After settling in at the room, we changed and headed downstairs to check out the local eateries. We did not stray far because we were pretty tired after the drive from Cleveland. We ended up at a hotel restaurant connected to the Congress Hotel. This meal was satisfying, but nothing spectacular. We did get to see fireworks being set off at the Navy Pier right from our table. That was pretty cool. After dinner, it was about 10:30, so we just called it a night.
Today, we were able to get a lot of site seeing in. We woke up early and hit up the hotel gym. After a nice run, we got ready for our day and decided to hit up the hotel breakfast buffet. It was actually quite good. I had a fig for the first time and it was amazing. With our bodies exercised and nourished, we headed out to begin our day.
Our first destination was the Art Institute of Chicago. You may recognize some of these exhibits as they were immortalized in the 80s classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Being able to see these paintings VERY up close gave me a renewed respect for what artists can do! I think one of my favorites was a contemporary painting called Picture of Dorian Gray. It was painted by Ivan Albright and used in the 1945 film of the same name. The painting actually has a lot of color in it and is very vivid. The painting is supposed to show the decomposition that Dorian Gray goes through. The movie was in black in white, but when they show the picture in the film, they used color and you can see why. This museum was ridiculously awesome. I recommend going because it really covers a broad spectrum of art from all over the world and through out the centuries.
Picture of Dorian Gray
We had built up an appetite during our stroll through the institute. I had heard about Chicago's famous Italian Beef sandwiches and how good they were. So I knew I couldn't leave Chicago this time without sampling one of these things. We walked a good mile and a half from the museum to, what looked like, the second location of Al's Italian Beef. This place is famous for these things. Al's was featured on such shows as Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and Man v Food. They're basically steak sandwiches. I don't know exactly what goes into making them, but after your sandwich is ready, they dip the entire sandwich in the juices of the meat. I got mine with both sweet and hot peppers. It was messy, but believe me, it was well worth the mess. SO GOOD!
After eating, we were pleasantly full and not overstuffed. We walked east to the Navy Pier. It was a good distance to walk, but it was such a nice day out that we didn't mind at all. At the Navy Pier, we walked to the end to sit have drinks at the Beer Garden there. We had a good time, but I personally think that if you're going to name a place a beer garden that you should have more than 6 beers to choose from.
From the Navy Pier, we took a water taxi to Michigan Avenue, which cut our walking distance in half. Going up into the Sears Tower was not exactly what anyone had in mind next. I'm not exactly a fan of heights. They do have one of those glass obversation platforms now, but F*&$ THAT!
With a LONG day of walking behind us, we headed back to the hotel for room service and bed. We had an awesome day of driving to Sioux Fall, SD ahead of us. Here are some Chicago jams. I thought of the Kanye song when were eating dinner watching the "fireworks on Lake Michigan."
Here's a depressing one by Wilco, but I still like it.
And some Rogue Wave.
More Rogue Wave. I wonder where they are from!?
