Day 196: tenth day in Chicago

Today I decided to venture into a suburb. I went to Oak Park. I got the pamphlet a few days ago and there were a few things that interest me. It is about a 20-30 min train ride on the green line to the end.

My first destination was the house of Frank Lloyd Wright. He is the most notable architect of the 20th century. It is the house he lived in his first few years of his architecture career. There is a walking tour of his house. There is also a walking tour of houses he designed in the neighbourhood. There are about 15 of them (one is a church). The picture above is one of his earlier houses.

By this time it was about 3 pm and i didnt eat yet. I felt like something comforting and hardy. I found a diner that served what i was looking for. It was called The Cozy Corner Diner (http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com/2010/04/cozy-corner-restaurant-chicago.html).

After my meal I was off to see the birthplace and museum of Ernest Hemingway. I dont know anything about him. I thought it may be ineteresting to learn more about him. I went to the birthplace first. The admission price includes both the birthplace and the museum. They are about two blocks away from each other. Both places closes at 5 pm. i got to the birthplace at 4pm. I was the only one on the tour. The tourguide basically told me about Ernest's life. I finished the tour at 445pm. I then rushed over to the museum. In the 15 mins i was there i just scanned thru the posters of his life.

I decided that i should catch a show or musical while I am here. The big show that is advertised is Billy Elliott. I went to the theatre to get tix. The cheapest tix was $28. The guy at the tix booth beside me took the last tix. I wandered down the street to the Goodman Theatre. The show that was playing there is A True History of the Johnstown Flood. I managed to get a tix for $23 for a mezzaine seat. I thought it was based on a true story. It was partially based on true events. The characters and their stories are fictional. The flood was a true event. It would be a parallel to a fictional story occuring during Hurricane Katrina. It was a long day for me. I just went back to my hotel after the show.


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Day 195: ninth day in Chicago

I started my day with a healthy hardy breakfast:
McDonald's. The day before at the Blackhawks game they gave us contest cards. There was a coupon for a free egg mcmuffin if the Hawks score the first goal. They did and i got my free egg mcmuffin.

My first destination is the Chicago History Museum. It is free Mondays. i like free. It was quite interesting. They have various exhibits on the different important periods in Chicago's history. I feel like i know more about Chicago than Vancouver after going to this museum.

After the museum, I went to Oz Park. When my friends were here we tried to find Oz Park but couldn't find it. This time i had a better map and it helped. This park is dedicated to the Wizard of Oz. There were statues of Dorothy and Toto, the Tinman, the Lion and the Scarecrow. The author lived nearby hence the dedication.

I was really hungry by this time. I sat on a bench at Oz Park and there was this guy who was sitting by himself on the bench beside me. I asked what restaurants he recommemed nearby. One restaurant he suggested was Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. I saw this restaurant in my tourist book also. ( http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com/2010/04/cafe-ba-ba-reeba-chicago.html)

I was close to Second City. The show started at 8pm. I was thinking if i get back there at 7pm and if i can get tickets, i will see the show. I had an hour and a half to kill. I went to the shops on Armitage Street, Wells (Old Town) and Division Street to State Street. I got back to Second City at 645pm. They had tickets available and i went to see the show. The show is very similar to our Theartresports. I was laughing the whole time.




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Day 194: eight day in chicago

I really wanted to watch a Blackhawks game while i was in Chicago. I figured out how to get to the United Center because I went there the night before for the Bulls game. I didnt have a ticket. I thought i would be able to get a tix at the ticket booth. On the bus i met three fellow Canadians. It was a dead givaway cause one was wearing a Winnipeg Jets jersey and another one was wearing a Calgary Flames jersey. The Blackhawks were playing againest the Flames. They had standing room tickets. They told me where they will be standing and said hopefully they will meet me inside. I went to the ticket booth. The cheapest ticket thet had was $65. I wasnt willing to spend that much. I found a dodgy scalper down the street and managed to get a tix from him for $35. I got inside and managed to find my three fellow Canadians. I ended up standing with them the whole time. The game was great. I felt like i had split personality. The first half of the game i was cheering for the Hawks. The Flames were losing and i felt bad for them. I started cheering for them the last half of the game. I may be a good luck charm for chicago teams.

We were all hungry after the game. My friend recommended Shaw's Crab House. So the guys joined me for dinner. (http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com/2010/04/shaw-crab-house.html) It was pouring rain after the game. Tourenchal rain and lighting. After dinner we went for a drink. I found a place relatively near by. It was another piano bar but this time there were two piano players. It is called Howl At The Moon. We were there for a few hours then went across the street to another pub for another drink. It was way past my bedtime and we cabbed it home.


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Day 193: seventh day in Chicago

We started our day with breakfast at Rick Bayless' restaurant Frontera Grill (see restaurant blog - http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com/2010/04/frontera-grill-chicago.html)

After the meal we did a bit of shopping then headed to Wicker Park. Its a very neat neighbourhood. There are many independant shops. It is like Commercial Drive or Main St.

After Wicker Park, we headed to the Chicago French Market. We expected it to be like Granville Island with lots of vendors and shops. But it was indoors and about half the size of the Granville Island Public Market. We walked thru the whole thing in five minutes.

After that we went to eat dinner at Avec (see restaurant blog - http://lisa-restuarants.blogspot.com/2010/04/avec-chicago.html).

Now it was time to head to the Bulls game. They played againest the Bobcats. It was fun. Everytime there was a time out or intermission, there would be an audience participated game or the dancers would come on.

After the game one of my friends and I went to the Signature Lounge on the 96th flr of the John Hancock Building. It was so beautiful at nite. We only ordered a small appy and ordered a drink.




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Day 192: sixth day in Chicago

Restaurant blog updated:
Orange for breakfast
Bistrot Margot for lunch
Texas de Brazil for dinner
Http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com

Today we started the day early. We went to Orange at 9am (see restaurant blog).
We then haeded to Lincoln Park. At Lincoln Park we wanted to see the conservatory and the zoo. They are both free. The conservatory was neat. It had so many types of plants and flowers. The zoo was amazing. I expected a small zoo like in Vancouver. I was so wrong! It was at least four times larger than Vancouvers zoo. Its all free. There were a bazillions types of animals there. We even saw a couple of primates mating. Not for childrens' eyes! Lincoln Park borders Old Town. We walked thru Old Town and had lunch at Bistrot Margot (see restaurant blog). We took the bus back into town. We had to make a pit stop at Tiffany's. Then we headed to a boat tour. It is part architectural tour. It was a 90 minute tour thru the river and Lake Michigan. After the boat tour we headed to dinner at Texas de Brazil (see restaurant blog).

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Day 191: fifth day in chicago

Restaurant blogs updated:
The Village (italian food) for lunch
Pizzeria Uno for dinner
Http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com

Today i met up with my friends at 1030am. We walked on the Magnificent Mile. We were taking a 1pm architectural tour on modern skyscrapers. We went to the Chicago Cultural Center. In there was a culinary concierge. I picked his brain on his restaurant suggestions. I was looking for the famous hot dog. He suggested a place by the start of our architectural tour. The place is called Max's. I finally had the famous hot dog. It tasted very similar to a regular hot dog except the toppings are larger. No ketchup allowed! I had a cheese dog. It came with relish, a small sliver of a pickle, two small slices of tomatoes. We did the walking tour. It was two hours long. We then went to lunch at the Village (see restaurant blog).

The Art Institute of Chicago is free on thursdays after 5pm. We went after our lunch. When we got there we were surprised to see a massive line. But the line moved very quickly. There was so much to see. It is larger than the Van Art Gallery. It took us two hours to finish seeing the exhibits we wanted to see. We saw about 90 percent of the gallery. We then went to Pizzeria Uno (see restaurant blog). We called it a night after the pizza.





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Day 190: fourth day in Chicago

Restaurant blog updated:
The Parthenon for lunch
Heaven on Seven for dinner
Http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com

Health and wellness blog updated:
Http://lisahealthwellness.blogspot.com

Today was a slow and relaxing day for me. I woke up at 11 am. I went to the fitness centre (see health and wellness blog). By the time i finished showering and getting ready it was about 230pm. My destination was to the Oprah Studios. I wanted to see if they had any stand by tickets we can get. But no luck. The only way to get tickets is online. Boo hoo for me :( ....... The Oprah Studios is located close to Greektown. I thought since I was in Greektown i should have some greek food. I went to The Parthenon for food (see restaurant blog). After my food i went back to my hotel to wait for my friends. They met me at 6 pm at my hotel lobby. We went to dinner at Heaven at Seven (see restaurant blog). After dinner, one of my friends and i walked off our food on the Magnificent Mile.

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