Blackhawks Win the Stanley Cup...Again!

 In June 2010, Richard and I landed in Chicago right after the Hawks had won the Stanley Cup. The town was painted red.

And they did it again last night. Richard's favourite team! Wish we were back in Chicago for the parade! Such a great city...

Big Thing in Chicago

I heard about this big bat (called "Batcolumn" by artist Claes Oldenburg) and I just had to see it. Here's what the website Explore Chicago says about it: "Like all of Oldenburg’s monuments, Batcolumn combines a humorous and irreverent attitude toward popular objects with meticulous construction details and handling of scale and proportion. It can alternately be seen as a reference to historical monumental columns, a salute to the American institution of baseball or a tribute to the steel industry."
All true. All I can say is, "That's one big bat!"

Looking Back at My Birthday

In all my ramblings about my fabulous birthday weekend in Chicago, I almost forgot about my wonderful sister who sent a box...


...to the hotel, which was filled with the most delicious, mini-cupcakes in the world. (There was even a red velvet one -- yum!)


And sitting right beside the box was an ice bucket filled with 2 little bottles of pink champagne. What a sister! (And yes, that does look like a pair of Richard's socks in the background...makes you realize that the shot wasn't a set up!)Thanks Marci. You made my birthday really special!

Garrett Popcorn

Another thing on my "not-to-miss" list while in Chicago was a visit to Garrett Popcorn. There are many of these shops in Chicago. We found this one by the smell of that amazing popcorn, wafting into the street.


We lined up with all the other eager popcorn buyers and ordered a bag of CarmelCrisp and a bag of Chicago Mix (Carmel and Cheese mixed together).


And then we went to a park, sat down on a bench and tucked in!

Cheeseboigi, Cheeseboigi, No Coke, Pepsi

This is really what The Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago is like! You can see where Saturday Night Live's John Belushi got his inspiration from.


Here I am in front of the original Billy Goat Tavern which is situated in the oddest place, under the El at the foot of an underpass.


We got out of the rain and had the most delicious double cheeseburgers...


...sitting amongst a sea of Blackhawks fans.


Good times.



Here's the Saturday Night Live skit that was based on The Billy Goat. Cheeseboiger!

Architectural Boat Tour

On the recommendation of my cousin Saul, Richard and I took the Architectural Boat Tour of Chicago.


I loved how up close and personal the tour enabled you to get. And I loved the bridges that went up to allow sailboats through.


It was a foggy day which made the building look a little dreamlike.


The docent who led the tour talked for an hour and a half enthusiastically about the history of all the architecture of Chicago. She talked about the importance of clock towers...


...and this lovely, curvy blueish building...


...and the opera house.


I just loved the reflections of the other buildings in this one.


This was my amongst my faves. A pair of round buildings with round parking spots at the bottom.


Really fun tour.

Lou Mitchell's Diner

One of the guide books I had for Chicago insisted that if you liked diners (and I certainly do!), then you had to head to Lou Mitchell's. Located on Jackson Boulevard, it was the starting point for the original Route 66, created in 1926. So when the signs for Route 66 went up on Jackson Boulevard, commuters found Lou Mitchell’s -- opened in 1923 -- waiting for them.


The place was so packed, when we were in line a waitress yelled out, "Who wants to sit outside?" Richard was the first to holler back a resounding, "Yes!"


As promised, their coffee was perfect diner coffee.


Richard had the smoked salmon omelette...


...and I had what they called "meltaway" pecan pancakes ('cause they melt in your mouth, the waitress advised me) and a side of bacon, served with REAL maple syrup.


I'll have to let Guy Fieri from Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives know about this place. It's the bomb!

Hawks Everywhere!

The Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks figured prominently in downtown Chicago last week...


...in office buildings...


...I wonder if Mies Van Der Rohe was a fan?


The backdrop of the Blues Fest had a Hawks logo overlooking it, lit up from windows in an office building in the distance.


Looks like even the folks at the opera were fans.


Imagine having your wedding photos shot in the middle of Michigan Avenue with Captain Jonathan Toews watching over you.


And me? Next year's rookie on the fourth line I think.


Go Hawks go!

Poutine at The Gage

In Chicago, right across from Millennium Park is a restaurant called The Gage.


It's actually directly across the street, so close that you can see the park reflected in its front door. I had Googled "poutine in Chicago" and The Gage popped up with glowing reviews.


And they were all right! Elk ragout poutine, delicious, creamy gravy making the curds, still squeaky in their freshness, melt a bit, all served over very good fries.


Richard loved it...


...and so did I! It definitely rated 5 curds out of a possible 5! Yum!

Cloud Gate

While in Chicago, we headed over to Millennium Park...


...where they had amazing fountains with various moving faces on them and since it was 89F, the cool water was appreciated by many overheated children.


Also in the park is Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor.


Because of its shape, it's most often referred to as the Bean.


Richard took some great photos too. Click here to check 'em out!


Underneath the Bean, the reflections get really distorted.


The reflections are amazing.


Here's Richard's self-portrait...


...and here are the two of us as seen in Cloud Gate.