A weekend in Chicago – April 2010

John and I went to Chicago in April. John has been many times for work but I have never been. One of John’s favorite photographers, Jerry Ghionis, held a workshop in Chicago and John had signed up to attend it. John had an amazing time at the workshop and you can read about his experience Here:  Jerry Ghionis Workshop.

The weekend prior to the workshop John and I went down to spend the weekend together in Chicago.  We had a fun time being tourists and enjoying the city. We took an early Saturday morning flight so that we would have the entire day to play.  We went and saw Navy Pier, took the Architecture Boat Tour (highly recommended), saw Millennium Park, and walked through the Art Institute of Chicago.  When we weren’t seeing the sites, we were consuming delicious food (Sushi, Indian, and Chicago deep dish were among our favorites).  One thing we didn’t plan for was the cutting wind. I only brought the brown sweater seen in every picture but wish I had planned for cooler weather. It was a weekend of memories! 

John and I were waiting at a bus stop so we grabbed a shot of each of us.

Navy Pier

John always makes me laugh when he takes my picture. He’s kind of a dork but I love him! I  think John is pretending to laugh here, hopefully… Yes, we have stretchy foreheads ;) I seriously love springtime. Living through Minnesota winters makes Spring so much better.  From the architectural boat tour we were able to see the famous corncob buildings, they are in just about every movie shot in Chicago (i.e. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Tommy Boy) One of our favorite things to do when we are in a city is to walk around and explore… and of course take pictures. John’s quote from his blog: “This guy was a blinker, but I finally got him.”  We had so much fun sitting at the Millennium Bean (Cloud Gate). Looking at these pictures brings out my OCD though, I just want to wipe off the fingerprints…. LOVE this shot of the sunset reflection in the bean    We stayed at the Palmer House. It was a neat, old hotel with a lot of charm.

I absolutely loved the Art Institute of Chicago. It was an amazing museum with so many great pieces. The bonus was the Matisse exhibit. We couldn’t take photos inside, but here was the entrance to the exhibit.

I was amazed how big this painting is in real life! So cool!! (Georges Seurat – A Sunday on LaGrande Jatte) Van Gogh…amazing!  Picasso. Did I mention I was in heaven? I wish we had more time that day. Nice to finally see Grant Wood’s American Gothic.