August is officially a Ukraine Month in Chicago, and I only learned about it on August 1, and only because I went to the Daley Plaza Marked and saw the ceremony of the official proclamation of Ukraine Month:
Igor said he learned about this even at the last minute, but I didn’t know anything at all. It was very heart-warming to hear the words of solidarity and support for Ukraine, especially now when people’s attention is mostly focused on elections, and the war seems far away and irrelevant to way too many people…
I love having Lena in Chicago because she likes the same things that I like, so her favorite weekend is also my favorite. If she had a mini-vacation (which I hope she did), I also had it!
She arrived on Friday, and we even had some time to talk, but I was too tired to stay up late (on Thursday evening, my Amazon Fresh order was delayed, and I had to wait until 11:30PM!). But the next two days, we had a blast!
I made salmon and broccoli quiche for breakfast. My balcony is in the middle of repair, but they allowed us to but the furniture back during the non-working hoursMillenium Park had only two entrances open because of the 20-years celebration, and some parts were permanently closed, so we had to go through security multiple timesWe were the first to enter the Art Institute on Saturday, and it was my third time to see the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit.We also saw the Christina Ramber retrospective, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.Then we went to the Member’s Lounge Bar… and took tons of pictures of ourselves. BTW, Lena talked me into wearing a dress that day, saying that her only opportunity to wear a dress was when she visited me in Chicago.Continue reading “Another Chicago Weekend”→
Lena arrived an hour after my friends from Helsinki left for the airport (and I am happy to report that despite the World-Wide-IT Crisis, they safely made it home). I barely finished washing the sheets and towels.
Lena brought lots of cherry-flavored goodies, some fresh pickles from her garden, and lots of enthusiasm for doing touristy things in Chicago. And if you ask me – I am always in!
This week, I didn’t take any time off, and moreover, I had something after work almost every day, so my guests were mostly on their own. I am glad that they finally realized that biking is a way to get around, that they were at the beach pretty much every day, and that they could explore the city on their own.
Today, the interested parties went to the Grant Park Music Festival concert. The highlight of today’s show was Rachmaninov’s “Rapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” with Clayton Stephenson as a piano soloist. That was an outstanding performance, and the audience was ecstatic. I bet my friends never heard Rachmaninov that way! Clayton Stephenson said that he thinks of this piece as American music (and he has good reasons for that if you ask me). And the way this piece was performed today – OMG, it was something! And definitely American 🙂
Before the concert, I took my friend to the Riverwalk, and then they finally had a chance to taste Chicago Hot Dog, so two more boxes were checked!
Yesterday was very hot, but today’s weather was going to be wild, so I tried to squeeze in as many out-of-the-house activities as possible. Some of my house guests objected, saying that they wouldn’t survive and that it would be even worse, so whatever I wanted to do with my guests this weekend had to be done on Saturday. It was great to spend Saturday doing fun stuff in the city instead of catching up with life as I do too often these days.
Here is how it went. As always, I started the day with a bike ride (a relatively short one, just an hour). Then I made breakfast: a baked apple pancake, scrambled eggs, and breakfast patties. Then we went on the Architectural cruise. It was already burning hot by 10 AM, and Sonia could not possibly sit on the top deck for the whole duration of the tour, so I spent most of it sitting with her downstairs:). The rest of the party was entirely exhausted by the heat, but they still loved the views.
After the cruise, we cooled down in the Architectural Center
And then walked to the Art Institute because the Rayan Center was closed last week, and Sonia didn’t get a chance to do art.
As it often happens, parents do not mind doing the art either 🙂Sonia drew Rogest Park BeachAdults took turn to see the actual art exhibits.Taking the bridge to Maggie Daley Park
And after that came Maggie Daley Park, and no matter how hot it was, those who wanted to do the climbing wall climbed, and those who wanted to explore Ship did so, and those who wanted to splash in the fountain, did so as well.
We finished the day at Acanto, and my highlight was a new dessert called lemoni. From the first glance, it looked like a lemon:
I am a proud Chicagoan. I love our city and I love showing all the best things to out-of-town visitors. I think our city is special and not like others. Being a proud Chicagoan comes with a very clear understanding that our city has many problems and that there are many things that are done better elsewhere.
That being said, there were quiet rumors that panhandlers and the homeless would be removed from State Street as a part of “getting ready for the summer influx of tourists.” When I was in the Loop on July 4, I realized that it was also “do not spoil the Independence Day celebration and do not expose the city problems on that day.” I do not know (and I would be curious to know) what it took to remove people from the streets, but apparently something was done. And I am not happy of that way of solving problems. Should I be? Should I be happy about the city looking less problematic than it is?…
Today, we visited the Aquarium. I love this museum, and I reserved the tickets immediately after knowing my friends were coming. This was a great idea since the Aquarium was sold out for the day!
What I completely forgot (or ignored) was that this weekend is a NASCAR weekend. Although the races are happening during the weekend, the street closures started a week before (and would still be there the week after). Last night, I tried to figure out what exactly would be opened and closed, but without any luck.
That being said, getting there was quite an adventure, and Sonia (the youngest child and my goddaughter) was screaming that she couldn’t go anymore, but when we finally got to the Aquarium, all the hardships were forgotten! I love when people love the Aquarium and when they not just quickly browse the exhibits but actually pay attention to all of them, so it was a real joy!
We spent five hours in the Aquarium, and that’s only because we skipped the show and a big portion of it is closed for renovation. And a way back seemed not as bad!
I am sitting in Terminal 5 of ORD, waiting for my friends from Helsinki to arrive. I know that the aircraft landed more than twenty minutes ago, but nobody can tell how long is the security line.
I have a full fridge and places for five people to sleep, and that’s exciting – I didn’t have any international guests since pre-pandemic, and that will be the first time I have international guests since I moved to Rogers Park.
The first line from today’s WBEZ newsletter says:
It’s a fact we Chicagoans hold dear: No city summers better than ours.
May 15 Reset (WBEZ newsletter) started with the following paragraph:
As a Chicagoan, taking a summer vacation is risky. You might enjoy yourself in Michigan or California or somewhere else, but is it worth missing a time when Chicago shines?
Hettie's Reflections 