Chicago melodies

Much as I do not love the drive to Chicago (boring), I sure do love being here, for all the obvious reasons and then some. And this morning, I'm off to a good start!

(John Hancock tower and Lake Michigan at sunrise)

 

My daughter had given me a couple of suggestions for breakfast downtown (of the type she knows I like) and I decided to take a nice walk... 

 

 

... to Eataly.  

You know this place maybe? There are several dozen of them all over the world (including in the major cities of Italy). They specialize, of course, in Italian foods -- market and prepared, to shop for, to eat on the spot.

 

 

I had the most perfect breakfast of an almond coronatto with a latte, looking out on the street, reading my book, talking to Ed who now calls regularly in case I get lonely!

And of course, I could not resist -- their teas, their chocolate. Their kitchen stuff looked good as well, but I am no longer adding anything to any room in my home, no matter what, so I just looked and sighed.

On the way back to the hotel I stopped at a grocery store to pick up some fruit (always the missing component when you have breakfast in cafe-bakeries). And I thought -- what a fine day this is going to be!

 (elevator nonsense)

 

My assignment is to pick up Primrose at her ballet class at 12:30. I worried about this because her ballet studio is awfully close to where the Chicago No Kings demonstration will take place. (And yes, were I in Madison, I would be there for our own, because I do believe in democracy. Ed was there -- he could have been one of those with the sign "Even the Introverts are here.") This is why I came to Chicago early -- I can leisurely walk to her studio, rather than relying on the car or on public transport on what is sure to be a packed noon hour in Chicago.

And by the way, the city is so... calm. In case you doubted it. The observers could see a packed avenue of protesters, twenty-two blocks long. Moving all the way to this building:

 

 

 

I abandoned the marching route to get to the ballet studio on time to catch a few minutes of the girl's dance routine.

 

 

Primrose knows her routine well and so she basically guides me through the process of checking out and finding the El stop so that we could take the Blue Line to her neighborhood.

She hadn't eaten lunch, so we pop into Mindy's to pick up more treats for a late lunch. And a bag of freshly baked treats for Goose and Henry.

And then we finally made it back. 

Now is the time to read, to play, to wait for Juniper to wake up....

And to listen and watch Tianyao Lyu perform her two Chopin pieces as a finalist in the Chopin Competition taking place in Warsaw. A remarkable moment!

 

 

 

Oh! Juniper is up! Bringing a snack of seaweed chips for her sister...

 

 

We used the rest of the afternoon for Halloween. At least the preparation for it: the girls were eager to try on their costumes (characters from the K Pop Demon Hunters movie):

 

 

 

 

 

(oh that hair!) 

 

 

 

 

Time to get ready for dinner. (Snowdrop, wont you ever learn to like pony tails or braids??) 

 

 

 

For the evening meal, we head out to Lula Cafe. 

 

 

 

I have eaten there before, apparently, but at this point, it's like trying to remember what you wore on one certain day ten years ago -- there were too many meals, too many days, too many happenings in between and so the memories fade. In any case, it is a fantastic place of Mediterranean foods -- so good, so up my alley right now!

(dessert time)

 

 The day's excitement catches up with the three year old Juniper. That's okay, she is reminded that she can practice what they taught her in school: meditation!

 

 

 They return home, I Uber back to the hotel. It's pouring rain at the moment. I hope so much it's equally wet back home. But maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not on the day when I am to bring Henry home.

I knew it would be a grand Chicago day. It always is. Primrose said to me -- grandma, even though we dont see you as often as the other grandparents (they all have homes in the city), the nice thing is that when you do come, you hang out with us all day here. You're the only one who does that. Yes, there are at least a few benefits to being the more distant grandparent: when you come together, it's always incredibly special!

with so much love...