I did a lot of walking today, which was good because it helped to combat the significant number of calories I consumed. But it was also bad because I stubbed my toe(s) TWICE on the oversized bed frame in my hotel room last night. The leather covered corners of the wooden frame provided insufficient cushioning for my poor pinky toes and walking was a little difficult today.
Since I was wide awake at 1AM watching YouTube videos, it wasn’t a question of if I would crash at some point this afternoon, but when. But you know what really helps to wake you up in the morning? Pancakes. A tower of 5 of Wildberry’s signature Berry Bliss pancakes was just what I needed this morning. I was able to rationalize these because I knew I would be doing a lot of walking today. You might remember I ate here on my last visit to Chicago, where I paired them with an egg skillet. Today I stuck with just pancakes, but was disappointed when they arrived slightly overdone and dry. Don’t worry… I still managed to clean my plate!
My morning adventure was a river boat tour with the Chicago Architecture Center. The tour was led by a volunteer docent, Missy, who had an encyclopedia of knowledge to share about the buildings we passed as we traveled under 23 bridges along the Chicago River. The clear blue skies and warm temperatures made for a perfect morning on the open air deck.
My afternoon was spent at the Art Institute of Chicago. On my way there, I made the obligatory stop at Millennium Park for a few photos of Cloud Gate (AKA “The Bean”). While I appreciate art, I’m certainly not an art connoisseur. My main interest in visiting the Art Institute was to see the National Portrait Gallery’s Obama Portraits, on display as part of a five-city tour around the country. Aside from seeing those, I wandered most of the galleries, stopping here and there to read about a painting or artifact.
To preemptively burn a few dinner calories, I chose to walk the two miles to dinner at Piccolo Sogno in River West. The patio was strung with lights and surrounded by trees and a couple of canopies. It was the perfect setting for ravioli and a glass of Prosecco. Bonus: the service was impeccable! After dinner, I walked back to my hotel along the Riverwalk, enjoying the boats passing by in the late afternoon sun.
Traveling with Laura 