Monday, June 6th
I get up early and head into the city with John when he goes to work. After the saddest grilled cheese sandwich in the world at Panera Bread my first stop is the Art Institute of Chicago. The best museum in the world, according to Trip Advisor.
Despite that build up it was excellent. I spent nearly three hours walking the galleries and could have spent half a day or more, but there’s only so much you can really appreciate in one sitting. Highlights were seeing Nighthawks in the flesh, George Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, famously stared at by Cameron in Ferris Buellers Day Off (and now, me) and a special exhibition on America in the 30’s.
(An interesting commentary on the Cameron scene is here)
After leaving the gallery I walked around Millennium Park briefly, specifically to look at the bean, a large silver organic shaped reflective object which looks like a dismembered limb from one of Jeff Koons balloon animals.
My next stop was Marina City. A pair of retro futuristic towers known to me from the cover of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It was kind of a pilgrimage for me since its one of my desert island albums and I’d actually been listening to it a lot recently after rediscovering it in Japan. It’s one of those albums which I’m still trying to understand despite listening to it for over 12 years. And each time I do, depending on my life and circumstances at the time, I feel I get something new out of it.
That was my tour of Chicago. I just skimmed the surface but saw what I wanted to see. The skyline is very pretty, especially in the sun. The light feels very clear and bright from the lake. The buildings feel crisp and vivid.
I stop by REI, now apparently a favourite pastime of mine, before heading back to the flat around rush hour. The trains run overground and feel bright and clean and spacious like the city.
In the evening we go out for Chicago style pizza. It’s abut three times thicker than New York pizza. Like a lasagne or cake made of several slices layered together with the toppings and sauce inbetween. Two slices fill me up.
I think I have my route planned for the following day. I repack all my stuff, sync some podcasts and watch some Seinfeld.
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