I know, I should have posted the rest Friday. But I didn't. Here it is.

Before I continue with Sunday, I did forget to mention that Saturday night when we were walking back to our hotel we were delayed crossing Michigan Ave by Naked Bike Ride Chicago. After googling (on work's computer too. no one has said anything tho) we found out it's apparently like Critical Mass (protesting against pollution and congestion and consumerism of cars clogging the city) except instead of riding clothed at rush hour they ride naked at night.

Sunday continued
I wasn't terribly interested in the afternoon session Sunday so we made the trek to Wicker park for lunch. Everyone had told me to go there, that I'd like it, and I did. It has a feel kind of like Bedford Ave in Williamsburg NY, or the East Village, but in a Chicago way.

We had lunch at the highly recommended Earwax coffeehouse. I had a "messy burger" (homemade black bean burger w/cheese and slaw) with a salad and a pineapple/strawberry smoothie. Patrick had a fruit oatmeal bake, because he wasn't terribly hungry due to eating at Maxwell Street Market. Verry yummy, and again I got to encounter the indie coffeehouse atmosphere that I loved at Third Place in Raleigh when I worked there and that I haven't found in Cleveland. (I do love Civilization, but it just doesn't have that atmosphere.)

After lunch, we split up so Patrick could go spend tons of time browsing the record store and so I could shop the rest of the stores on the street. Although I did find cool stores (the Fluvog shoe store and Ragstock stand out) no one had things I liked in my size for a price I was willing to pay.

Due to a massive headache and achy legs and feet from walking about 10 miles per day the previous 2 days (thank you pedometer for that information), we then went back to the hotel and passed out for abotu an hour or so.

About 6:30-ish we arose and started making our way to the legendary(?) Indo-Pak neighborhood on Devon Street. Long train and bus rides, but so worth it. I was in heaven surrounded by tons of Indian restaurants of all types. We ended up settling on Indian Garden. Unfortunately the only thing I remember the name of was Sikh Kabob, but we ordered a bunch of things I'd never had before and it was excellent.

Walking to dinner we had passed a bakery that sold nothing but Indian sweets. The owner was very enthusiastic (possibly on a massive sugar rush from eating too much of his product) and offered us tastes of everything. And when I say offered I mean cu off piece after piece and shoved them at us.

Finally it was deermined we would get 2 typs of milk fudge. We orderd 1/4lb total. "1/4lb each?" "Um... sure" And he kept piling it in the box until somehow we ended up with about a pound of candy. As much as we tried we didn't end up finishing it before we left town, but it was very tasty.

Monday
Got up early again (reluctantly - exhaustion from the trip combined with exhaustion from wading through 3200 people at the conference had taken its toll) and made my way to the 9am session on Brand Identity. The session was really good, featuring the head of the Brand Integration Group at Ogilvy Mather and some of his employees and former students from SVA. The key idea that sticks in my mind from it is that traditional design is about "turning information into understanding" but that really great design "turns information into inspiration".

Took a long lunch break and went back to Wicker Park for lunch. The noodle place we were going to (Penny Noodles) was closed on Mondays so we went to Zen Noodles instead. My food was really good (especially the tofu satay with peanut sauce) but, as often happens to me, I ate too much coconut milk. I love southeast Asian food, but unfortunately coconut milk doesn't agree with me at all.

So - back to the hotel to lie down til the next session. Next it was "Learning to Look Up" with Brendan Dawes, an interactive designer from Britain. He was really engaging and a great speaker. I was enthralled even tho much of the talk covered ideas I'd been exposed to in my robotics class at CIA; alternative inputs to the computer that give interactive art and design a warmer, more organic feel.

Immediately after that was Wilde Thinking. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't an hour and 15 minutes of student work shown on the projector. So, despite being in the 2nd row, I "snuck" out about halfway through.

Luckily, Patrick was back early to the hotel room and we plotted what to do for dinner. We found promising reviews for Bite Cafe on several sites, so we figured out the transit route and got on the bus. And rode. And rode. And rode. Until we were way the hell out west and not sure exactly where we were.

Then we walked about 3 blocks and saw this restaurant tucked in amongst the various Ukranian stores. This tiny little dive had a really interesting fusion-y menu - obviously the type of place whose location is dictated by the cost of rent.

The appetizer we got, eggplant "involtini" stuffed with goat cheese and served with tomatoes, was amazing and well worth the long trip. Unfortunately our entrees were only OK. Patrick's burrito had excellent stuffings but didn't really work as a burrito. My special - tofu with harissa sauce, an Israeli couscous salad, and a fennel-orange salad - was promising but in the end not that interesting. The couscous just tasted like tabouli and the sauce tasted bottled. It wasn't bad, just that the appetizer had gotten my hopes really high.

Long bus ride back for an early night so we could enjoy our last day.

Tuesday
I opted to skip the closing keynote because, honestly, I think the conference is just about a day too long. So - we checked our bags at the desk and went out for a leisurely last day around town.

We started out walking to the Contemporary Art museum a few blocks from the hotel. There was a farmer's market set up out front, so we got a scone and fresh strawberries for breakfast. There's something about the taste of farm fresh strawberries that is so much better than the giant, watery ones we get shipped from California.

We headed into the museum only to find out that they were in between exhibitions. We did get to wander around some of the permanent exhibits for free, but it was kind of hard to concentrate on video installations when you could hear workers in the next gallery.

From there, the bus north to Lincoln Park. Chicago has tons of public space on its waterfront, with Grant Park taking up a huge space on the south end of downtown and Lincoln park mirroring it on the north. And most of the attractions are free, which is a huge plus.

We rode past a pond with all these giant swans floating in it and decided to get out so I could get a better look. They turned out to be paddle-boats, and I decided it wasn't worth $12 to be the only people without children in one, but I did get some pictures.

We walked north through the park on a beautiful sunny day, past statues of famous writers, through the formal gardens, the conservatory, and a lily-pad pond. I could write more, but the pictures I'll post later tell the story better.

Now hungry, we took the bus north through the rest of the park and then walked south on Clark Street, which runs parallel to the park, looking for a promising lunch spot. We ended up at the Basil Leaf cafe, where we got a refreshingly light lunch after days of eating out.

Beautifully golden passion fruit iced tea served in a tall glass. Complimentary bruschetta and bread with olive oil. A grilled vegetable sandwich with a side salad. And, as an added plus for me, the drink menus had pictures of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's on them.

Refreshed and restored, and still with time to kill before our flight, we walked back to the park and south again. This time we walked on the opposite side of the street, through "Grandmother's" English garden, a free flowing garden built to mirror the formal garden we'd been through before.

Back to the hotel and a cab to the airport and home again to get good sleep in my own bed. |