Travelogue-Chicago Day 1 United Center

Chicago is one of the greatest cities for professional sports ever.  The first location of mention is the United Center.  This was the home of Micheal Jordan and the Bulls.  The epic games that were played during this era and the championships that were won are the stuff of legend.  To which, a statue was dedicated to the grestest player ever

 

The ststue depicts Jordan soaring over the competition with arms outstretched to serve up a dunk.  This just typifies how much better Jordan was compared to all those around him.  Basketball is a team game but no mention of Pippen or Paxson is alluded nto

Engraved at the base are some of the records that he achieved during his double forays with the team. 

We can only imagine that this is what it must have looked like to have Jordan take flight over your head

United Center is west of the Willis Tower/downtown/Loop area

By the way, another sports team makes this home as well.  For those hockey fans, the Blackhawks have also won a few titles themselves.  They also have a statue dedicated to them but no one was around taking pictures of this excpet me.  They all came for Jordan and left

Travelogue-Chicago Day 1 Lunch

This morning, I stopped of at Greektown in hopes of getting a gyro for brunch.  Ive read thqat the gyro was introduced to America here   Greektown runs along a short stretch of Halsted.

 

At 1 corner, there were 2 gyro joints across the street from each other.  There were plenty of other Greek restaurants up and down Halsted, Athens, Pegasus, Ridty's, etc.

However, I was swaqyed by the crowds in front of Meli.  Its a  cafe much like Stacks  The interiors and wait staff looked similar too.  An hour wait and brunch soon became lunch.  The crowd never died down much even several hours later when I passed by again on my way back to downtown

I chose the spicey flamenco omelette with english muffins.  The dish came with a side of potatoes and some watermelon.  Inside the layer of 3 eggs is spicey chorizo, sweet peppers, tomatoes, and pepper jack cheese.  Sour cream and avocado topped the entree.

It was ok.  The chorizo was not hot al all and this could have used some more character.  I had to douse the decent potatoes with some hot sauce to get it to the level of spiciness I thought the whole dish should have been at.

Travelogue-Chicago Arrival

I flew into Midway today and made my way to the hotel, Club Quarters Central Loop.  After quickly checking in, I left the hotel around 9pm to catch the fireworks show at the Navy Pier.  As you can see, it was dark and Im unfamiliar with the area so I want sure how far it was or how long it would take to walk there.  The evening was balmy and somewhat muggy.  I headed east toward the lakeshore and made some doglegs to the north.  I eventually caught first sight of the pier near a hotel.  I had an hour or so to wait for the fireworks.  I stood there enjoying the breeze off the lake which kept the moisture from condensing on me.  I espied many people out and about as I made my way here.  The show was supposed to begin at 10pm.  10pm came and went.  After 10 minutes, I left feeling dejected and some light sprinkles didnt help the matter.  I headed back to my hotel.

 

 On the way back,  I could see Willis Tower and decided to snap a pic.  As I did, I could the bombs bursting in air behind me.  Quickly, I ran back to my vantage point to enjoy what I could of the reminder of the fireworks

I thought the display was going to take place above the pier.  It turns out it happened just south of the end of the pier in the lake.  I caught what I could and once again turned to go back.

When I hastily left the room, I forgot to bring my tripod and extra batteries.  The tripod would have come in  handy for the fireworks.  Later, some exstra juice for the camera would have been nice as well.  I cut through Millenium Park and ran across the Cloud Gate sculpture.  This giant shiny reflective jellybean mirrors the area around it.  With what little energy I had left in the camera, I took some long exposure shots with re3flections of the city wallpapering every inch of it

For Lunch-Sunrise Deli

There are a couple of locations for this Mediterranean deli.  The one that I frequented most is located on Irving Ave past 24th Ave somewhere.  Its a stones throw from golden Gate Park.  I particularly enjoy their falafel and falafel sandwich.  On occasion, I have been to their other location on 2nd St between Mission and Market.  I like their falafel sandwich better at this location.  It may have to do with the hummus or tahini that is put into the sandwich.  I believe the recipe is slightly different because of the different flavors I experience when noshing on these items.

Anyway, I decided to have something different on this last trip.  I opted for a chicken shawarma and a side of 2 falafels.  The chicken and onion mixture is tuffed into pita bread with some red pickled cabbage.and tomatoes.  Overall, I found the entirety of it quite bland.  The pickling of the cabbage was quite mild and only hinted at some sourness when biting into it.  I had expected more spices in the chicken but it seems they were very light handed in this department

I have not had alot of shawarmas, especially not chicken ones.  So, I wasnt really sure what to expect.  I have had lamb ones at Truly Mediterranean and throughly enjoy those.  The much bolder use of spices and strong flavor of the lamb is apparent and fills the mouth with each bite.  Chicken on the other hand is a much blander meat so I cant fault them for that.  They also serve chicken shawarma at Ayola.  I have read on some online review sites that their shawarma is not their stellar product either.  I guess I will have to try one from there and compare.

On The Job-1915 Panama Pacific Exposition Leftovers

These are very familiar structures in the Marina district of the city.  they currently house the Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploratorium.  Originally, this complex was built for the above mention expo.  Over the years, there have been renovations done and seismic retrofits have been made to keep this landmark safe and open to tourists and locals alike. 

One of the more striking features are the columns.  There are a large number of free standing columns and a few that hold up the main dome.  I took an art history class once and learned about the different type of columns but I cant remember if these are ionic or doric or one of the other classes that I have already forgotten

I never realized how red the columns that decorate the supports for the dome were.  They are made ever more brilliant at night when the area is bathed in incandescent lighting making the exteriors look very jaundiced

Stepping through one of the archways into the center of the dome.  Voices and sounds echo around the inside as people crane their necks upward.  Some almost falling over while craning too much

The patterned lattice work that lines the interior of the rotunda

A small fountain in the lagoon as bookeneded by 2 of the many columns that dot the area.  Behind which are a few of the many high-priced homes that can be found in the area.  Most if not all the residnetial unites are multi-storied