New Orleans - Unique and Breathtaking

New photos from our trip to "the Big Easy" are up on Flickr! 

I put descriptions on some of them, but this is just a small glimpse of what we have experienced in this unique and one of a kind city. We learned so much about the food, the architecture, the culture, the history of it! The hot and humid weather during our visit has long been forgotten and replaced with a kaleidoscope of colorful memories.

Milwaukee - Our Kind of City

After Chicago we headed up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Memorial Day weekend. This being our first time in Milwaukee, we had no idea what to expect. What we found is a livable, trendy, accommodating, and friendly mid-size city (minus the weather of course - chilly winds).

Our tour of the city began with a visit to the famous Milwaukee Art Museum, known for its unique architecture. The logo of the museum captures the essence of the building very well - clean, elegant, balanced, and sophisticated:

We wandered about the newest addition to the museum called Quadracci Pavilion. This architectural wonder was designed in 2001 by Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect, who is known for his unique style mimicking the purest forms of nature. This particular building is a study of a bird's flight. Every night the portion which resembles the wings folds neatly into the body of the roof. And every morning it opens up again as if coming back to it's original state of flight.

Notice the bird in the upper right - very appropriate

This was part of the special exhibition "Warriors, Beasts, and Spirits:
Early Chinese Art [...]". Some works are almost 2000 years old! 

Another look inside the pavilion.

Next stop - Milwaukee food. First, we took a stroll on historic Brady Street, which has a great Italian Grocery Store full of mouthwatering dry meats and cheeses. Day two we learned about Milwaukee Farmers Market. The great thing about this market is that it is open every day and you can always get a variety of sea food, wine, cheese, Italian meats, baked goods, and other delicious items.

Outside

Inside

Even though we planned on getting the best of sea food during our trip to New Orleans, I could not resist ordering a lobster dish.

I gotta say, I had to stop myself from pondering its resemblance
to a giant spider. The meat was on the bland side, but I can see
how some people who grew up eating this might like it.

Broadway street gave us a good feel of the city, which we found trendy, but quite empty. It may have been because most people were gone for the Memorial day weekend. We took a stroll towards the canal and looked into the windows of Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, then reflected upon the water edge watching swallows perform their air tricks.

The city has a definite industrial feel.

More about our experience in Milwaukee in the next post!!

Chicago - Always Something New

Before leaving for North Carolina, F. came up with the idea to take a trip to Chicago. 

(F): Chicago is home to many things: the hot dog, Cubs baseball, Oprah (well, no more since her farewell last week), Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me and the deep-dish pizza. Created in the city during the 1940s, the pizza is known for resembling a pie with its thick crust and copious amount of toppings. For our first deep-dish, we ventured to Gino’s East.

  

Since 1966 Gino’s East has been serving deep-dish pizzas with a golden crust, fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, and classic ingredients. What sets Gino’s apart from other pizzerias is the unique interior. Inside the walls and wooden benches are graffitied with customer’s names and other markings. The entrance walls are also adorned with celebrity-autographed pictures such as Michael Jackson, Brittany Spears and the cast of the Sopranos who have stopped by to try the famous pizza.

"Shut up and eat" - notice in the upper right corner :P

We ordered a “small” Gino’s East Supreme that arrived with pepperoni, onions, green peppers and mushrooms. Split into four pieces, each slice was at least 2 inches thick, had a dense layer of gooey cheese and toppings with a buttery, crispy crust.

The meal left us feeling full and heavy. Good thing the next five hours would be spent walking in the city and museum. It was a great experience and we look forward to trying the other fabled pizza establishments in Chicago.

(S): Our main destination though was the Art Institute of Chicago. We have been there before, but this time we had an opportunity to come on the day when they had free admission. Apparently, the "museum houses more than 300000 works of art," so it says on their website. In any case, it's a big place and we only had time to see four exhibitions, which was enough. One was a retrospective of Antique American furniture. The collection was divided by artistic movements in which the furniture was produced, starting from the bulky "Pilgrim" pieces, and ending with the intricate "Art Deco" lamps. It was a refreshing way of looking at American history and an experience of outmost delight and wonder (much more than I've ever felt when looking at furniture). And here is why: 1) craftsmanship - these were indeed amazing works of art, 2) story - each piece belonged to someone who lived, felt things, thought, loved, dreamed - it kept my imagination running wild. 

A detail on one of the furniture pieces - incredible craftsmanship.

A lock from Massachusetts made in 1911. The man worked SEVEN years on it!

An anatomy lesson from the past! An interesting find among the collection of Albrecht Dürer's engravings (which look magical in person). These anatomical flap boards were designed in 1613 by a man named Johann Remmelin, a medical student, using Albrecht Dürer's 1504 Adam and Eve engraving. So scandalous (because the prints revealed male and female naked flesh and organs), that Remmelin did not want to own up to this work.

Here we are on the staircase installation by an Indian artist Jitish Kallat. You can read more about the meaning of the piece here: http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/exhibition/kallat.

Our day in Chicago ended with a cold but magical evening in the downtown: