Waiting for the train. There where 3 things I was really excited to do in Chicago. One was to ride the "el". It's just something I've always seen on TV. Okay, fine. The truth is I have a thing for public transportation.... on rails.
And there it is! Item #1 -- Ride the L.... Check!
On our walk to brunch, I noticed this random inspirational graffiti. We later realize it's part of a series. This really de-ghettofies Chicago in my mind.
Brunch at the Milk+Honey Cafe. Rec'd by J-Wo!. This caprese was sooo good. And I have to say, table of 2 is so much easier to get than any other number. Well, maybe one trumps that if there's a bar.
My sister got this amazing hot chocolate. She drank about a fourth of it. But she did relish the ginormous marshmallow. The foamy steamed milk was top notch at this place.
A little bit of breakfast... (the huevos racheros casserole. Oh sweet lord... It was as good as it looked. But alas, we were eventually soundly defeated.)
... and a little bit of lunch. (this was the portabello panini. I said I was going to just take a bite of my half. I lied. I finished it all in one gulp.)
More Chicago inspiration... ahh, warm fuzzy feelings.
Oh geez... I didn't know you cared so much. =P
We walked everywhere in the Wicker Park area, even across this bridge. Which was really hard, cuz the weather sucked -- it was rainy, cold, and windy.
Finally from brunch to dinner. Item #2 -- Eat (Chicago-style) pizza.
Augh, so full.... why did I do that to myself?
Well, to stretch my stomach so I can experience Item #3 -- Eat a (Chicago-style) hot dog.
With our doggie treasure cooling in a greasy brown bag, we head back to the apartment. We stood in this tunnel for a looong time, waiting of the blue line. And then, we finally saw a train coming, only it was coming the wrong way!
... it wasn't a train. It was a service crew probably going to fix the train that should have been there an hour ago. Our poor hot dog was getting cold.
Sunday!! We decided that Sunday would be for sight-seeing. To play tourist. We emerged on Washington Ave. into the heart of the (Chicago) Theater District.
There's the famous theater "(Chicago)". Lis, these tulips are for you!
And in case you don't believe me when I said there were tulips EVERYWHERE.
Then we headed to Millennium Park where we practiced casting magic missles.
Ha! Mine is bigger than hers.
Okay, so here's what we were actually "holding". The famous (Chicago) Bean. I don't understand why they have a giant reflecting bean. Maybe it's their symbol for clean air. Yuki says it's a blatant Tiffany's ad.
It's windy.
It's raining. Our reflection in the Bean as we huddle together under an umbrella.
A huge fountain. I wondered if this was what was actually generating all this rain. It's simple, water pours out of this brick construction. The wind spreads it over the city.
You may not see it, but there's another gigantic fountain behind our umbrella.
And we walked over to Lake Michigan. We walked about a block along it and gave up. It was just too cold and windy. And really, we see bigger waves in the Pacific.
We didn't make it to Sears Tower. We walked halfway there and gave up. We didn't have any motivation to see it. What's the big deal? It's just a tall building.
Rail tracks of the "el". If you squint, you'll see that the building on the left is the (Chicago) Institute of Art.
We rounded out our weekend with dinner at a nondescript Italian restaurant. (Blanking on the name right now) It wasn't marked on the outside but it was packed. This Veal Masala was soooo yummy.
And finally, this little fountain shows how windy it was in Chicago. Either that or the fountain was crooked.
