Chicago

Rachel and I had a fun girls' weekend in Chicago. We went out for our friend Virginia's post-wedding party and to do some sightseeing/hanging out.

On Saturday morning, we had brunch at Orange. Insanely good. We shared an autumnal omelet and an incredibly yummy flight of silver dollar pancakes. Being very light drinkers, we totally didn't get at first that a "flight" meant we got to sample all four kinds. :) We had pumpkin, apple w/marshmallow fluff, sweet potato-bourbon, and carrot-corn. Yum, yum, yum. Rachel called Josh from the restaurant just to gloat.



Of course we went to Cloud Gate (the bean) in Millennium Park.



Obligatory bean-distortion photo.



A nice couple wearing Tufts gear took this photo.



We saw some Scientology protesters downtown. I'm guessing these are the same people profiled in "The Assclown Offensive" in a recent issue of Wired.



The Chicago Tribune building was inspired by the Rouen Cathedral in France. We viewed many random chunks of other structures (e.g., a piece of Harvard, a piece of the Taj Mahal, a piece of the Kolner Dom) embedded in the walls.



Chicago-style deep-dish pizza at Pizzeria Due. We did not factor in the pizza's volume when we ordered the medium. Sigh. One of the toughest things about traveling is having to walk away from leftovers.



I helped Rach pick out a jadeite mixing bowl set for Virginia at P.O.S.H., a super cool vintage china store. After P.O.S.H. we got to check out Design Within Reach and Room & Board.



Here we are at Virginia and Craig's Wedding Afterparty. So fun! The food was so good. I had many pieces of cardamom coffee cake from the Swedish Bakery in Andersonville.



This is one of the coolest wedding gifts I've ever seen.



We hung out at the party with Rachel's childhood friend Cait and her husband Joel. Afterward we got to see their awesome downtown condo and pets. Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of Henry the dog, but check out those crazy whiskers on Frances the cat.



The Arlington House Hostel was excellent, very reminiscent of a college dorm. Though this is probably the last trip I'll take for which I'll bring a 1500 cu. in. backpack and stay in a hostel. :)



The Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise was sooo good. Here's the full view of the Trib building.



More CAF River Cruise.



Sears Tower, um I mean the Willis Tower.



View from near the Navy Pier, looking back toward the city. We walked around on the Magnificent Mile after the cruise. The Chicago Marathon had just finished and we saw lots of skinny limping people in space blankets wandering around in the 35-degree weather.



The internets were right. The best view of Chicago is from the women's bathroom on the 96th floor of the John Hancock Center.



Shortly after I took this photo, a woman brought her husband into the women's bathroom because the men's bathroom has no view.



We had a super fun trip! But I am sick of airports. So I'm happy that there'll be no more travel... for now.