Day 1 in Chicago

We were a bit slow getting up this morning, and slower trying to work out how to get into town by public transport. The map we have doesn't show train lines but has dots that look like they could be train stations - the nearest being about a mile away.

I checked with the front desk of the motel, and they said the nearest station was 3 miles away - too far to walk, and no busses nearby either. I decided to ride over to the station and see if we could park our bike there. It seemed like a long 3 miles and when I got there, all the parking appeared to be either by permit or 4 hours or less. However, I got lucky: At the far end of the parking there were 2 spaces for motorbikes that seemed to be unrestricted and only one was taken. I rode back to the motel, picked up Wanda and got back in time to claim the last parking spot. We picked up a timetable at the station.

The next train didn't arrive for 40 minutes, and when it did, it was one that stopped at all stations into the city. It took 45 minutes to get to Union Staton, so it was about 11 am by the time we arrived in the city.

We were expected at Michael's for dinner, whch meant we would have to return fairly early. Accordingly we decided to spend all the available time we had at the Art Institute of Chicago. Walking from Union Station to the Art Institute we first crossed the Chicago River canal then twice passed under the famous elevated railway (known here as "L"). This rivetted iron structure was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and forms a "loop"(you can not however go in circles) around the downtown centre. It was instantly recognizable because it featured in a chase scene towards the end of The Blues Brothers.

We had lunch at the Art Institute Cafe before tackling the exhibitions.

The Institute is a sprawling building over three levels, although access between some wings is only at level 1, which meant it was not always easy to find specific galleries. It has a large and eclectic collection of works. Highlights (for us) included a number of works by El Greco, a suit of steel armor with exquisitely detailed engraving and many impressionist paintings including Seurat's very famous A Sunday on La Grande Jette and Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street, Rainy Day. Their collection of architectural fragments includes some beautiful Cast and wrought iron work

There is also a strong collection of work by American artists, including Grand Wood's American Gothic and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, two of the most parodied works of the 20th Century.

Their collection includes many other great works from the 20th Century by Picasso, Cezanne, Rodin, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Magritte, Braques...

We only fleetingly saw a small fraction of the works before it was time to head back to our motel. On the way Michael phoned to say he was suffering with an abscess and postponing dinner together until the following night.

After we disembarked the train at Western Springs station, we met Paul, the owner of the sparklingly clean Harley parked next to our rather dirty BMW. We chatted for a while before heading off to our motel.

As we ate dinner outside our room, we studied the train timetable to find an earlier train - one that didn't stop at every station - so we could have a full day in the city tomorrow.