Day 1: arrival, settling in, discovery

Chicago is a city of art and architecture. I was delighted when one of the first things we saw as we emerged from the subway was the renowned Picasso sculpture:

I loved the fact that there was public transit at the airport! such civilization. Even better was the $2.25 fare, or 7 day pass for $28.

We settled into our 35-storey hotel. It seemed small, compared to its neighbours, the Prudential Building, Aon Square and the Radisson Blu. I don't have pic's. Feel free to find internet images of these  buildings. Particularly the Radisson Blu.

A Proom family tradition is to go to Whole Foods as soon as possible. We had our choice of two -- we went to the further one because it was close to a Target, and Anita has become a fan of Target. The shirt she's wearing in the Picasso statute picture was purchased at a Seattle Target in the fall. From Whole Foods, we picked up cereal and fruit to last us five days (we hoped --- hah! it lasted three), then from Target, some yoga pants and two pairs of shorts for Anita. And sunscreen. Boy did we need sunscreen.

On the way home, we admired tall buildings at dusk

The darker one is the Willis Building, once known as the Sears Tower, once the world's tallest building. I much preferred the smaller one in front, with its modern crown. Apparently they had to dim the lights in the crown, as it disturbed birds too much. All buildings must turn off the top lights during bird migration season, since Chicago is on a major migratory route.

Detail is everywhere, including on the bridge we walked across...

We then passed through the theatre district.

And back to our hotel to rest up for a busy busy day 2.