Chicago Vacation: Day 3

Last day of my vacation was similarly a bit busier than I had planned on. Today was the Mag Mile! I started off Michigan Avenue at a used book store. They weren't geared for the true antiquarian bibliophile, but I did find a hard copy edition of Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott. Good buy since I would not want to spend a whole lot on his work at this point. After that it was up to the Mag Mile for window shopping and Christmas shopping. I got Jim something really nice (but I can't say what it is because it's a surprise!). I ate lunch at Baisi Thai at 900 North Michigan Avenue. Tried something semi-sushi: an octopus and sea kelp salad. It was actually very good.

While I see no reason to run on about this or that store, I did spend some time in one of the galleries along the strip: Hilligoss Galleries. Lovely interior with cordial staff. Some of the painting were quite appealing. Several of the artists were into a sort of post-impressionist style with heavy impasto that I quite liked. Not exactly edgy (subject matter ranged from Venice, flowers, water lilies, and portraits of ladies), but something I could certainly see hanging in the living room if I found just the right piece.  While I liked the paintings and they were well-executed, there is part of me that feels if I am going to pay a gallery price then I would prefer something that's less decorative and a bit more of a 'statement'. I suppose a purchase of that magnitude really should approached as an investment rather than as an expensive indulgence to fill a space on a wall.

After napping for part of the afternoon (by this time I was truly wiped out from walking around so much), I had dinner with my friend David at an Italian place in my old neighborhood. The place was actually located about a block from an apartment I rented in the city for a couple years on Broadway.  After dinner, we skipped the frou-frou desserts for ice cream sundaes.

Next morning, I walked around a bit but really just packed and relaxed before checking out and bringing this brief sojourn to an end.