Chicago - the Windy Wonderful City

I have always had fond feelings for Chicago, ever since I did my thesis on Louis Sullivan, but the more time I get to spend in the Windy City, the better I like it.

Reasons to like Chicago

• The magnificent mile. Seriously. A mile of the biggest stores, the best names, and all within walking distance of each other. Other cities have great shopping areas as well, but with the architecture and the river, it's hard ot beat the windy city promenade.
• Intelligentsia coffee. I just saw that they are doing a barista training class and practically wept that I don't live here.
• You can always fly direct. This is yin to my yang about hating to fly. Flying can be fun, but the majority of the time, especially with the new rules and regulations about flying, flying is tedious, time consuming, and irritating. The current flights I am booked on are touting a 40% on-time rate, which inspires exactly zero confidence. O'Hare nicely solves this problem by being a hub and making it possible, int he majority case, to fly in and out of Chicago on a direct flight, regardless of where you are coming from.
• Vosgue Chocolates. My confession here is that I only really know of Vosgue through the Food Network and have yet to visit an actual storefront. but the aesthetics of the site were enough to win me over.
• The Art Institute of Chicago. Many a fine hour was spent in the basement of this lovely museum looking up the life history of one Mr Louis Sullivan, and many of those same hours were fully enjoyed in said persuit. Besides, just being home to the Sunday on La Grande Jatte qualifies you for any "best of" list.

And now, that same short but action packed list, in pictures: :)