cling film wrapped seat.

 

Press the button and a fresh wrapping is applied. I was tempted to repeat the process by pressing the red button again but thought better of it and thought of the environment instead. Refuse excess packaging! (Seat diagrams and technical info for those interested can be found here)

 

Passing this bus stop, I was intrigued by the advert for Springfield, Il. Fun!

But best of all, was the sign we could see as we ate breakfast this morning.

Actually, that's not quite right. best of all was the view of my breakfast this morning.

And yes, it tasted as good as it looked. I think I'll order "Morning Glory" again tomorrow!

Wonderful day!

What a day!

We'd decided to explore the city today, walk down the Magnificent Mile and end up in the Art Institute, because, as Mark would agree, there's more to life than shopping...

It was another beautiful morning.

I think Chicagoans must have nerves of steel to park their car here - and yes, they're all backed in, too.

First stop, the Millennium Park, and Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate.

Not only is it an amazing piece of art, seamlessly constructed, it's terrific fun too! We spent ages taking pics, ogling ourselves and enjoying watching others do the same. Love it.

Could this be a Frank Gehry structure over the trees there? Didn't know about that!
It's the Jay Pritzker auditorium, and an orchestra were assembling for a rehearsal. We sat and listened to them play through some of Mendelssohn's Elijah and found out there's a concert tomorrow night. A free concert. With Brahms and Beethoven.

Shall we go? Of course we will!

Dragging ourselves away from the rehearsal, we wandered through the Lurie Garden, where there was a scene which might have inspired an impressionist.

Which reminded us, we are heading for the Art Institute...

Hang on, what's happening here?

A fountain on a sunny day is always a magnet for children and this one was no exception. Another incredible piece of art, the faces of 1000 Chicagoans are featured in two walls built of illuminated bricks. The water feature amused us all - and we loved the fact there were no notices telling us to be careful, not go in the water, don't slip...you know what I'm referring to, don't you?

At last, we reached the Art Institute! Where we could take photographs for our own private use...

I have never been in a gallery where photography was permitted until now, and delighted in taking photos of American Gothic, of Matisse and Picasso's work, the work of unknown artists which attracted my eye and above all, the really fascinating building. I very much appreciated that and since I don't want to abuse the privilege, will just include one, of the "Fragments of Chicago" exhibit at the top of the stairs.

And yes, we did pop into the museum shop....

Across the road we found the Chicago Cultural Center, which just happens to have the world's largest glass dome by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Which I photographed badly. So you can imagine how wonderful it is...

Possibly that was enough culture for one day, so we walked back along Michigan Avenue in the late afternoon, passing by the Chicago Tribune building and spotting the funny bits of stone on the wall which we'd forgotten about.

Had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory under the John Hancock Center - and no, we couldn't. Of course we resisted the temptation!

And fell into bed, exhausted!

My Kinda Town

We are in Chicago, where the sun is shining

 

the skyscrapers are looking great

 

the popcorn queue isn't quite as long as it could have been

 

and the pizza tastes as good as we remember

 

Cheers!

Homeward bound

It was a beautiful morning as we waited for our flight home. The sun rose as we left, and set as we arrived. What a way to spend a day.
 

The view wasn't too bad...first Dreamgirls, then For Your Consideration and finally, Happy Feet, all seen whilst snuggled up under my very own duvet, for yes, we were upgraded!!