Thursday, August 30, 2012
Hello! I’m back!!
I think Robert did a great job filling in for me last night – and he certainly has mastered the art of putting in photos!
 |
| Genie |
 |
| Eunuchs |
 |
| Lion - Glazed Brick |
So…woke this morning to another clear and warm day. We left the hotel about 8:30 a.m. with Robert working his way through the city on surface streets, eventually making our way to the Outer Drive, and shooting down to the south side of town. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago is a wonderful museum that features exhibits from the countries excavated over the past 100+ years by the University. Fortunately for us, they have worked primarily in the Anatolia/Syrian/Iraqi parts of the Middle East. We opted to rent their audio-tour, which turned out to be fairly difficult to work (this is not a job for iPods!). They now have everything – words and pictures – on iPods – with the premise being that if you can work an iPod, you can do anything…suffice to say that somehow I managed to get my iPod into Spanish…hmmm…At any rate, we got to see some old friends (glazed brick lions from Khorsabad) as well as new friends (some wonderful pottery from Anatolia) and very much enjoyed our experience.
 |
| Robie House - University of Chicago |
 |
| Robie House |
Across the street and down a block or so is Robie House, a wonderful Frank Lloyd Wright building now open to the public. Robie House, built for the Robie family, was designed and constructed in the early 1900’s; completed in 1910. We had seen the outside every time we went to the Oriental Institute, but this is the first time we’ve been there where it has been open to the public. Walked in and were able to get on a tour immediately, which was great. Very, very good tour of the house, which is still really under renovation. The house had been used for various purposes -- including as dormitories – since the mid-1920’s, and was definitely in need of restoration. The first phase, already completed, stabilized the outside and inside brick work, and shored up the original steel beams. The second phase – money being collected now – will complete the restoration with emphasis on lighting, carpets, windows and interior walls. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take photographs indoors, but R got some wonderful exterior shots. Additionally, we bought a “field guide” to Wright’s work – all over the world, with photographs, addresses and maps; will look forward to seeing what we can between here and our return to Tucson!
By this time, it was past 2 p.m. and definitely time for lunch! We were trying to figure out where to go, when we remembered our last visit to Chicago, and a very nice Asian restaurant on the north side of town. Robert found the area, and there was the restaurant, the “Big Bowl.” Parked in an underground garage a block or so away, and headed in. We ate off the appetizer menu and had delicious summer rolls, chicken satay and beef lettuce wraps – all great – but when we got back to the parking garage, found that the bill for parking for less than one HOUR was $23.00! Talk about sticker shock!!!
It took a REALLY long time to get back to the hotel, as the surface streets were moving VERY slowly, but eventually we made it – almost 5 p.m.! I managed to get a short nap, and we were out to pick up Dick by 6:30 p.m. Dick wanted to go to Red Lobster, and with Emmy’s help, we were able to find one fairly close to Des Plaines. Good meal for everybody, and a really good visit with Dick! Tomorrow night we’re going to go to see Tiffany (Dick’s daughter) and Danny’s new house in the suburbs; very much looking forward to it!
And so ends a really lovely day! It did manage to get up past 94 degrees today…hope it’ll be cooler tomorrow!
Lots of love!
m
xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment