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So my favourite thing about our trip to Iowa was ... Chicago.

Ha - just checking to see if you were paying attention. ;) 

No, Chicago isn't in Iowa.  It's in Illinois.  But Chicago is only a four hour drive from my sister's home in Cedar Rapids so we decided to go all hard-core touristy on the Windy City for 4 glorious days.  I promise not to bore you with the minutia of our daily activites ... all the walking and looking at stuff and eating and eating and more walking and more looking and even more eating.  But let me tell you this ... I.Love.Chicago.  It is my kind of town.  That was my first trip there and I hope it wasn't my last.  Chicago has such a gorgeous downtown and so much to offer the entire family.  If you live there, understand that I'm extremely jealous of you.  If you've never been, do yourself a favour and just go.  Please?

My favourite day was spent at the Art Institute of Chicago.  I've taken a few art history courses and I love looking at beautiful things.  The museum had these hand held devices with recorded information about some of the pieces.  If I walked by an object that had a story I could listen to, I did.  That stuff fascinates me.

That said, by the end of the day I was suffering from a severe case of information overload.  I knew I only had the one day there so I was trying to absorb as much as possible.  By 4:00 my poor brain was done.

The highlight for me was Monet's Water Lilies. 

Cliche?  Perhaps.  But I don't care.  I had a poster of it in my room all through university.  It really was something to see in person.

It's funny ... I'm about as cynical as it gets when it comes to going places to see things first hand.  I'm not much of a traveller.  The term "homebody" fits me very well.  Why bother going when you can Google pretty much anything from the comfort of your own home?  In your pjs?  Without spending a dime?  But I have to admit, it was some kind of special to see it with my own eyes.  No reproduction in the world could ever do it justice.  Even the colours you see on your monitor right now ... not the same.

My favourite vacation story, however, relates to another very famous work we saw in the museum ... 

I've recognized American Gothic by sight and name for many years, but that's about the extent of my relationship with it ... until last week, that is.  My story is that the artist - Grant Wood - painted it in his studio that just so happens to be about two miles of my sister's place in downtown Cedar Rapids!  So not only did I get to see one of America's most well-known paintings, my sister took me to the place where it was created.

By the way, did you know that, although the subjects in this painting are a farmer and his daughter, Wood used his sister and his dentist as models?  I always assumed they were husband and wife.  And that the artificially elongated shape of their faces echo that of the gothic-style window in the background?  Wood saw such a window on a farm house he drove by, which inspired this painting.  That sort of background information makes me all kinds of happy.

Ok.  I'll revise my opening statement by saying my favourite thing about Iowa is that American Gothic was painted there and that my sister lives near it's birthplace. :)

I think we can all agree that - by and large - other people's holiday tales are far more exciting for the person telling them than for the person listening to them.  But - as with most people who feel compelled to impose such stories on others - I couldn't not share this with you because what I'm really trying to say is that if you have access to terrific art in your town but find yourself taking such easy access for granted so you just never go see it, I hope you give yourself a gift and spend a few hours enjoying it.  The long weekend is here.  What are you waiting for? :)

Comments

[Christa]

My girlfriends and I attended quilt festival in Chicago and fell in love with downtown! It's such a beautiful city with amazing architecture!

[Hildy]

I envy you for being in Chicago! Perhaps one day I'll go there ... but first New York and hey, I was in Florida once. That need to count for something, right? And I live in one of the most beautiful cities myself, lucky me:-)
Wish you a wonderful weekend!

[ina]

so glad you had a good trip...now get back to unpacking. you can't have a studio unless you unpack all your sewing stuff! ;p

[L.Kennedy]

I highly recommend the Chicago River Boat Trip with docents from the Architectural Foundation. A wonderful way to view the city on a nice day. During the summer there are free concerts at Millennium Park. I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed my city!

[Gerri]

I'm in a suburb of Chicago. I go downtown occasionally to "mingle with the tourists." It is a lot of fun. We do have some nice quilt stores here, too! ;)

[Sharyn Hudson]

Loved your post. I've been many times and each time is filled with fun and adventure. Your post brought back many fond memories. Hope you get to go again.

[liz n.]

One of my college internships was at the AIC. One of my favorite museums in the world.

On a side note, ever been to Chicago in winter? Oy.

[Sylvia Anderson]

I'm so happy you enjoyed my city, where I have been fortunate enough to live for my entire life, 78 wonderful years so far. It does have so much to offer and when I was a little girl, my parents took me all over, visiting all the museums, my favorite being the Museum of Science and Industry, Wrigley Field, which my dad enjoyed dragging me along to watch the Cubbies. Being an only child, I had many opportunities to see the sights of the city, which unfortunately, once I married, at the age of 19, and proceeded to have 4 children in 4 and a half years, all that sight seeing fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, Chicago is in the state of Illinois, home to some of the most crooked governors in the country. I'm sure by now, they must have special rooms set aside in the penitentiary for the governors of Illinois. LOL Thanks for the kind words!

[LJ]

My husband and I started our married life with a honeymoon in Chicago so I have sweet, sweet memories of the windy city. Welcome (late) to Cedar Rapids, IOWA, too!! I'm glad you were introduced to Grant Wood and his studio - it does make the American Gothic more meaningful. Please, come again.

[A Little Blue Dragonfly]

I loved this post! I lived outside of Chicago for 2 years and only went downtown once. Such a shame. I love art, esp. Monet. Love your vacation stories! :)

[Marthe]

Monet is still one the most important impressionist-painters. his work is faboulous! And never a cliché. People like him because it IS beautiful. Love your post!!!
Marthe from Belgium/europe, 200 km from the house of Monet in Giverny, France

[Sara]

Like you, I tend to think that a reproduction, or a documentary are just as good as the real thing, without all the bother and costs of traveling. But when I saw the Alps and Venice in person, I was amazed. I still want to go back to the Alps, and see more of Italy. The same goes for Rogier Vanderweyden's painting in the Prado. I was thrilled to see them come to life in person, the colors are more vibrant and have more depth than you can imagine when you look at a reproduction. Breughel's paintings were a let down, howerever: small and dirty, I prefer the glossy pictures in art books.

Sara, also form Belgium (you seem to be building a solid fan base here in the olde world ;-). (the water lilies in Paris, and the garden and house of Monet in Giverny are worth a trip, too, by the way!)

[Dana]

Oh Chicago! I haven't been there in YEARS! Oy! Why?
You must really plan to journey across the Lake (Michigan) sometime and visit Grand Rapids, Michigan - not as large and hectic as Chicago - but I think you'd be pleasantly surprised! And if you love art - you must come to ArtPrize (which is beginning on September 24). It's a 2.5 week long celebration of art with well over 1,500 entries spead out over MILES of our city!
http://www.artprize.org

[Susan P]

Where did you dine? Would love to hear.

[Karen Thurn]

I, too, loved seeing the American Gothic painting when in Chicago several years ago. I didn't know it was in that museum and rounded and corner and about fell over with excitement. I find it fun reading other people's journeys. Isn't that why you blog? To tell a story?

[Rachel]

I so agree... I went to the Matisse cutouts exhibition In London, so wonderful, lots of ideas 4 quilts too! Took my son who expected to be bored but was v impressed!!

[Jeannie D]

Really enjoyed reading your post and everyone's comments so far. I must admit, as a fine arts student at SUNY I grabbed every opportunity to go to the museums in NYC and see the "Real Deal" up close and personal...for me it's always a thrill to see the actual artwork and realize "Van Gogh actually touched these paints to this canvas or Ansel Adams stood in a darkroom and swished this very photograph around in some stinky chemicals, etc., etc." Sounds crazy but it takes me places that a computer can't. I also usually see things that I miss online...like the way the pitchfork mimics the farmer's overalls and stripes of his shirt in American Gothic! ;)

[cheryl]

I so understand your feelings about Chicago! I lived in MI for most of my life and that was the place to go. As a photography major in college I loved to go there and take pictures. My daughter went there yesterday to the Museum of Science and Industry and I am extremely jealous!!!!
Oh By the way we live on the east coast now and Boston has become my second favorite city. It also has that small town feel in a big city that Chicago has.

[liz n.]

Good museums in Boston, too!

[Annie Beez]

I live about 40 miles west of Chicago, and I have to admit, I only go about once or twice a year. But I know how lucky we are, especially in the museum category! I have traveled a lot- and Chicago has some of the best museums in the country.The art institute is a national treasure in my book, I have visited my favorite paintings periodically all my life-since I was a child and gazed in wonder and curiosity at the Chagall windows! Glad you went!

[Bari Jo]

Thank you! Great advice!

[Sally Bramald]

Chicago has a special place in my heart. My first visit to America took me there. It was your bicentennial year, it was December, the temperature was minus something entirely stupid, our hotel room was on a floor so high I couldn't go near the window, I didn't see museums sadly, I did see the lake frozen with frozen waves, I saw the aquarium with eels with heads rivaling those of horses, as soon as I opened my mouth and people heard my accent, I was invited to their homes, I ordered a sandwich and discovered the language difference was great, a sandwich is a meal?, I went in a glass elevator like my imagined one in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, every shop I entered I was greeted like a long lost friend, I never got to the point of not looking over my shoulder to see who was being greeted thus, I found American Express cards were taken nowhere except hotels but they would magically enable me to open accounts in any store, I discovered it was impossible to get a proper cup of tea, mostly I discovered how friendly Americans are to the English.

[Elaine]

Oh My Gosh, I am so sorry that I have been blog deprived for several months now working on my own thing. I just read tons of your posts (I'm so behind) so Congratulations, I love it, that is so pretty, wow! What camera do you use? I want some of those and isn't that baby lucky? And I just realized that I haven't been on vacation all this while reading your sweet and wonderful stories. Thank you Kristyne!