Thar she blows...the Windy city

Chicago - downtown from Hancock
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On Friday night I returned from a week-long trip to Chicago for the American Industrial Hygiene Association conference (AIHce). The conference ran from Monday to Thursday, so Saturday night, Sunday and Friday I had to explore this city. I have to say, that I really liked Chicago. And I would recommend as a travel destination. I think I could even live there. It's pretty, clean, has a good public transit system, a great nightlife, culture, etc. In particular, I'd like to point out that my brother KEVIN should go to Chicago. Lots of photographic opportunies (I can't do them justice), and IMPROV. I went to a show on Wednesday night with some of my hostel-mates. It was the best improv show I'd ever seen, no offence. The conference was fantastic. Lots of interesting talks, people, etc. Overall, I found the week mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting and was glad to get back to my laid-back Vancouver lifestyle. I spent the entire weekend destressing...Anywho, here are some photographic highlights. I have more, thanks to my ultimate friend Jesse and the generous people at Future Shop I was no longer confined to a 32 MB memory card worth of photos! Yay 1 GB!

Bean there, done that...

Chicago - bean reflection
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Sunday, I toured through Millenium Park and the historic Loop district. I took this photo of my reflection in the "Bean" sculpture located in Millenium Park. In the background you can see some of downtown Chicago, and the Pritzker Pavillion, Frank Gehry's outdoor version of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA (i.e. another astronomically-priced bent metal sculpture/building). The architecture in Chicago is a real treat, where beautifully carved and detailed buildings siddle up next to modern sky scrapers. I was also amazed at how clean the streets of downtown were. I don't recall seeing a homeless person...

Mix it up

Chicago - Joe and Jadine
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Sunday night I went to an AIHA student mixer at the Hot House, a jazz/blues club. This is where I met Joe. Not much I care to say about him right now. He's very nice, treats me well, Texan...lives in Albuquerque (a word I can barely spell let alone pronounce). Ok...moving on...

Love and Marriage

Chicago - Buckingham (close)
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

This is the Buckingham fountain, located in Grant Park. If it looks familiar, this could be for one of two reasons. Firstly, it was modelled after a fountain at Versailles. But, more likely, it was the fountain featured in the opening sequence of the lame 80's sitcom Married With Children. Other fun facts about the fountain:
- The four sea creatures surrounding the fountain symbolize the four US states surrounding Lake Michigan: Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.
- It recycles 1.5 gallons of water.
- From 9 to 11 pm, there is a light show timed to music. Very pretty. Joe and I watched on Wednesday night. Even danced along a bit...

Ceci n'est pas un photo d'une pipe

Chicago - pipe
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Thursday was the last day of the conference. I spent the morning learning about physical hazards. Went out for lunch with my boss from last summer in Winnipeg. Then ran away!

I went browsing through the ritzy stores on the Magnificent Mile (kind of like Yorkville/Bloor street, but longer and better). Didn't buy anything, but tried on some pretty dresses at Ann Taylor Petites.

Then I went to the fantastic Art Institute of Chicago. My Lonely Planet told me that a trip to Chicago is not complete without a spin through the Art Institute, and I am sure glad that I went. They have an incredible collection of Impressionist paintings. Lloyd told me that they started collecting these works as they were being created. There was an entire room of Monet! I took a picture of this Magitte because it reminded me of Monsieur Strobl, my high school French teacher. He used this painting as an example of l'Absurde. Ceci n'est pas une pipe, c'est une image d'une pipe!

Washing windows at "Big John"

Chicago - washing windows
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Before flying back to the west coast, I spent the morning with my bunkmate, Meryl, an energetic Philadelphian-Vermontian. We went to the Old Pancake House for breakfast and discussion of Canadian and American politics. Then we rode to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building. It's not as tall as the Sears tower (or even the CN tower), but the view (especially of downtown) is supposed to be better. Anyway, here we are goofing around at the mock window-washing display (probably intended for kids).