Learning and Culture

Thursday, August 06, 2015
Chicago, Illinois, United States
I woke at about 7 and there was no going back to sleep. But at least I had a BRILLIANT sleep last night. It's not often you can say that with 3 drunk Aussies, 3 Asians and 1 girl of undetermined origin in the room.

I sorted out my stuff and headed for a Dunkin Donut . I also had to buy my ticket for heading to Indiana tomorrow, so I had a Starbucks after that and updated yesterday's entry. I'm working with a full day train card today though so life is a little easier. I did a lot of walking yesterday.

Okay, off to decide today's plan of action! NO SHOPPING, MARY, YOU CAN RESTRAIN YOURSELF.....

~~~~~~~

I ended up not using the train card but twice. I used a BUS OMG. I went to Michigan Avenue, the magnificent side this time, and got a bus out to the Museum of Science and Industry, where everybody else in Chicago decided to bring their annoying kids today too.

Dude, I paid for my ticket, that means I have as much right as your kid to use the interactives, and I can't think of a better opportunity to teach your child social graces and turn taking. They do NOT have the right to actually shove me aside and start pressing stuff. RUDE.

But I liked the museum. It was weird, it was a bit shabby around the edges. There was one room with weird, dated displays and it smelled like old carpet. But then there was cool stuff like a tesla coil firing, a giant tornado and how to fly a small plane using the tail, wings and rudder controls (difficult, without three hands, but better than the the kid after me, who just immediately crashed it like a dying puppet) . I also saw the Apollo 8 command module, the first manned spacecraft to reach the moon. Which, back in the day, my dad touched with his finger, because he's a rule breaker... It's all protected with a ring of glass now, so I couldn't quite follow in his fingerprints...

I spent houuuuuurs in there, and I just bought the basic ticket - there were about seven gazillion add-on "experiences" that I didn't see. It took a good while for the bus to come back, and while I was slowly melting in the sun, I studied my Chicago map. Turns out I didn't actually see Wrigley Park/Field (I REALLY don't know these things) yesterday from the skydeck.

A big bunch of neon-orange-wearing summer school kids were on the bus, and one of them kept everyone happy by falling straight asleep and looking cute, while another worked desperately to make everyone REALLY angry. And then he did a "British accent what the people in England speak" and it was dire . Nul points, kid, you're fired. He was mean to the other kids so I didn't like him.

I walked out to the lake after the bus, and dipped my toes in the water even though I wasn't supposed to, and even though it was difficult (because there was broken concrete and two rusty metal bars to avoid) since, as established, rule breaking is in my genes. Rock on.

It was actually lovely out at the lake, with the boats rocking and the waves lapping. I sat there a good while. A few helicopters passed over, and at one point two helicopters and two aeroplanes were all overhead at the same time. I was too lazy to take photos. It was hot.

I headed to the Art Institute after 5, because they have this thing after 5 on Thursdays where it's free in! Yeah! Again, everybody had the same idea, and there was a big queue. Some wench thought she could actually just walk up and go in front of me, and I nearly let her at one point because I was so tired of elbowing her out, but I persevered . Then she thought she was smart choosing the short queue inside the ticketing place, but she actually went into the cloakroom queue and had to go wayyyy back. HA HA HA.

The museum was cool, but confusing, and I'm the kind of person who, when they've seen one Jesus or one Buddah, I've seen enough Jesuses and Buddahs. So I just sped around and stopped at things that caught my eye, or that were mad famous.

Famous Paintings I Saw Today, With Names I've Given Them:
Van Gogh - His Face
Van Gogh - His Bedroom
Monet - Several Waterlillies
Monet - Several Fields and Pastoral Scenes
Munch - A Girl Looking Out A Window Creepily
El Greco - Virgin Mary Ascending Out Of A Stone Box Into Some Clouds On A Giant Toenail Clipping
O'Keefe - Ice Cubes
Picasso - Sad Man And Sad Guitar Painted During Sale On Blue Paint
Wood - American Gothic: The One From The "Desperate Housewives" Credits
Hopper - Creepy New York Diner
Pollock - HaHaHa Everyone Thinks This Mess Is Art

...I had a nice time finding all those scattered things.

Now I'm back at the hostel, taking a wee break for my feet and deciding if I'm hungry or sick.

~~~~~~~~


I was hungry. But now I'm really sick.

I went to Giordano's and oh my goodness, I had no idea what pizza tasted like until now.

It was amazing.

I sat at the bar, I got triple checked for ID because I look very potentially under 21, and then I made friends with the tough-ass barman. Go me.

I only managed half the pizza and I'm just hoping I won't have to leap out of my top bunk tonight and dramatically vomit everywhere. And guess what. There wasn't a single homeless person looking for "help for the homeless" when I had half a $20 pizza to give away .

Actually, I lie. There was one guy, but when he saw I had a pizza in a bag he asked for "$2 babe, just $2". And there was a homeless woman, but she didn't even look at me.

At least in Dublin there was that honest homeless guy who said "Howya love, I need money for drugs." Which I obviously did not have available to me at the time, but the fact of the matter is I've hidden half a pizza in one of the Asian girls' lockers tonight and I hope she doesn't find out while I'm awake.
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Comments

Una
2015-08-12

it must be lovely to feel hot for a change Mary. You hadn't much experience of that all summer before you left !

2025-02-11

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