social week / Goosefoot

sorry I have been away so long but as usual - when we are home - we are busy...since the last post we have had dinner with Neil (Socca) and dinner with John & Kathy (Resi's) and dinner with Mick (Anteprima) - been working on October Denmark, Sweden and Finland trip plans along with Galapagos & Machu Picchu plans for next May... and...

last night we had dinner at Goosefoot with Sheila & Mary along with Robert & Catherine (who were celebrating a mind boggling 41st anniversary) and David & Sveta.

Goosefoot is pretty close to the hottest reservation you can score these days- excepting of course the almost impossibly complex NEXT ticketing process...

and...Sheila & Mary got us all a space there for dinner on a Saturday night and it is certainly worth the effort!

we had an incredible meal AND because it is also BYO - we had a very good selection of wines to pair with the various courses... and although not always the case, I thought our wines (1990 Clos de la Roche and 2002 Corton-Charlemange) showed especially well.

here are some photos - the menu and the dishes and the wines:

an amuse bouche- beet with citrus

the scallop/lobster course

the char course-

the duck -

the beef course -

the cheese course-

a palate cleanser of pomegranate and beet with olive oil drops - quite refreshing...

my personal favorite the sweet corn soup - "I'll have a quart to go please!" - sorry I got this one out of order because for some reason it was upside down the first time I loaded it--- LOL

the fruity dessert -

the chocolaty dessert -

an extra something- to end with (don't eat the wood!)

this was in the kitchen - not sure of how they were interpreting it but I know we were all fired up about the meal!

a quick tour of the kitchen during the clean up phase of the evening-

above- the chef shows off his micro greens
below - happy anniversary Robert & Catherine!

although most of these cell phone photos do not begin to do justice to the beauty of the presentation of the meal - they might scratch the surface of the wonderful evening we all had - we left the restaurant at 1:15 AM and were home in less than fifteen minutes as there isn't a lot of traffic at that time of the night in Lincoln Square.

planning

a trip always starts somewhere- a discussion, a photograph, an article....

for years we have been discussing returning to China to see something new- it's a big  country and there are lots of options.

on our first trip we did the whole touristy China- we went specifically to see the Three Gorges before the dam on the Yangtze flooded the region and they were forever changed... and before we got that far we of course did Beijing (great wall, summer palace, temple of heaven, forbidden city, Tienanmen square, hutongs etc...) Xian (terra cota warriors) Chengdu (panda preserve and gate way to Tibet) Tibet (three days in Lhasa and surrounding area) River Cruise to Wuhan (through the Three Gorges and Lesser Three Gorges) Hong Kong (loved it- went back on our own twice since then to Hong Kong)

and we have been talking for a decade about returning so when we started to nail down destinations of choice for 2013 - it came up (again) and so I got in touch with my go-to gal for trip planning- Heidi at Nature Expeditions....

for the last week or so we have been refining the itinerary for a trip in 2013- sorry folks you'll have to wait for the actually trip because 2012 is already taken up with other locales....

here is where we will be headed- Lijiang

Shangri La

Guilin

Li River

Yangshuo

Shanghai

and last but not least - Hangzhou

so we are closing in on a final itinerary - but if anyone has any ideas about China travel in the areas outside the usual tourist circuit - let me know... comments section is attached to every post....

death defying

a bunch of years ago I read a really good book called "Carter Beats the Devil" about a magician in the early 20th century.  I was reminded of the book (and how much I liked it) last night when we went with Sheila & Mary to a performance of Death & Harry Houdini a production of the House Theater Company. the play, a revival, was staged in honor of the ten year anniversary of the company and had been their first production a decade ago.

the evening's entertainment was broadly staged (in the style of the era) with a lot of hyperbole in introductions of the characters and the various feats of prestidigitation and other acts of "escapologist"  Harry Houdini.

basically it gave a bare bones overview of Houdini's life and career intermixed with magic tricks and escape-artist acts. I personally would have like to have seen more tricks and spent less time with Houdini's horror of a mother but everyone else seemed enchanted with the mix as it was.

however, in general- an excellent evening of entertainment- and recommended (but go now as the show has been held over and won't last forever)

 

gotta beef?

we did- LOL- for lunch today... this past week was a longstanding event at my former employer's for which many buds would be in town...

so yesterday Lynn and Maryanne arrived in the midst of a downpour (we needed desperately) and then later in the afternoon CBGB arrived with Craig and Michelle. Lynn left to head home after a busy work week and later we all went out to Sun Wah for the duck dinner - which was very good especially being shared with good friends.

CBGB stayed the night and today we headed to Mr. Beef on Orleans for lunch- had excellent Italian beef for lunch with chocolate MALTS!!!! consumed in the "elegant dining room" (their naming -not ours) at picnic tables (but they did have AC! Yea!

Then we headed across Erie to the Driehaus Museum to do the self guided tour there. Once the NIckerson home - its beauty and historic detail have been either restored or lovingly refurbished.  A worthy stop for those in the River North area of town.

here are a few cell phone photos- because it is "period" the lighting mimics gas lights and there is no flash photography - so only the most bright things made it to photos but you will get the feel for this Gilded Age mansion from even a few photos.

the crowning jewel - stained glass dome in the roof of the art gallery-

then CBGB left to return to their place in Michigan and we headed north into a bit more rain- but as I mentioned we are in a serious drought so no complaints from me... by late afternoon the deck had dried and Lucy started whining about going outside... back to everyday life- tomorrow dinner and a play with Sheila and Mary... The Death of Houdini!  got rave reviews - I will get back to you with mine...

new and old

so last night Phil and I were discussing future travel- what countries that we have not been to yet do we want to visit?

my number one has been for a while and continues to be Sri Lanka-

and based on frequently he mentions it I would have to say Phil's could be Brazil but last night he said Taiwan and Korea - and then he said "maybe Costa Rica and/or Nicaragua"

also on my list is the Silk Route (the five 'stans of Central Asia) and central/eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria and the Black Sea) and even though I have flown through the Helsinki airport I have not actually seen Finland and even though I have flown to Malmo Sweden I have not actually seen Sweden- so those are both on my list...

so we will see where we end up -

but one trip we discussed was to the Baltic countries (where I have been but Phil has not) with a return to St. Petersburg - which we could probably add a couple of days in Helsinki as well---

so that made me think back to the trip I made to the Baltic countries in 2002- soon it will be ten years ago-

it was a memorable trip for a couple of reasons... I went with my aunt and my mother and it was just the three of us (there were supposed to be two other travelers but they didn't show up so basically we got a private tour) I remember it quite well because it was the first trip I took where I had a digital camera-  I was a "never go digital" kind of gal- LOL- of course that is ancient history now; probably a dozen cameras later I can't imagine life with film...

but sadly I also remember that it was the beginning of the end of travel for my mom- she took a number of river cruises after that and we did do the Dalmatian Coast in 2005 but she rarely got off the ship.  when she got home she was hospitalized with a suspected pulmonary emboli and was heperin-ized and went on coumadin - the whole nine yards but she never got her health back really. 

so this was a special trip in a way we didn't really know it at the time and can only see in retrospect (which is like much of life) and we saw some lovely things - only one really unusual site but many charming places. 

so one of the places we may likely go next year is to the Baltics so Phil can visit and we can return to Petersburg and we can both go on to Finland as our "new" place...

here are some photos to give a feel for it:

above two photos of Tallinn Cathedral

so on we go... in what seems like a never ending discussion about where to go next-

also under strong - very strong consideration is a trip to the Galapagos (new to both of us) with a pre or post to Machu Picchu (new to Phil)

will of course - keep you posted - safe travels everyone!

there's that guy again...

so when we were in Greece I laughed because there was this "chef" welcoming people into a place for people to eat... I think on Mykonos but I could be wrong...

it was the same guy - LOL - that I had seen in a number of other places... sometimes he sports glasses and sometimes not (I know I have a photo of him from Kotor in Montenegro)

tonight I was going through some photos from a trip to Portugal because recently someone had asked about travel in Portugal and guess what - there he was again

it was weird - like I had been photo bombed - LOL

now I suppose every time I see him when I am traveling I will have to take his picture and it will be a scavenger hunt thing of sorts....

I will add the Kotor guy later when I am at my regular photo computer but so you know what we are looking for - here is the Portugal guy....

LOL- back later with his "brother" and if I come across any more of them in my photos I will post those as well - I know I have seen him probably a half dozen times or more....

So here is the one from Montenegro- if I come across more I will post them - but notice their glasses are different- so they must only be brothers - not one guy traveling like I do....LOL

we're not saying...

we are not JUST saying it is hot here in Chicago... we have the proof -

a photo of my computer screen at 3:30 PM

and- a picture of the road in front of the city buckling from the heat-

news reports said that the buckle rose to three feet in some places...

so I just keep going out and watering the plants and hosing down the AC units to try to help them out a bit....

and we just keep hoping that eventually the heat will diminish- over night lows are predicted to get to 84*.....

I really have no clue how they deal with this in Phoenix...

happy birthday

America!

I think I mentioned we are taking a class on forgotten US presidents at Northwestern this summer.  And an interesting side affect of the information we are getting in the class is a greater understanding that our situation these days politically is really not new - there have been other periods of great divisiveness (is that a word?) in our history and it has given me better perspective on the whole awful mess we have for politicians and political parties today.

so maybe things are not as broken as we think they are and so let's celebrate America's birthday with pride in the good things and hope that over time we become a more tolerant society - generous of spirit where people really get the concept of united we stand... we are a country of vast wealth and resources - we really CAN  afford to take care of our own -

this small excerpt comes from  NYT column that makes a similar point:

Given the nature of our founding and the documents that created this country, we seem destined to quarrel endlessly about who we are and who we’re supposed to be. This sounds like a flaw, but, in fact, it’s a peculiarly American virtue. Our history may read like a narrative, but it’s really a debate, sometimes bloody, usually peaceful, but always unresolved. We remain divided on nearly all the major elements of our constitution: the role of religion, the balance between federal and state authority, the risks and consequences of unlimited opportunity, the boundary between self-reliance and shared responsibility.

so maybe we still have hope that "the better angels of our nature" will prevail and we can come to some consensus on how provide the American dream for one and all and truly make this the land of opportunity.

and in celebration of the day - we went to friends for an annual picnic/BBQ and fireworks viewing... just like John Adams said we would all those years ago...

"It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

so just a few photos from the dessert table- the lovely young women who are the daughters of our friends really outdid themselves in the cake baking department for the celebration- thank you Carol and Ali for your wonderful spirited efforts for our enjoyment on the celebration of the USA birthday!

so back to class today in nearly 100* heat... thinking about the "founding fathers" in Philly in the summer - and feeling blessed for their efforts on our behalf.

doing nothing

well you haven't heard much from me lately because- I am doing nothing- which of course isn't 100% true but is true in general...

I have been doing regular work around the yard and the house and getting caught up on paper work and the mail but mostly I am staying inside to beat the heat... Chicago has been incredibly hot the last few weeks and isn't expected to cool off soon- today and tomorrow 100* is predicted... this is too much for me- I am a cool weather person... and to top it all off the weather in Bradenton (home of River Cottage and next year's Pelican Point rental home) has been more than ten degrees cooler than we have every day!

a friend posted this on her facebook page and I found it completely appropriate for the current situation-

I am pretty sure the popped guy's expression is what I look like when I come in from outside work- I know it is Phil's expression when he comes back from being out in the "field" for his job...

we are scheduled for a BBQ for the 4th of July tonight (the fireworks night) and I am hoping no one expects us to be friendly or anything...LOL