ok, so the mean mamma is back in danville, and so glad of it. let me just say this about this trip- it made me appreciate people who share a true passion for travel and all that goes with it- drinking in the sights, taking time in museums to get the essense of the exhibits, trying new foods, sitting back and soaking in the culture- this trip had none of that, alas- i spent most of my time getting cayle to get up off the of the floor, where she would sit in the midst of crowds because she was bored and had minimal interest in actually reading the signs about the kinds of fish in the tank, or the name of the artist and the work, or even to peer inside the mummy's coffer.......so let's talk about what i enjoyed about this trip to chicago-

- discovering that the cta now runs from midway downtown- and paying only $3.00 each way to get us 3 blocks from our hotel
- seeing the end of the chicago marathon- and getting to take a picture of jeff and karen thornton after he finished in boston-qualifiying time
- seeing the picasso model for his unnamed chicago piece that looks like a giant baboon's head- at the art institute
- seeing the desk and chair designed by frank lloyd wright for the johnson building in racine, wisconsin- kidney shaped rather than his signature angular
- seeing the tang horses at the art institute- i wish i could bring one home
- going to shaw's crab shack with the thorntons and having wonderful crab cakes and a nice sauvignon blanc
- leaving cayle's almost full juice bottle for the homeless man going through the trach cans outside of the aquarium
- seeing a tank of chambered nautilus at the aquarium
- seeing the penguin display at the aquarium- one of the best i have ever seen- i could sit there all day just watching
- seeing the special exhibit on pearls at the field museum- so many neat things- marilyn monroe's pearls given to her by joe d. on their honeymoon; -still in the case; mary todd lincoln's pearl necklace and bracelets worn at his inaguration/ his gift to her; washington's gift of pearls to his granddaughter on her marriage; 2 dresses by the french designer worth- all embellished with seed pearls; a faberge egg with pearl highlights; a portrait of queen elizabeth showing her with ropes of pearls on her dress, in her hair, etc; fossilized pearls; morther-of-pearl chalices; pearl ornaments worn by egyptian pharohs; the cultured pearl necklace worn by audrey hepburn in breakfast at tiffany's; a pearl tiara made for empress josphine; pearls worn by marie antoinette; pearls belonging to queen victoria; black pearls, pink and gold pearls; a pearlie jacket from london;
a fabulous pearl necklace loaned by elizabeth taylor; a string of pink conch pearls as big as marbles; it just went on and on- i coveted most of what was on display-
- supper at the chinese restaurant in the lobby of our hotel- a nice shrimp lo mein with a chinese beer
- watching monk on usa network last night on cable- we don't get cable/will never get cable- but i love this show...also watched cribs on mtv-

anyway- so glad to be home, and still off work till thursday morning......can't wait til spain- i feel that this trip was just practice- a reminder of all that is essential to traveling like packing light; researching all of the open days, holidays, hotel locations, special exhibits, nearby great cafes, etc. even down to the nitty gritty about packing my favorite eye shadow rather than what is in a more convenient package- i hate the eye shadow in my travel bag but i never remember to take it out between trips.....

on another note- i am counting on the l.o to bring appropriate travel music- i have fond memories of beck's devils hair cut as a backround to being lost north of cologne.......i will try to find out connector to play a cd player on a car tape player......
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