Chicago Hangover

Back to being south of the mason dixon, and I had a big smile on my face when I heard the captain saying "current temperature in Nashville is at 40 degrees." I feel like I saw as good a view of Chicago as you can get in sub-freezing temperatures, am happy to be back, but it's still an adjustment to return to normalcy. First off, I'm used to having all my meals/bar-stops planned for me. Lastnight we went to the observatory/cafe at the John Hancock building and leaned over people eating appetizers to look out all the windows on the 96th floor. I will second the vote that the view from the women's bathroom is the best in the city, only the windows were frosting over so you couldn't see *as* well. We tried to take a few pictures, but it's hard to really convey how it looked with a camera. Then there was a round of wine and cheese sampling at bin 36, finally over to Mike's favorite Italian place (which is likely mob run). I can't even tell you how awesome the food was at this place, and the owner/head-chef came over and insisted we do a shot of tequila with him. There was nothing I could say to get out of it either :) He insisted that if Katie Holmes took a shot at his request, I could too - or he would never speak to me again. So obviously I took the shot (he had them pour me a small one. such a sweetie). Today I had brunch with some of Mike's family, followed by a visit to the art museum where we overdosed on pretty pictures until time to leave for the airport. Well, some were pictures. You get into the modern art section and there's no telling what you'll find. One guy decided to "shun the use of color" at some point in his career and only did black paintings (think solid black paint covering the canvas). Another decided that the physical realization of his art was unnecessary, so he just put the title up on the wall. Most of the stuff was awesome though. The flight home was amazing as usual, I love seeing cities at night from the air.

I think I'll hold out on my overall opinion of Chicago for seeing it in nicer weather. You just couldn't walk around and get a good look at the city when you were focused on keeping your core temperature above 60. Still, the shopping made it good and the people made it amazing - can't ask for more.