The Pasty Quail in Chicago: The Museum Tour

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, we went to Chicago and enjoyed some of its cultural offerings, i.e. world-class museums as well as some its finest cuisine (mmmm. . . hot dogs and pizza).



On Tuesday afternoon, we went to The Museum of Science and Industry, which is located on the city's South Side just off the campus of The University of Chicago.

Though the museum has a number of intriguing displays, we went to see the "Christmas Around the World" exhibit, which consisted of approximately 50 Christmas trees depicting foreign cultures with a brief explanation of that country's holiday tradition.

First, here's the Centerpiece of the exhibit, followed by a shot from the second floor:





This next picture, our only other shot from the rest of the museum, is a complete non sequitur. There is a massive display depicting the railroad industry on its journey from Chicago to Seattle. The exhibit spans an entire room in the museum, and Lindsey and I found ourselves focusing on the little people situated on the landscape along the railroad trail. Though it's difficult to describe why this is relevant, here's a bear attacking small children:


I have no idea why this is there, but it's pretty fantastic.

On Tuesday night, Lindsey and I split off from my family and met up with an old friend of mine from back in elementary school. I grew up in Chicago and lived there until I was 12, and my buddy Cailean still lives in the city. We ate dinner in Lincoln Park, a famous neighborhood just north of downtown.

While Chicago is world-famous for its pizza, we had it served in a unique form at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder, where the pizza-like toppings come in a pot pie. That's right, everything you want in a pizza served just like you'd eat a pot pie. As the link shows, the place has some interesting history as well.

The next morning, Lindsey and I made our way back downtown to a tasty breakfast joint about 6 blocks south of our eventual destination, The Art Institute of Chicago (pictured below). After eating, though the temperature stood at just above freezing and there was a steady rain, we figured six blocks would be no problem.


They don't call Chicago "The Windy City" for nothing. The rain was not heavy, but the wind was blowing due south at approximately (just a roundabout guess) 30 miles an hour, which positioned the rain to pelt us directly. We arrived at the museum soaked, and luckily, it was nice and warm inside, so we spent a solid 4 hours seeing some of the fantastic art on display. Below are some of the major highlights:

The Art Institute has an array of famous paintings, two of which are reproduced here.

First, Georges-Pierre Seurat's "La Grande Jatte":


And then, one we all surely recognize, "American Gothic":


Further, here is a collection of random works by famous artists; unfortunately, I cannot name these paintings/sculptures. If anyone knows off the top of their heads, let me know so I can update them.

- Van Gogh:


- Picasso:


- Matisse sculpture overlooking a room:



Fernand Léger:



And Georgia O'Keeffe:



There is also an extensive Monet collection as well as many other incredible Impressionist paintings, of which we surprisingly don't have any pictures. I don't know why that is, but I think we saw them when we were still soaking wet and not considering photography.

Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the show!