Wednesday, September 05, 2007

I'm back!

And you thought I was going to talk about knitting now that the Utah posts are finished! Haha - I've got you! Dave and I headed to Chicago last weekend for my friend Andrea's wedding. I was a tad apprehensive about the trip due to my concern that Dave and "big city" Chicago wouldn't mix, but he actually really liked the city, especially the Art Institute. I had no idea the boy was an art fan! We stayed at Heidi's house in the northern suburbs (Morton Grove, if you're from the area). We arrived early Thursday morning and had a relaxing day in Evanston. We also checked out the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette: If you're in the area and have never been, you should really check it out, it's quite an impressive building. On Friday we went to brunch at my favorite breakfast place (including those in Seattle), Bongo Room. This is another place you really should check out. I had spectacular banana pancakes with crushed Oreos on top, slathered in vanilla cream sauce with chocolate drizzle. And fresh banana slices. Divine. Then we cruised around Wicker Park a bit before heading downtown to the Art Institute. Another must see, and one of my favorite things about Chicago. Friday night we went to Second City, which was great. I've been there for several shows and I think this was the best one so far. The show we saw was "Between Barack and a Hard Place," and again, you should check it out if you get a chance.
Andrea's wedding was on Saturday, and I ended up wearing two dresses because I didn't want to wear my fancy dress all day (there was a 5 hour gap between the wedding and reception). The ceremony was really nice, and Andrea's dress was beautiful (I have no photos - the wedding photographer was kneeling in the aisle in front of me the entire time). In between the wedding and reception Dave and I walked around the University of Chicago campus (my alma mater, and where the wedding was held), and then went to the Museum of Science & Industry. Here's dress #1, in front of the giant model train exhibit:Here's dress #2, which I wore for the reception. I had this dress, and the shoes, plus a beautiful beaded shawl that I didn't end up needing in that black purse I'm wearing in the first photo. It was heavy...On Sunday we headed back into the city for the wedding brunch, which was really nice. I finally got to talk to Andrea for more than a few seconds, since she had (of course) been really busy the day before. And we got to talk to Dave, her husband, who is great. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them sometime soon, as it's been a long time since I've really seen Andrea. Sunday afternoon we went on the Wendella Chicago River Architecture Tour, which goes down the Chicago River. I've done this cruise before but it's always enjoyable. There are so many beautiful buildings in Chicago it's really astonishing. Going on the river cruise always reminds me of my days on the UChicago crew team since we rowed in the river every morning. Being on the water is such a different perspective than walking around on foot. Then we went to Grant Park and caught a bit of the Jazz Festival before walking to Buckingham Fountain (top photo). Then, home to Heidi's for delicious risotto (please email that recipe!). Monday we went shopping and to see Superbad, which was a nice relaxing way to end a whirlwind trip. Are you tired just from reading? We sure were!

3 comments:

bookwoman said...

First dress is nice. Second dress is gorgeous. Sounds like a fun trip.

Anonymous said...

Chicago sounds great! It makes me want to go...

And that dress is so pretty! And magic! (can't tell from the picture that you had it in your bag all day...)

Robin said...

Really love the 2nd dress! Glad you had fun in my neck of the woods!