Yesterday was a full day - the first day of the conference went from 8 AM to 5 PM. By the time I finished my last session and went upstairs it was 6:00. Paul wanted to head down to Grant Park to walk around a bit. We had an hour and a half until we were to meet our colleagues for dinner.
We hopped on the subway and then the Loop to the Library stop and then wandered around Grant Park and then our favourite: Millennium Park.
We started off with Buckingham Fountain, located in Grant Park, it is one of Chicago's most popular attractions and one of the largest fountains in the world. It was opened in May of 1927. The four sea horses you see on its sides represent the four states that touch Lake Michigan: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. It is a symbolic start for Route 66.
Walking through Grant Park from the fountain we moved north to Millennium Park. We enjoyed the park when we were last in Chicago and were interested to see if Chicagoans were still as engaged with the park as they appeared to have been back in 2006.
The BP Bridge, a sinuous pedestrian bridge designed by Frank Gehry, links Millennium Park with the eastern portion of Grant Park and provides incomparable views of the city’s skyline, Grant Park and Lake Michigan. The only Gehry-designed bridge in the world, the 925-foot long BP Bridge is clad in stainless steel panels and has a gentle slope and hardwood deck.
As we walked over the bridge we could hear jazz playing from the Pavilion. As we got closer we could see many happy music fans sitting on the grass listening to the band play some great jazz. What a civilized way to listen to music - relaxed, sipping wine, nibbling on snacks.
The pavilion stands 120-feet high, with a billowing Ghery designed "headdress" of stainless steel ribbons that frame the proscenium opening, connecting to an overhead trellis of crisscrossing steel pipes that define the lawn seating area.
It would have been nice to stay and listen but we had much to do before we met up for dinner.
We wanted to visit the Crown Fountain and the 'Bean' before we left the park.
Designed by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa, the Crown Fountain features two 50-foot high glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers are activated with changing video images and lights, and water cascades from the top of each. Anchoring the southwest corner of Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Streets, the Crown Fountain is a major addition to the city’s world-renowned public art collection. Inspired by the people of Chicago whose faces appear on the glass towers’ changing video images, this site-specific work creates both a unique meeting point and a dynamic space for silent reflection. Utilizing water, light, and glass, Plensa has created a bold statement that is sure to stimulate passers-by and invite them to enter and experience Millennium Park.
This sculpture/fountain was certainly popular yesterday in the heat!
Our final stop was at the sculpture commonly known as 'the Bean'. This 110-ton elliptical sculpture designed by the celebrated British artist Anish Kapoor, one of the most prolific and respected sculptors in the world. "Cloud Gate," the monumental sculpture located on SBC Plaza was named by the artist on June 29 when the final panel of the elliptical sculpture was installed.
The sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly-polished stainless steel "plates" that create an elliptically-arched, highly reflective work with Chicago’s skyline and Millennium Park itself as a dramatic backdrop. Visitors will be able to fully experience the majestic nature of the work by literally walking through and around, as it was designed for public interaction. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high.
In one of my sessions today I leaned how to make a quick animoto video - let's see how that works . . .
Create your own video slideshowat animoto.com.
Dinner was at a BBQ joint - Weber. You expect that the folks at Weber might know how to grill a rib or two . . .and they did! I had a HUGE hunk of prime rib that was crusted with herbs and garlic and slowly smoked over hickory. OH WOW! This was a perfect finish to a full and intriguing day!
Isn't Weber amazing with all that sizzling going on??? Dinner looks great. Fun to hear what you are seeing, etc. there. Sounds like you are hitting the high spots and enjoying them.
Posted by: Kayte | July 13, 2010 at 04:14 PM
I have got to visit Chicago; it looks so interesting!
Posted by: Sandrac | July 14, 2010 at 10:52 AM
I think that you would enjoy it Saandra - so much to see and do and all quite accessible.
It was a good dinner Kayte! Paul is going to try and duplicate what he ate for dinner tonigh.
I wish that they had one closer to us though! SIGH
Posted by: JDeQ | August 02, 2010 at 10:46 AM