Sweet Chicago

What was the highlight of our trip over Labor Day to Chicago? Was it Wiggly Field, the Milwaukee Art Museum, or hiking a nature trail with the skyline of Chicago all about us? Was it relaxing with Jonny and Jenny at Lincoln Park Zoo? Jonny planned an agenda before we arrived, and it was full and fascinating. We started Friday with a morning walk around Hyde Park, visiting the spot where Enrico Fermi split the atom.

We then chose fresh orange juice and Danish pastries for breakfast at Medici's.

We then hiked a portion of the prairie trail near Lake Michigan...

with its lake views...

city and prairie views...

and statues.

We checked out the controversial Marilyn Monroe statue in downtown Chicago ("It's a scene from a movie set in New York City." "It's soft porn.")

We then made our way north to Racine, Wisconsin, for the best paella and other Spanish dishes we'd ever tasted. Jonny located the Old Madrid Cafe for us.

We drove on to Milwaukee and visited the spectacular Milwaukee Art Museum...

with its collection of very approachable modern art (ex. the guy in the second picture, who is a statute but looks totally real)...

and classical favorites.

Dave likes to pretend art bores him.

For a roaring alternative, we visited the Harley Davidson Museum, near its corporate headquarters in Milwaukee. We learned a lot about the courage of businessmen in developing a quality brand, rather than placing the brand on shoddy merchandise in order to be more profitable.

Dessert was pie, at Hoosier Mama Pie Company, housed in a tiny store front. It was ranked highly in our Bible, Time-out Chicago, and the pie was great.

On Saturday, Jenny was off work at the University of Chicago Hospital and joined our adventures. We checked out the special exhibit of Soviet-era propaganda posters at the Art Institute.

We then had lunch at a Polish festival. Distinctive rock music mixed with polkas floated from the bandstand as we checked out the spires of the cultural center and the posters advertising Polish cultural events (in Polish). We heard a lot of Polish spoken throughout the festival grounds.

We ordered platters of sausage, stuffed cabbage, and potato pancakes, with kolaczki, or apricot cookies, for dessert.

We realized anew what an ethnic mix Chicago is as we read this sign.

Dave, Jonny, and Jenny watched a football game on Saturday afternoon, but dropped me off first near three Hyde Park museums. I checked out the DuSable Museum of African American History, with a special display on African American pilots.

I visited the Smart Museum, housing art owned by the University of Chicago. It was hosting an exhibit titled "Go Figure," with modern sculptures, paintings and art in other media exploring the human body.

My favorite pieces were this suit created by an African American artist expressing how bad he felt about his body in a mostly white world...

and this painting by a woman artist as a satire on the way male artists casually group naked women in their paintings.

My third stop was the Oriental Institute, with its Egyptian and Persian artifacts.

Dinner was a deep dish, Chicago-style pizza, which was as filling as a slice of lasagna.

For Sunday brunch, we checked out Sprout, an elegant spot with food that looked as delicious as it tasted.

We refreshed ourselves at Wiggly Park, where the neighborhood dogs pranced and played, and took "time out."

There were rare dogs, like this Abyssinian hound.

There were also a few friendly fellows who stole our hearts.

Lincoln Park Zoo was another great Sunday place.

We watched a juggler...

some guys making a movie (of dubious quality)...

and some great animals.

On Monday, Jenny went back to work and Dave, Jonny, and I went to Oak Park to tour Frank Lloyd Wright's family house, built in the 1890s. Wright was just beginning to develop his signature features, such as built-in furniture, lots of wood and natural materials, and a horizontal line.

We couldn't get enough architecture. We took another of our beloved Chicago Architecture Foundation tours, this time of modern skyscrapers. I loved the sleek modern skyscrapers, but also the post-modern skyscrapers, with their more highly decorated exteriors and their gilt interiors.

We even passed a tile mural by Chagall.

One last luxury--a burger, shake, and fries at DMK. "I felt like I was wallowing in cholesterol and I loved every bit," David said.