Friday, 29 June 2018: Chicago

We celebrated our five year anniversary by taking a trip back to Chicago.  It was five years ago that Justin and I first met face-to-face. Although we’d been talking on the phone for three years this was the first time to actually meet in person.  We stayed at The Blackstone. Fabulous hotel. Perfect location. Perfect view. And Gemma was legal too.  Yes, we paid $75 for her, but it was worth it.  (I swear I am going to get her to be a therapy or service dog!)  I've stayed at a lot of nice hotels.  This was without a doubt the nicest ever!  And, they did get extra points when they delivered a bottle of champagne, chocolate and balloons when they knew we were celebrating. 



Corky Siegel performed magic
 with his harmonica

We went to Legends, Buddy Guy's Club.  This time last week I didn't even know who Buddy Guy was; now I do AND now I have seen him.  He usually only performs at his club in January but he was here now for a Little Walter Foundation benefit.  He didn't play guitar but he did sing.

We went to The Field Museum and spent our time in a great exhibit on Ancient Americas.  Both Justin and I were particularly interested in the Maya information.  With our time short, we ran through the mummies in Ancient Egypt saving the rest for another day. 

The garden by the Art Museum was closed -- drat!  I really wanted to go back there.  It was this garden where I wanted to get married.  That was until Justin reminded me what the weather would be like in December plus, he was concerned that some homeless person would choose to relieve himself in the middle of the ceremony.  Yes, the Capital in Austin was oh, so much better. 

We shared a deconstructed
Baked Alaska for one of our desserts

We'd done our homework and had reservations at Bistronomic -- touted by The Chicago Tribune as "Chicago's finest affordable French."  We'd made our reservations a couple of weeks out and we were not disappointed.   A long walk home along the Magnificent Mile and a stop at Buckingham fountain for the end of day light show rounded out a perfect day.

We had lunch in Greek town on our way out of town.  Justin and I both remember very fondly our first meal we shared over tziki, olives and spanakopita.  This was the perfect ending for our celebration. 

A week or so ago I tripped across a recipe for shrimp with tomatoes and feta. They said it was Greek. What's Greek about that?  Takes more than feta for a dish to be Greek, right?

Anyway, I was excited to see Shrimp Tourkalimonas on the menu at Greek Islands.  Now I know what to do!
Our next stop was in Milwaukee to see Erich and his family. We planned to take Lilly and Brody back to Brussels with us.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Trump will get a second chance for a Supreme Court appointment. I shutter to think of the steps backwards we will endure.