Chicago: Saturday: The Gold Coast and more

I had Saturday morning to do with what I pleased. After thinking about what activity to choose--there were a number of museums and other sights I contemplated squeezing into the morning--, I decided instead to begin with a walking tour of the Gold Coast, Chicago's ritziest residential neighborhood. I generally followed the route in my Frommer's guidebook, walking this path (as recorded by my cell phone's GPS).

As I began walking, I remembered why people call Chicago the windy city. The wind removed any heat my body generated. I wouldn't describe the temperature as brisk, nor would I choose the word chilly. It was simply cold. And it got colder near the lake. I now understand why weatherpeople comment on the temperature by the lake. Meanwhile, as I walked, freezing, dressed in the warmest clothes I brought on the trip--clothes that usually served me well in Boston's winters--, I'm being overtaken by nutcases out jogging.

My walking tour is documented by these pictures.

On the way back from my tour, I tried to stop by a small gallery, the City Gallery, but it was inexplicably closed. Then I met Di Yin for lunch. We went to Frontera Grill, a Mexican restaurant known for authentic food, and that's run by the guy who wrote a Mexican cookbook that I've cooked many recipes from. It was interesting and fairly decent, a reaction I elaborate on in my picture captions. Di Yin, in a comment that can be taken in multiple ways, said the chef "does interesting, creative things with Goya" (referring to the canned goods company). Also, I liked the feel of the restaurant. Di Yin's pictures from this day include one of the decor. (In fact, it's the first picture in the day's set--the picture I linked to above.)

After lunch, we tried to visit the Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum, but it turned out to be closed for the season. Instead, we found our way to a large, fancy gourmet market, Fox & Obel. Di Yin's pictures document aspects of the market.

Of course, we had a plane to catch. We picked up our luggage from our hotel and headed to the airport. The first rain of this trip began as we left the hotel toward the subway in order to leave town. By the time we made it to the airport, we could see it pouring outside the subway windows. Luckily, our planes left before the storm turned into a thunderstorm and the snow predicted in the evening. We each had our own dinners from items we picked up over the course of the trip: in my case, Indian leftovers, the mochi dish I made with Di Yin's mom that we brought from New York to Chicago, the Indian dessert, and a pretzel I picked up at the gourmet market.