Chicago – the Art Institute & Native Foods
Oh where to begin. This was the day I planned out a little JC birthday celebration. I emailed with the staff at The Lobby in the Peninsula hotel before we left Toronto about their Afternoon Tea, and we planned to go to the Art Institute of Chicago for a very long wander and to visit the famous Chicago Bean (uh, I mean the Cloud Gate…) in Millennium Park. It’s also a perfect time to see a few other things in the area like the Magnificent Mile, DuSable Bridge, the Water Tower (one of the only remaining structures from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871), House of Blues, other things, and you can grab a bite to eat at Native Foods if you’re so inclined (we were.) I love learning more about the history of places we visit, and some of the architecture, so I considered taking a walking tour with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, but there wasn’t enough time, but if you’re planning a visit you might want to check them out. There is a list of the various walking tours here. They also have tours by boat and other methods of transportation. We whipped out our fancy 3-day pass loaded Ventra (transit) cards and took the pink line train to The Loop, which many other lines are conveniently connect to as well. To go to the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) we got out at Adams/Wabash and walked up to the Beaux-Arts style building (a design familiar to some of us Canadian Prairie…