CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO...

Andrew and I had another great weekend in Chicago. Being there anytime is wonderful, but at Christmas time it's spectacular!

We left Cedar Rapids Friday at about 5:45pm. We took Andrew's new Toyota Rav 4 on it's maiden voyage to Chicago. It's first of many, I'm certain. The Rav 4 has come a long way since it's beginnings of a very small mini-SUV. For 2007 it's gotten rather spacious! A very comfortable ride as well. We would have had plenty of room for another couple AND their luggage. A mere 4 hours later we were well into the city and following the directions to our hotel. Now, with the I-Pass and open road tolling, we sailed through all of the toll booths at full speed, saving at least 20 minutes off of the trip.

We drove straight into the Loop where we quickly found our hotel. The Club Quarters.
Located in a great location right downtown in the financial district. Perfect for the places we had planned to walk to while there.

Andrew had an itinerary all written out. (He's such a planner)
Saturday: Breakfast at Starbucks (have you had their breakfast sandwiches? darn good!)
Walk to North Michigan Ave for some Christmas shopping. Spend a good part of the
day there.
Dinner reservations at Vivere at the Italian Village.
Then walk around enjoying the Christmas lights in the city.

His itinerary was only partly true.

We did everything as planned until we left the restaurant. We talked about walking over to Millenium Park on Michigan Avenue and maybe doing a little ice skating there. I should have known he was up to something when he said he thought that was a good idea. Will I ever learn?
So, we're walking toward Michigan Ave. when we stop at a crosswalk waiting for the walk signal, when he pull a couple of tickets from his coat pocket and said, "you wanna just go here instead?" I looked down and in his hand were two tickets to Wicked at the Oriental Theater. We had just walked past the theater earlier that day and I mentioned that I'd love to see that show and we should maybe plan that for our next trip. Not knowing he'd bought tickets a whole two months before. More on the show in a future post. It deserves it's own post!

Sunday was pretty relaxing. We strolled around the city just taking in the sights and watching the ice skaters at Millenium Park. Then we headed to Oak Park which is just west of downtown Chicago. Oak Park is where Frank Lloyd Wright built a home and studio for himself and his new family at the age of 22 just as he was beginning his truly amazing career in architecture in 1889. His home, complete with a studio added in the very early 1900's, has been painstakingly restored to how it looked at around 1909.
I have been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright for many years. I've read books about his life, toured Taliesin, one of his later homes in Spring Green, Wisconsin; been to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, which he designed, and have learned quite a bit about him over the years. He was definately not without his faults, but one thing is for sure, he was amazingly ahead of his time and a shear genius in his design abilities.

We left Oak Park around 3pm and headed back home. By 6:30pm we were back in Cedar Rapids. It was another fantastic weekend in Chicago. We're already talking about our plans for the next trip back to the windy city in a couple of months!