Maggi had arranged to meet Mary and Roy Fellars in the lobby of our hotel at 10:15. We had planned to take an architectural boat trip along the Chicago River.
Mary had already bought the tickets and so we walked the relatively short distance to the starting point. It took longer than strictly necessary because I had to walk awkwardly along with my damaged Achilles tendon issue.
The dosa who told us all about the architecture of the buildings we could see around us had a nice easy attitude. He obviously knew his stuff and made the tour very interesting. His chat made me look at the very modern buildings in a different light and try and see the beauty in them rather just criticise them for their straight lines and lack of features.
After we disembarked we walked along the Chicago River to a restaurant that Mary had recommended called Portofino. When we arrived Roy’s grand-niece greeted us at reception and insured we had a decent table quickly.
I looked at the menu and really didn’t fancy any of the options. We settled on two starters between the four of us and I choose a salad as my main course. As usual the promise was far better than the delivery.
From the restaurant we walked backed to Michigan Avenue and to the Millenium Park. Chicago has done a great job in making the whole park area very attractive. We passed the area dedicated to free concerts which we visited later.
After resting in the shade we moved on to what Roy called the bean. The bean is a round shape reflective object which distorts the reflection and provides amusements for all viewers. We took several photos just to prove the point.
We then walked back to the hotel and said goodbye to Mary and Roy, thanked them for organising the boat trip and lunch venue. Roy shook hands and Mary freely gave out hugs and we returned to our room for a rest.
The Concert
While walking in the park I noticed a free classical concert was due this evening. The poster promised Brahms Symphony No. 2. We arrived a few minutes late to something completely different. A modern work entitled ‘I Believe’ with a choir and orchestra began.
We sat a fair distance from the stage but the acoustics were quite good so we could hear quite clearly except that several people around us continued to talk through the work.
Just as the first half of the recital came to a conclusion I felt a few drops of rain. The orchestra and choir disappeared for their half-time break and we sat there. After awhile the orchestra re-emerged and we felt the rain come down even more so we moved forward to be under the shelter nearer the stage.
The rain became heavier and the concert was abandoned. We made our way back looking for a place to have a drink and possibly go back to the hotel.
The rain became heavier and heavier so all hope of making it back to the hotel was abandoned. We jumped into the first place we could find, a Taco Pub. It didn’t look very salubrious but any port in a storm is a good port. We sat down at the bar and started to chat to 2 young guys. Both of these boys were under 30 and were in town to have a good time. They make videos, mostly industrial, but of course they are into tik tok and instagram. One of them had a following as part of a group called the famous bachelors. Anyway we had a good few laughs with them and returned home for bed.