More Words From The Road
Well, Giordanos was everything we remembered. And good that we got there early. The crowd was waiting outside when we left. We ate only half of our 10" pizza, saving the rest for the first homeless person we felt worthy of our leftovers. We passed the other half off to what looked like an 80-pound 80-year-old who hadn't eaten in days. He was very appreciative.Today has been another beautiful day in Chicago, playing tourist.
First, we went to see the new Millenium Park (the Frank Gehry monolithic stainless steel architectural creation). It was big and shiny. Beyond that, not impressed.
Then we stumbled into the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows (the world's largest such collection, much of it coming from the Tiffany Studios in New York, and much of it from local Chicago churches and homes). To say that these were beautiful is a great understatement. Tiffany was a painter without paint. Whereas the impressionist painters attempted to make light reflect off of their surfaces, Tiffany used the light that reflected through his glass surfaces to create paintings. Layers and layers of mottled and striated glass give the impression of sunlight dappled on leaves or draped fabric or misty, sunny landscapes. They are truly masterful. Wow! And the best part was that we weren't looking for the museum. Those are always the best discoveries. Serendipitous!
From there, we strode down the Lake Shore walkway (it was another beautiful sunny, cool day) and into the Museum of Contemporary Art. Now this, I was looking for (much to my husband's chagrin...he's not much of a contemporary art fan...I run hot and cold, but I always like to check it out). Today's special feature was a large Andy Warhol exhibit. The guy who recognized America's passion for producing and consuming pop culture and turned it into an artform. Can't say I embrace his approach or appreciate his art (though I do display some of his animal prints in my hallway...bought 'em at the San Francisco Zoo years ago for cheap) but it was neat to see some of his originals up close and personal (Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, the Tomato Soup Can...you've seen these, right?). There were also some morbid car accident photos that he had blown up and added paint to, saying that there was beauty even in the tragic. Ick. We were in and out of there in an hour.
We're off to the theatre, to see this Spamalot that everyone is talking about.
posted by Gwynne @ 6:10 PM
5 Comments:
Glad you are having heaps of fun (that Tiffany museum sounds great!) and good on you for giving away the rest of your pizza (that's being light in a really practical way!). :)
I agree, the Tiffany thing sounds awesome. Has it been there long, do you know? If so, I'm bummed I missed it.
We had Giordano's tonight, almost as good as at the restaurant, but not quite - still quite tasty and overly filling. I'd forgotten how hard it is to slog through a whole piece! (Tim ate two and is now groaning ever so quietly. ;) ) Mmm.
Can't wait to hear about Spamalot!
Just be careful about those farcical aquatic ceremonies.
I love Giordano's!
My sister-in-laws are in the Chicago area so we get there on a regular basis.
;-)
The Tiffany museum was great and I'd never seen or heard of it before (it's out at the end of the Navy Pier which I was begrudging having to walk through, what with all the teenagers hanging out in the arcades and such...very touristy and I don't like that). I'd guess the museum is relatively new, but the windows are very old, most from the 1800's.
Jim, I was very careful to keep my distance from those ceremonies. Oh, and you'll love this...my captcha is "mmmmiac." Sounds like an ABBA musical, doesn't it? ;-)
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