Chicago

Friday
Forest's dad had a conference in Chicago this past weekend and invited us to enjoy the city with Teresa while he attended. We got in to the hotel late in the afternoon on Friday, and despite below zero temperatures, we ventured out in the cold a few blocks away to an Indian restaurant while Parry went off to his own dinner meeting.

Nothing like spicy curry to warm you up inside and out.

Saturday
It's been a while since I had a "belly shot" taken. Here she is, looking quite round and baby-ful. Thanks to Carol, my mother-in-law, for providing this maternity outfit. It is getting more and more difficult to negotiate the belly with my old wardrobe.

Teresa and Parry

While Parry had to go to more meetings, the rest of us saw a bit of the city. Luckily it had warmed up to about 20 degrees F.

If you don't know Teresa, something you should know is that she is a fabulous portrait artist. In fact, below is a picture of us she did as our wedding gift:

Despite her talent and appreciation for art, it has been years since she visited the Chicago Art Institute. It seemed only appropriate that that should be our first stop.

Below are a few of the works that most stood out to me on this trip
Modern Japanese Prints:
Portrait of Nakamura Kichiemon, kabuki actor, by Sekino Jun'ichiro

China:
Carved cinnabar lacquer on wood--18th century

Italian Drawings from the Renaissance and Baroque Periods:
Chalk depiction of Saint Bonaventure by Fra Semplice da Verona

"The Adoration of the Magi"attributed to Vincenzo Meucci

Depiction of Moses and the daughters of Jethro by Jacopo Vignali

The Impressionist Gallery:
Teresa and me in front of Renoir's "Woman at the Piano"

Monet

Monet

After having lunch at a cafe across the street we set out in search for Dick Blick's--an art supply superstore that Teresa has heard about but never been to. It was only a couple of blocks away from the art institute, and once we got there she got all stocked up on artistic odds and ends. Overall it was quite the artsy excursion.

That evening Parry invited us to accompany him to the conference dinner held at Crystal Gardens in Navy Pier. Forest and I felt a little out of place, but we were pleased to tag along. We all enjoyed the bus driver who shuttled us there and back--he provided passengers with a miniature tour as he gave a humorous, very personalized description of every building we passed. I loved the commentary he threw in about Oprah Winfrey.

You could see the famous ferris wheel from our table

Amid the tropical vegetation, there were arches of water spraying in laser-like streams over peoples' heads. I kept wondering what would happen if there was a sudden drop in water pressure.

We had a fun time . . . thanks, Parry!

After dinner, Forest and I took time to savor a few glimpses of nighttime Chicago before heading back to the hotel