.: crayon 17 :.: Week in Review

Here's my week in review for 12/13-12/19. (Of course, I just wrote 11/13, showing my inability to know today's date.) If you want to see more pictures, go to the photoblog. I've actually updated it, and put some additional pictures there to make this entry a little shorter. But due to my constant inability to ~~edit~~ cut content, there's only a few more pictures there than here. But you should still check it out. Sometime over break, I'll add all the pictures I've been meaning to add all along. I'll let you know. Or you can just check it out. :)

Anyway, back to the week in review.

On Monday, Amy and Perry came to visit Chicago. I've seen Amy more in the past 2 months than I did the entire time since graduation before that (3 v. zero), so I'm glad she's in Iowa this year. ;-) Anyway, Monday was a slow day, just hanging out and then we went to dinner at Cafe Iberico. (For more information on any of the food mentioned in here, for information on the establishments or photographs of the food, please see this post.)

I've missed how much fun college used to be:

Here's me and Alvin, looking normal :)

We decided to do lots of sightseeing on Tuesday. I'm glad Perry reminded me that some of the museums were free on Tuesday, because that gave us a lot of free entertainment ("getting cultured for free!") and because I haven't been to that many museums. Before Tuesday, I'd only been to the Field Museum (school gala) and the aquarium.

After having brunch at the West Egg Cafe, our first stop was the Adler Planetarium, where we played computer games about gravity, made craters in the sand by shooting tiny glass balls, rode in the Atwood sphere, and didn't go to any of the shows because they weren't free.

The planetarium, the aquarium and the Field Museum are all located on Museum Campus, this area near Soldier Field that juts out into the lake. One of the great things about Museum Campus is the beautiful view of the Chicago skyline.

It's beautiful... but it was cold. Perry and Amy were lucky to visit on what was probably the coldest day in Chicago so far this season. What luck. (Of course, as I'm writing this, it's colder in NYC than it was that day in Chicago - no negative wind chills that day!)

Our second stop was the Shedd Aquarium. Alvin and I love the aquarium - the fish are so cute! And so funny... last time, one of the big fish was yawning at us, and the otters were swimming so playfully and fun. This time, there was a paddlefish that wouldn't shut its mouth, some little baby turtles that looked like they were all kissing, and of course, more fawning over the cute little clownfish.

At the aquarium, you can see fish in the exhibits (aww, just like Nemo!)...

... and in the gift shop!

After the aquarium, we took a cab to the Art Institute, which was also free, but unfortunately it was already closed. So we walked down to Millennium Park, and I got my first glimpse of the Jellybean at night!

On the west side of the Bean, you can see the ice skating rink at Millennium Park... pretty!

Keeping with the culture theme, our next stop was the Museum of Contemporary Art. I officially love the MCA. They have this great China exhibit right now with some really interesting work, and also this exhibit called Correction, which really made me think. If you're in Chicago, the MCA is free on Tuesdays from 5 to 8 (thanks, Marshall Fields!), so you should check it out. :)

Then we went for dinner at Kamehachi. (Again, see food post if you want more.)

Amy, Sam and Perry:

Trekked home in the cold, had some hot chocolate, played on the PS2 and watched the Princess Bride. Woohoo!

Amy had to leave after lunch on Wednesday, but Perry and I braved the wind to go to Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier. Every year, LaSalle Bank sponsors the event and they turn the festival hall at Navy Pier into this big magically decorated wonderland. The games are great for kids and the atmosphere really got you into the Christmas mood.

View from the entrance:

My favorite part was the Santas Around the World exhibit where they talked about different Christmas traditions:

And in second place where the trees decorated by various consulates:

In the regular part of Navy Pier, Santa has set up shop... but when he's on break, the carolers take over!

Snowflakes are pretty. :)

After running errands and before yoga on Thursday, I went for a walk to soak in the holiday spirit of the Magnificent Mile. The trees were lit in the Festival of Lights back in November, and they frame the street in rows of twinkling lights. Here's some pictures:

On Friday, Alvin and I went to lunch at Joy Yee's (again, see here) because I was craving bubble tea. At night, we went to a potluck in the South Loop to celebrate the marriage of one of Alvin's frisbee teammates. It was fun, but unfortunately, we had to leave early because I had to pack for my early morning flight.

Saturday was a wasted day. I raced to the airport for my 8 am flight on no sleep, was knocked out on the plane, got home, had lunch, took a 3 hour nap, went to Brooklyn and had dinner, slept for another hour or so, got home, blogged and went to sleep. Woohoo, productivity!

Sunday was a mega-shopping day for Christmas presents at the mall in Jersey, capped off with a visit to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Here's a shot of my parents with all the food - Louisiana Chicken Pasta, Angel Hair with Shrimp, and Stuffed Chicken Tortillas. You can sort of see my Georgia Peach drink too. :)