Museum of Contmporary Art - Chicago

The BEST part of the museum was the stairwell (sorry to all the artists who exhibited there!) Loved the different perspectives as you walked up the stairs!!!!!!

Bye Chicago - will be back to see the Frank LLoyd Wright architecture!

speedy architectural tour - Chicago

I booked into an architectural river tour on the internet. Unfortunately I didn’t read the small print and so didn’t realise that it was a speed boat trip! Roger was not feeling well and so off I went!

It was freezing, at the ticket box they said they could not refund as I had bought the ticket on the net. Why not just sell to someone who came along. Hey! It felt like -20C with the wind howling and Julie the Scalper was not confident ! No one was going to buy that ticket! But amazingly they did and off we went.

It was a cold, cold but fascinating tour.

Here are the “did you knows” of the trip.

The Mercantile Mart built in 1930’s was for a long time the largest building in the world, stretching several blocks, it was owned by the Kennedy’s for many years – only residential building to have its own post code and post office
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Loved the story of this building North Harbour? The legislation was that no highrise could be built on the land next to the lake which was green space. To overcome this problem the developers found a loop hole. They built the high rise on top of a building that was already there so they did not build on the land. You can see the piles on which joins the high rise to the original building. Another point of greed. The developers managed to fit more people in (all with a view of the lake or river) by lowering the ceilings. Still a waiting list for people wanting to move in.
Lots of other stories of making the quick buck. Like the railway selling the air above it.

A strange weekend because Roger was sick. It was also so cold and the people really didn't seem as friendly or open as everyone else we had met. Could just have been the cold, windy weather. Loved the architecture and art though.

Go back you are going the wrong way

At the start of our the Architectural River Cruise we had to pass through locks and into the Chicago River. The Chicago river used to flow into the Lake Michigan ... But in 1900, they decided to reverse the flow of the river and now Chicago River originates from Lake Michigan and empties into the Mississippi River System ... It's an engineering marvel - A 28-mile canal that controls the flow of water now going from Lake Michigan into the Chicago River, through the Sanitary and Ship Canal, and into the Des Plaines River.

But why ???

As the population of chicago grew there were problems of water pollution ... most waste was simply drained into the river. The residents of the city collected their drinking water from collection facilities just offshore in Lake Michigan. With the influx of waste in the river and in their drinking water, outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases were common. In 1854, a cholera epidemic took the lives of 5 ½ percent of the population - so this was the solution.
Why didn't anyone tell me you can't take a movie sideways!

Piggy Flu BEWARE!!!

Oh no! Poor old Roger. Overnight he became really sick, roaring temperature and coughing! Tried to find a doctor or a medical centre. No luck it was Sunday. So off to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Emergency Room. ER!!!! Nothing like we expected. Quiet, clean, friendly and super organised.

4hrs later, after Xrays and blood tests - the diagnosis not Piggy Flu but bronchitis. Paid the bill ($3,000) and set off to search for a pharmacist. For the rest of our holiday Roger enjoyed looking out of the window of our hotel room. Thank goodness we got an internet special and such a lovely hotel.

Jules what have you got me into now?

Very funny afternoon with the Blue Man Group. Lots of drumming, paint throwing, gags, strobe lighting and loud music. A short but interesting experience!

Shakespeare in Chicago

Arrived to 54 degrees, which feels like a really warm day in Gunnison but in Chicago it was FREEZING!. Great old hotel, the Tremont, with fabulous, friendly staff who had great stories to tell about the "old days" when the great stars like Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant stayed there!

Lovely walk along the Mitchigan Lake, to the Chicago Shakespeare theatre - really had NO IDEA how big or how lovely the lake was. The theatre was modern but styled on the Globe, but with all modern theatrics. Very American dinner at the wharf including soup in a cob and then saw a BRILLIANT Richard III. The acting and directing was really engaging. The audience really were an intimate part of the whole action and the actors used every bit of the theatre, aisles and boxes extended the stage which gave the whole performance a vibrancy and energy.

Drove over from Gunni - Denver. A bit cool, new snow on the mountains and we stayed over in Denver as we had a 6.00am flight. At 4.30am when we left for the airport we couldn't believe how cold it was and how much ice there was on our car! When we got to the airport all seemed well BUT 2 hours later they were still deicing the wings! Got into Chigago - clear skies and 50 degrees.....whoo hoo!