Doing The Chicago Christmas Things, Part 1

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​DOING THE CHICAGO CHRISTMAS THINGS, PART 1

...Continued from yesterday:
        ​After Claire and Miguel finally found Tom and I wandering around with our luggage on Damen Avenue in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago (see previous post),

...they shepherded us back to Milwaukee Avenue where we'd been supposed to meet up,

...along which we walked until we reached one of our favorite Chicago brunch/lunch spots, the Yolk Test Kitchen,

...where we had lunch.

     I can unequivocally say that the Yolk Test Kitchen serves the world's best veggie omelet, and the potatoes, whimsically served in a tipped-over metal basket, are likewise in the running for Best Breakfast Potato.

      After lunch we walked to Claire and Miguel's house,

...passing along our way a circus school,

...and the neighborhood chicks known as the Bok Bok club,

...whose coop matches their family's house.

    We arrived at Miguel and Claire's house,

...a cute, cozy place,

​...that they share with their three kitties, Rosie,

...Siri, 

​...and Frank.

      Early in the evening we drove to the Chicago Botanic Garden (which is not actually in Chicago but 24 miles outside the city in the suburb of Glencoe) to see the holiday exhibit called Lightscape,

...a mile-and-a-quarter loop of an ethereal fusion of lights and music amidst the flora and fauna.

       After we finished walking the Lightscape loop we returned to Chicago and parked in the Logan Square neighborhood then walked a few blocks,

...to charming little Italian restaurant called Buona Terra,

...where the pasta was deliziosa.

        After dinner Miguel and Claire took us to our hotel, the Aloft on Ontario Avenue in the Chicago Loop.

     In the lobby was a little R2D2-like robot that scooted around the place,

...and communicated via a screen on its face.

      I found the little guy kind of creepy.
​      Our room was bright and clean and cheery,

...and the beds oh, so comfy,

...for which we were very thankfulful.