Michael and I at O'Hare airport. He brought me flowers, how gentlemanly of him - Thanks Michael
I arrived in Chicago aboard American airlines twenty minutes earlier than the scheduled 5:10 p.m. arrival, the weather was a little over seventy degrees which compared to Tucson was almost thirty degrees cooler. I was cold as you can imagine, at seventy-five degrees in Tucson I’m wearing a sweater, ha-ha. Anyhow, Michael was at the airport to meet me, he had arrived earlier following an early end to his three days training in Chicago. I had carried with me only one piece of luggage as a carry-on so we were on our way as soon as we exited the terminal. Michael agreed to take me to Millennium Park; the one place I had researched that I could tour in less than two hours before nightfall.
I loved the Roman Pillars and the fountain, beautiful indeed in the night when all the lights are lit
Funny to think I had argued with Michael the night before about the traffic and how he should not make a big deal out of it now sitting in the traffic for almost an hour, I dared not comment on the traffic. It was moving but at a snail pace, we kept in line and I commented on how the roads and bridges from the airport to the city need to be redone/ painted to impress upon visitors to the city.
As we approached the city, the skyline was visible but the haziness in the sky made it impossible to take any clear pictures of the Chicago skyline. The sears tower unmistakable as we approached; I had googled the different towers that make up the Chicago skyline and found out that the tallest and most visited of them all was the Sears tower.
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the view from the front is captivating
Millennium Park is covers twenty-four and a half acres of land and is located in downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe Streets. The park was opened on July 16th, 2004 and is one of the most popular attractions in Chicago. I was so excited being down there and looking at some of the greatest art pieces and unprecedented landscape design and skyscraper architecture. In the park are so many highlights that make it one of the more fascinating parks in the world. The Chase Promenade, that runs across the park creating a walkway between Monroe and Randolph streets. One of my favorite things was the Crown Fountain with two fifty-foot high glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool, the fountain was designed by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa. The more exciting reason for me choosing Millennium Park over anything else in Chicago was "The Bean".
As always, I was being goofy
The bean is one hundred and ten ton elliptical sculpture designed by the celebrated British artist Anish Kapoor. According to the world of art and design, Kapoor happens to be one of the world’s most respected sculptors. The sculpture is made of a series of seamless stainless steel plates that from an ordinary man’s eye looks like the vacuum of a flask. The polished stainless steel is so clear it reflects like a mirror bringing to light a dramatic backdrop of Chicago’s skyline. I have said this before, and I will continue to say that the English language is inadequate when it comes to describing beauty and emotions; one has to see the bean to understand what Kapoor did. It is an extraordinary work of art and architecture. No doubt he is in a class of his own when it comes to design. Because of time constraints and the fact that I was starving, we did not have enough time to go around the Lurie garden to view some of the great sculptures and lighting designs.
Wrigley square was the point of our entry into the park, it is right at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street.
It has the best-kept lawn, almost like the green of a golf course and lawn benches for visitors to sit on. I understood that in the late eighteenth century there stood a peristyle, which was destroyed, and now an almost original size replica has been remade gracing the square. The columns of the peristyle are reminiscent or the Roman Empire pillars, they stand at forty feet high.
I would like more time next trip to visit Lake Michigan and see some other attractions.
