Back from Fabulous Chicago!!!
August 6, 2009 | Filed under: Uncategorized
We spent the past week end in Chicago with friends. What a fabulous and beautiful city. This is our second trip and was even more fun than the first. We went to the Gold Coast Art Festival which is an outdoor event with over 300 artists. Not something to be missed. The weather co-operated most of the time and on Sat. there was some rain, but it soon passed. Sunday was perfect and then on Monday there was a short downpour in the morning but the rest of the day was fine.
The highlight for us was visiting Oak Park and touring Frank Lloyd Wright’s home. He lived there from 1889 to 1909 and while there designed many homes. We also toured the outside of 8 these residences. This was the Victorian era and to see his designs alongside Victorian homes was an incredible experience. People panicked when they saw his designs being built because they were so unusual and totally out of keeping with what was expected. It was certainly a learning experience as his concepts were explained to us and we were better able to understand his ideas. A great experience!
We live in a home that was built in 1870. The outside colour is primarily yellow with green and burgundy accents. It was interesting to see a Victorian home in Oak Park with exactly the same colours on the exterior.
Another lively event was a food tour. This was arranged through Chicago Food Planet. We took part in the “Near North Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour” which took us through the Gold Coast neighborhood, Old Town and Lincoln Park. It was a 3 and a half mile walk taking 3 hours with a guide and worth every minute. Just an excellent way to visit different neighborhoods and get lots of information about the history of these places. Some of the magnificent homes are on lots that are 25 feet wide and so look small, but they often go back many many feet and can have from 6000 to 10,000 square feet in living space.
A Champagne bar called POPS was recommended to us. It is on Ohio avenue-lots of fun with excellent food! We had steak at Gibson’s which was perfect and also had dinner at Zocala’s which is a Mexican restaurant. On Monday nights Salsa dancing is taught. Lots of participants and perhaps next time we will join in.
Our hotel was called Inn of Chicago and was in a good location. We have stayed there before and always recommend it to everyone.
If you have an opportunity, visit Chicago. It is a great city with friendly people and lots to do. Never boring!!