Oooh, poor feet!
Yesterday, Shedd Aquarium; today, Chicago Art Institute; tomorrow, Field Museum? Man, my legs are feeling the strain and are grimly forced to repeat. We are having a great time -- perhaps spending too much of it moaning and resting, but the room is comfy.
We do a lot of walking, Grumpy talking nonstop about what building used to be there or what used to be in that building, and what is utterly new since 30+ years ago when he lived here. We stopped at the old water tower that survived the big fire and found an exhibition of photos there documenting the aftermath. I've learned about "air rights" over train tracks and more political history than I can possibly retain. Right now I sit in the spanking new library, which is beautiful and ornamented along the roof-line with green, spiky, and oddly creepy figures -- something like a hybrid of gargoyle and space alien.
We've walked north from the hotel as far as the Chicago River where we caught a water taxi to Navy Pier and then to the Shedd Aquarium near the hotel. The lake is beautiful, and one can sit in the cool breeze watching picturesque passersby along the bike path almost indefinitely without getting bored. We stopped where Grumpy's dad used to take him fishing, and we saw where the young Grumpy had witnessed a small boy's body being retrieved from the water after a fatal kidnapping. With some difficulty, we found Grumpy's dad's grave, thanks to my iPhone's google maps. The Prius' navigation system failed royally.
Almost daily I open the "bar" in our room and drool over the display of candy and exotic alcoholic beverages, but I don't succumb. Three bucks is just too much for a pkg of Reese's peanut butter cups. About a block from the hotel is a liquor store. I bought a 4-pack of a Belgian beer called Barbar, flavored with coriander and orange peel (great stuff) and a half-size bottle of Glenlivet, a single-malt scotch. The Hilton bath towels are so thick and heavy, one almost tips me over while drying if it all falls to the same side. The a/c not only does not roar, but it also pours out into the room instead of straight up under the window curtains as in every Motel 6 or Super 8 I've stayed in so far. And, great pillows! Not perfect, however: Grumpy flooded our room the first morning with water running out of the shower, which is not separated by so much as a speed bump from the rest of the bathroom and the bedroom. Who designs these things?
Beautiful weather so far, highs in the 80's, but the humidity is killer. Even so, I am glad we have a full week here. It is a beautiful city -- so many gardens, trees, and a Picasso sculpture in Daly Plaza!
We do a lot of walking, Grumpy talking nonstop about what building used to be there or what used to be in that building, and what is utterly new since 30+ years ago when he lived here. We stopped at the old water tower that survived the big fire and found an exhibition of photos there documenting the aftermath. I've learned about "air rights" over train tracks and more political history than I can possibly retain. Right now I sit in the spanking new library, which is beautiful and ornamented along the roof-line with green, spiky, and oddly creepy figures -- something like a hybrid of gargoyle and space alien.
We've walked north from the hotel as far as the Chicago River where we caught a water taxi to Navy Pier and then to the Shedd Aquarium near the hotel. The lake is beautiful, and one can sit in the cool breeze watching picturesque passersby along the bike path almost indefinitely without getting bored. We stopped where Grumpy's dad used to take him fishing, and we saw where the young Grumpy had witnessed a small boy's body being retrieved from the water after a fatal kidnapping. With some difficulty, we found Grumpy's dad's grave, thanks to my iPhone's google maps. The Prius' navigation system failed royally.
Almost daily I open the "bar" in our room and drool over the display of candy and exotic alcoholic beverages, but I don't succumb. Three bucks is just too much for a pkg of Reese's peanut butter cups. About a block from the hotel is a liquor store. I bought a 4-pack of a Belgian beer called Barbar, flavored with coriander and orange peel (great stuff) and a half-size bottle of Glenlivet, a single-malt scotch. The Hilton bath towels are so thick and heavy, one almost tips me over while drying if it all falls to the same side. The a/c not only does not roar, but it also pours out into the room instead of straight up under the window curtains as in every Motel 6 or Super 8 I've stayed in so far. And, great pillows! Not perfect, however: Grumpy flooded our room the first morning with water running out of the shower, which is not separated by so much as a speed bump from the rest of the bathroom and the bedroom. Who designs these things?
Beautiful weather so far, highs in the 80's, but the humidity is killer. Even so, I am glad we have a full week here. It is a beautiful city -- so many gardens, trees, and a Picasso sculpture in Daly Plaza!
posted by Cranky Ol' Lady at 2:39 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home