Walking (And Walking And Walking) In A Chicago Winter Wonderland

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Walking (And Walking And Walking) In A Chicago Winter Wonderland 

...Continued from previous post:
       After my 6 1/2-hour-late flight from Columbus to Chicago, I took the train from the airport to the Western stop, 

...where Claire was waiting to meet me. (See previous post, https://www.ailantha.com/blog/a-remedy-for-high-anxiety-at-the-columbus-airport​).

      From the train station we walked  about 3/4 mile to Logan Square, where the snow and the lights gave the streets a magical look,

...to Claire and Miguel's cozy home,

...where the fire was so warm and welcoming,

...and where Miguel had a delicious pasta dinner waiting  for us, mine and Miguel's topped with chicken, vegetarian Claire's topped with oven roasted tofu.

      The next morning Claire and I headed out into the 20-something degree weather which Chicagoans seem to take in stride,

...and we walked a mile from Logan Square to Wicker Park,

...to a cute little eatery called The Bongo Room.

...that has the best breakfast food.
      Claire ordered her Bongo Room favorite, the avocado toast,

...while I had eggs and bacon with some of the best fried potatoes on the planet.

​     After breakfast we walked several blocks to the Damen station,

...from where we took a train to Daley Plaza in the heart of the Chicago Loop to join the bundled-folks visiting the Christkindlmarket, the city's annual outdoor Christmas market modeled after the Christkindlesmarkt of Nuremberg, Germany.

      For all the times I've been there, I never tire of visiting the Christkindlmarket at Christmastime,

...to look at the cheery displays and get into the holiday spirit.

       After our tour of the Christkindlmarket we walked a few blocks,

...and caught a bus to our next destination, the Shedd Aquarium.
      The walk from the bus stop to the Aquarium was about a mile but offered some scenic views along the way, 

...among them the Chicago Field Museum.

...Lake Michigan,

...the Navy Pier,

...the Chicago skyline,

...and a statue of a guy holding a fish at the aquarium entrance.

     Now, I don't know if the Shedd Aquarium is the most wonderful aquarium in the world,

...but it's the most wonderful aquarium I've ever seen.

      Claire and I spent several sublime hours gazing at the mesmerizing sea and fresh water creatures living in the aquarium.

      Among the aquatic wonders we saw were an extraordinary reef exhibit,

...a tank full of piranhas,

...which apparently get a much worse rap than they deserve,

...a group of sociable penguins,

...a pool of playful belugas,

...with a beautiful view,

...and these creepy little critters that I'd kind of like to unsee, worms that rise up from the sand, have a look around a little, then sink back down under the sand,

...reminding me of the sand worm in Beetlejuice, but fortunately  without the extra head.

     Though it had been early afternoon when we entered the aquarium, by the time we left the sun was setting,

...and it was dark by the time we walked the mile back to the bus,

...which we took back to the Loop, from where we caught a train back to the Damen stop.

     From there we walked 3/4 mile, 

...to Barnes and Noble.

     Here we caught with Claire's hubby Miguel, then we all walked a block to a little Palestinian restaurant called Rumi,

...where we sampled the wraps, pitas, stuffed grape leaves,

...and yummy feta French fries.

     After dinner we walked a couple of blocks to Crumbl Cookies for some dessert.

    While we waited our turn it occurred to me that when a place has a product as excellent as Crumbl Cookies, they can get away without putting any effort into the decor.

      We were about a mile from home, but decided that rather than walk the whole way,  we'd walk a few blocks and catch a bus the rest of the way,

...which left us with just a few more blocks to cover 'til we were back home.

     To be continued...