I loved Chicago. I was surprised at how clean it was. The skies were blue and the weather in the 80's, a perfect temperature. This is their Indian Summer. I talked with many Chicagoans. All of them said they love living in Chicago. They like the city life yet it still has a midwestern feel. The only problem is the winter weather, the cold temperatures are hard to live in. Maybe this is a conspiracy and what Chicagoans say to travelers so we don't relocate to Chicago, kind of like Greenland and Iceland.
My daughter went with me and we stayed at the W Hotel on North Lakeshore Drive and looked out to Lake Michigan and the Navy Pier. A few of the highlights of the trip were looking at the boutiques and beautiful old houses in the Armitage/Halsted area, eating at Oprah's chef, Art Smith's restaurant, Table Fifty-Two, having a latte in the Gold Coast area and going to see the play Wicked. The architecture is amazing, we took our own walking tour on Michigan Ave, the Magnificent Mile for shopping. The Gold Coast area is probably the wealthiest area with high rises and high end retail stores. There is a great area reminiscint of Europe in between the streets with chairs, tables, a beautiful water fountain and a coffee bar. The sun was shining and it was heaven sitting on this warm day drinking a latte. If you get a chance to see the play Wicked, go. The Chicago cast was vibrant and the play was excting. It just started up again in San Francisco.
Lunch at Table Fifty-Two was a fun experience. We were surprised we were able to get reservations for lunch only a few weeks before our trip. The restaurant is small, quant and simple with earth tone colors and beautiful paintings. The old historic building survived the great Chicago fire in 1871. We ordered the Fresh Fish of the day(Grouper) with garden vegetables-$32 and the Pan-Seared Catfish with Cheese Grits, Bacon-Braised Collard Greens, Hush Puppy and Crispy Okra-$26 and Three-Cheese Macaroni-$9.00. For dessert we shared Art's Hummingbird Cake-$9.00. Just thinking of it makes my mouth water. I thought the food was delicious and the prices decent considering Art Smith's reputation. I wanted to bring back one of his cookbooks autographed for my sister but they were all out. Art was in Washington D.C. opening another restaurant.
I brought home a saying from Chicago that caught my eye and posted it in front of my computer as a daily reminder.
" Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul." Max Ehrmann
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