Glimpses of Chicago

Chicago Skyline

Chicago is one of the beautiful cosmopolitan cities in the world. There is no doubt about that. Life there is never a bore for sure and if you are living in Downtown Chicago then there is nothing like it. The ‘Windy City’ is also famous for its architectures and nightlife not to mention the shopping at N. Michigan Ave.

On my brief visit there in peak winter I enjoyed watching the depressingly gray Lake Michigan in the mornings and evenings…watched ice form on it and what not! So on the last 2 days of my stay, I decided to venture out of the cozy home in E. Randolph Street and by luck most of the landmarks happened to be right across the road. So what did I see?

Shedd Acquarium

There was the John G. Shedd Aquarium which was one of the most beautiful and amazing aquariums I’ve seen so far. While the Dubai aquarium houses the Whale-Shark and the Manta Rays, this one houses over 32,000 varieties of marine life including Beluga Whales, Seals and Sea Otters. The aquarium is in 3 levels and level 2 is a must-visit…for here you’ll see the wild reef and coral along with Sharks, Saw Fish and lots of Sting Rays! Then there is the Shark Eggs display which is fabulous and so are the Rainbow, Lungfish and the Clown fish. The Fantasea is a must-visit show where you get a glimpse of the dolphins and the Belugas not to mention the penguins here. The visit can take a couple of hours of your day.

Next stop was the Sears or the Willis Tower as it is currently called. The view from the watch deck is simply amazing and on a clear day you get a 50 mile visibility. Unfortunately for me, the visibility was even less than 15 miles!

Sears Towers

Then there is the Art Institute of Chicago with its impressive columns and building architecture. It houses not just art but also ancient sculptures and artifacts. The Chinese & the Japanese sections turned boring after a while of watching endless cups and bowls of China. The Indian and Himalayan sections were a little more interesting with hitherto unseen idols and images of Indian gods and goddesses. And then there is the sections on modern and contemporary art where some exhibits can get too daunting to analyze.

And finally there is the Millennium Park with its Glass Bean which throws up your reflection as well as that of the Chicago skyline. It was fun walking up and down the bridge there in the snow shower but before long I was craving the warmth of the indoors.

Summertime is the best time to take a grand architectural tour where they show you the Public Library and all the countless buildings with the old world touch on either a river-side cruise tour or on a walk. That is a must-do.

When in Rome

I was pondering whether to watch this movie or not but not to forego a free ticket…I went to the movie on a nice sunny afternoon.

When in Rome stars Kristen Bell as Beth Harper who cares for her career than personal relationship and who doesn’t believe in fairy tales. At her sister Joan’s wedding in Italy, Beth meets Nick Beamon (Josh Duhamel) a reporter who is smitten with her at first glance. But Beth being a critic is blind to Nick’s attempts at courtship. In a drunken stupor, she picks up 5 coins from the Fountain of Love and lo behold! she finds herself being chased by 4 very unwanted suitors. It takes a hilarious set of events for Beth to realize that she reciprocates Nick’s love.

Beth does get her perfect fairy-tale wedding with Nick in Italy but how they reach the altar is a funny story.

Its a refreshingly new story that is way better than Leap Year for sure. Josh Duhamel looks the part of a gorgeous dreamy guy you’d want to take home to your parents but I really can’t say the same about Kristen Bell. I mean I’m not a huge fan of her or anything but she does act pretty good here. For once, she isn’t a nice no-nonsense working girl who only hopes to find true love. Isn’t that what we all look for?!

Percy Jackson – Sea of Monsters

I finally finished the 2nd book in the Percy Jackson series…Sea of Monsters. Its a sequel to The Lightening Thief and brings in newer characters into the plot.

Percy returns to camp Half-Blood with a new visitor in tow – a young Cyclops named Tyson amidst a monster invasion. The reason they discover soon enough, is that Thalia’s tree has been poisoned and this had caused the security breach. The only cure is the Golden Fleece which translates to a new quest. Percy had also been having strange dreams where Grover is pleading him to rescue from the island of Cyclops.

This time the quest is given to Clarisse, daughter of Ares but Percy and Annabeth along with Tyson embark on a dangerous adventure of their own to rescue Grover and retrieve the fleece with a staunch fight from Luke and his cronies. Guest appearances by monsters and nymphs in this book  – Scylla, Charybdis, Circe and well Polyphemus.

They manage to save the tree finally but that only results in introducing an old  demi-god born of the powerful 3 into the game for the ultimate power!

Although the story was fast paced, I felt that at times the author was trying to be too descriptive about a scene setting. The humor was not that great this time around but then you can’t get everything right always. The book is a great gripping read!

A short muse!

I know I’ve overdone the count now but I had to do a short muse here for my benefit.

I finally bought the Five Greatest Warriors from Amazon and was so delighted just to see the gorgeous yet sinister blue cover. Also added the DVD of Father of the Bride – my all-time fav movie to my collection finally!

Mathew Reilly’s latest book continues to add to the pile of suspense that he already created with his last release in the trilogy – The Six Sacred Stones…and I could barely put down the book. I’m still resisting!!

Then there is Percy Jackson series which is equally tempting to finish in a day. I completed The Lightening Thief and am now trying to get through Sea of Monsters. But I couldn’t and I feel so bad. If the weather channel is accurate then I guess this Saturday would be a great day to sit with these books watching the rain pour but I don’t believe that’d happen

Rodeo Drive

Whew! With this post I reach my 250th post! I’m so thrilled and happy! Last year I couldn’t do enough justice to blogging but this year I hope to be in touch with atleast one of the muses that so kindly grace me!

Rodeo Drive!

This picture is of the Rodeo Drive on a nice sunny morning when the stores just open and the sales reps are eagerly awaiting their darling glitterati to grace them with their flashy smiles and well the flashy cards And they weren’t so amused to find a bunch of tourists admiring their wares for sure.

Rodeo Drive is a gorgeous place to shop if you don’t mind shelling a couple of hundreds of dollars on that gorgeous Gucci dress or that shiny Jimmy Choos or you know that fabulous Louis Vuitton bag. Or there is Burberry and Bulgari and Tiffanys, Chanel and Prada!! I missed the Saks Fifth Ave window though

And then the tour continued on to Beverly Hills and Melrose Aves where they had some great vintage and gothic stores.