I have returned home from my lovely Chicago trip to see and . It’s bloody hot outside, so I’ve decided to spend the rest of the day in my house with my cats. I think they missed me. They’ve been hanging around with me since I got home.

So when I last left off, we’d had Tapas and then it was time to return home and get some sleep. The next morning was, sadly, Elsa’s last day with us. But before she began her big long drive, she made us breakfast! (Yeah, I don’t get it either! But she loves to cook and we love to eat, so it works!) She made a lovely frittata with lots of fresh veggies and ham and cheese. Then we had the unenviable task of loading her bicycles onto her bike rack. Several hugs & good-byes later and she was off.

So what were Judi and I to do? We decided to play most of the day by ear though we had a few things we’d wanted to get to. We started by visiting the bike shop where she’d bought her bike a few years ago. She tried out a different style of bike than what she owns, but decided, for the time being, to see if she can get her knee in gear before giving up on her current bike (which has hardly been ridden).

It was bloody hot yesterday, so Judi and I were carrying umbrellas as parasols and we took the bus to the Art Institute of Chicago. I purchased a ticket, the souvenir pocket guide book, and the audio tour. Then we headed off to see what we could see. Our main visits were the Impressionists, the British Museum loan, “American Gothic” and its neighbors, and finally the Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity exhibit. By the time we were done with that exhibit, we were ready for a late lunch.

Bennigan’s is just across the street, so we decided to eat there. I ordered fish & chips and draft Woodchuck cider. It was all very yummy. The beer batter on the fish was particularly good. And I like hard cider on tap – always a plus.

We then hurried on towards the Icon theatre to see Pacific Rim. It just seemed like the type of movie you want to see on The Big Screen. And it was. I was quite entertained and Idris Elba is very nice on the eyes. (And a good actor, too!)

After the movie, we returned to Judi’s so that she could walk Patty and so that I could see if there were any tickets still for Fireworks cruises. There were, so we ordered the 9pm tour (with fireworks starting at 9:30pm). Judi hired a cab to get us there and we arrived with time enough to fully peruse the Haagen Dazs store. I wound up ordering a Dulce de Leche shake (and Judi got a Mango smoothie). I also discovered that the reason our ice creams were so small the previous trip was that we’d ordered the kiddie size! Eep!

We were led astray by the boat dude and wound up being late to board the boat, which was boarding early (and took off early). Still, they did a nice architectural tour of the Lake-side buildings before it was fireworks time. I think we were further away in this boat than in the last, and the fireworks were more behind us than in front, but it was still nifty to see. Judi and I both missed the chill breeze we’d experienced on the Saturday cruise. It was still stupidly hot!

We got to the bus stop shortly before a bus arrived, and thanks to some confusion on the boarding passengers, we wound up getting on and getting seats. (Though we had a moment of being “THOSE PEOPLE” when Judi put her card in wrong or something and the bus conductor said she’d put her prescription card in by mistake. Turns out the advertising on her CTA pass confused us all. A cash payment and we were finally able to sit.)

Once we got off the bus, Judi got a craving for Buffalo wings, so we popped into Scout on the walk back to her place. She ordered the wings and I saw that Angry Orchard cider (my current favorite) was on tap. And then Judi bought my drink for me – yay!

After faffing about on Judi’s computer (trying to get it to go faster), we both eventually hit the hay. And subsequently both woke up early today. As I was lying in bed thinking of asking Judi if I could take her bike for a ride, she popped in to ask if I wanted to go for an early morning swim. So I went for a ride and Judi for a swim. I went the same path that Elsa and I had gone, but went further south (about 20 blocks further). I had hoped to go the whole length of the path or at least ride for 2 hours, but was pretty hot before I’d even ridden for an hour. I stopped at the north end of what apparently was Hyde park and then headed back. It’s a very pretty path, but has less shade than I’m used to. And can I repeat, it was bloody hot, even at 7am!

Once I was cleaned up and packed, Judi and I headed over to Yolk for breakfast. I’d not been to one before, but Judi remembered visiting the more northern branch some years before. I had eggs over hard, bacon, and French toast (and most of Judi’s grapes). It was all very yummy and so far has filled me up all day. We then parted company at the corner of Michigan and Roosevelt whereupon Judi headed home and I headed for the Roosevelt CTA station to take the Orange train to Midway.

After an uneventful flight, I got to my VERY HOT car and drove home. Sadly, my poor little air conditioner tried its darnedest to make my VERY HOT car less hot, but it’s like as soon as the cold air came out, it was converted to hot! 90 minutes is a long time to be driving like that. Whew! (Just imagine if I’d had no cool at all! Eep!) I got to the post office before they closed and also picked up two new books and a video from the library which had come in while I was in Chicago. So now I’m set for some relaxation time reading with my kitties! In a later post, I will publish some of the photos that I took on this trip.