Day 82: Chicago! Chicago!

August 21, 2025: Rayma hasn’t been to Chicago since 2005 - when she visited the Art Institute - and so we had a field trip today to return to the Art Institute. This did mean putting Commodore Zander in Doggy Daycare (and also getting his nails clipped - a two-fer). We took the Purple and Red Lines from Evanston to Down-town Chicago, an experience in and of itself.

A rather iconic skyline view of Chicago? Not sure about that but we got off the train (not the “L”) and walked out and this was our view. We are no city slickers so of course we took a picture. We are tourists!

As we were walking to dinner we came across this HUGE gathering of people - all dressed in white - which, we initially thought might be some kind of religious thing; however, they weren’t playing hymns. We asked someone and they told us it is a ‘white dinner.” A "white dinner" most commonly refers to the pop-up all-white-attire event known as Le Diner en Blanc, where thousands of people gather at a secret public location to share an elegant picnic with their own white-themed table settings, food and drinks. The event, which started in Paris in 1988, is a global phenomenon held in over 120 cities across 40 countries, including Chicago.

Chicago skyline.

Dan, Rayma and Tom in front of the silver “bean.”

The “bean” from a distance.

Iconic? Yes, some of the art was defimitely iconic!

The above is a photograph taken inside the “bean”.