Il Dolce Far Niente http://sweetlydoingnothing.posterous.com the sweetness of doing nothing posterous.com Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:54:51 -0800 5 Places I love in the Windy City http://sweetlydoingnothing.posterous.com/5-places-i-love-in-the-windy-city http://sweetlydoingnothing.posterous.com/5-places-i-love-in-the-windy-city 1.  My favorite sandwich shop in Chicago is Cafecito (at Congress Pkwy and Wabash).  I have been frequenting this sandwich shop since last January and I would (&do) personally recommend it to everyone I know.  The owner, Philip and I have been close since the first time I went in there and he introduced himself to me and the friend who brought me there.  When I went back, alone a week later I was shocked and impressed that not only did he recognize me but remembered my name.  We have been friends ever since. The atmosphere of Cafecito is as sexy as a sandwich shop could be, with couches and small tables that create an intimate setting for conversation, or if you go alone, to read a book and enjoy the delicious food. When I go, I always order the same thing: an iced Chai tea latte (which has a much more distinct flavor than Starbucks) and the Pavo sandwich - which is turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado-mayo.  Despite this being my personal preference, I hear the "Cubano" is excellent, after all it is rated the #1 Cuban sandwich in Chicago.  Just in case you don't want to take my word for it, stop my Cafecit around 1PM on the weekdays and check out the line that is out the door! 2. My favorite Italian place in Chicago is definitely Sopranos, located at 2901 North Sheffield (Sheffield and George).  Sopranos has a very relaxing environment and a good selection of food and wine.  The bread that is brought to your table as soon as you sit down is the first sign that dinner is going to be delicious (the bread has tomato sauce rubbed on top and is served with garlic butter). My favorite thing to order is the Cavatelli al Forno.  I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys to eat. 3.  The Thorne Miniature Rooms on the lowest level of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of my favorite sections of the Art Institute.  The miniature are decorated in a historically accurate style for the settings that they are depicting and are constructed in a scale of 1 inch in the miniature room = 1 foot in reality.  The rooms are fascinating to look at, especially knowing that they were created all by hand with period accurate materials.  i have included some borrowed photos from Google, to convince you to go have a look for yourself: [caption id="attachment_260" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1770 English Dining room"]
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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_261" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1800 Shaker Living room"]
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[/caption] The Art Institute is filled with wonderful collections, i also enjoy the furniture they have on display.  I would suggest a cup of coffee or two before if you intend to see it ALL in one day, because the museum is enormous, especially since the Modern Wing was added on.  The museum is free on Thursdays after 5PM (open until 8PM) as of now, but its best to check their website before making a trip because regular admission is $18. 4.  Another museum that I enjoy to visit (occasionally) in Chicago is the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), although I usually leave in a very disagreeable mood because I can't figure out why some of the things hanging on the walls in there ever made their way into a museum.  However, the MCA is worth visiting, just for the view of the lake visible from the top floor.  I would suggest visiting on a Tuesday, since admission is free all year round on Tuesdays.
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5. The Field Museum is one of the most interesting museums to visit in Chicago because there is something for everyone.  Named after one of its first major benefactors, Marshall Field, the field museums is primarily designated for the study of natural sciences.  My favorite exhibitions are "The Evolving Planet," (Dinosaurs!) and "Inside Ancient Egypt" (Mummies). And on the topic of mummies, I recently watched a show on Planet Green about the discovery of the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh who was not only one of Egypt's greatest builders, but also responsible for establishing the precedent of burial chambers being dug into the Valley of Kings.  Here is a short clip about the discovery. The Field Museum is free on the following dates for 2011: March: 14th; April: 11th; May: 9th; June: 7th, 13th; July: 11th; August: 8th, 29th, 31st; September: 1st, 6th, 7th, 12th, 13th, 20th, 21st, 27th, 29th; October: 3rd, 5th, 6th, 10th, 24th, 25th ; November: 2nd, 7th, 14th, 21st; December: 1st, 5th, 6th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 20th, 22nd.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1635961/me21.jpg http://posterous.com/users/cQczTF0uxH1vc Maryjane sweetlydoingnothing Maryjane
Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:50:16 -0800 Barcelona http://sweetlydoingnothing.posterous.com/barcelona http://sweetlydoingnothing.posterous.com/barcelona [caption id="attachment_196" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Plaza de Cataluna, Barcelona"]
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[/caption] Dates: October 29 to November 1, 2010 Flight: Vueling, another smaller airline in Europe that offers reasonably priced flights.  I can't say I remember much of the flight because I was so exhausted from the Amsterdam experience. Stayed at: Cataluna Hostel, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes.  Unfortunately it is not longer listed on hostelworld.com or google maps, so maybe it was shut down or something. You would think that after getting lost on our way to the hostel in both Paris and Amsterdam, we would have triple checked the address and directions.  This was not the case.....  Jacob and I split up from the girls who decided to take a cab, took a bus and a train to the stop right by the hotel.  Unfortunately from that point, we had neither the name nor the address of the hostel.  After walking up and down the street for a long time, and realizing that not even getting into a cab would get out out of our predicament (because we didn't have the address), I will admit that I began to get very frustrated with Jacob and the situation and started to freak out.  Eventually we went into another hostel on the street and paid the manager 5 euro to let us use the internet, only to discover that the hostel was less than two blocks away on the second floor of an unmarked building. When we did arrive, I had to take several moments away from the group to calm myself down, throw my clothes into the wash machine, and use the internet. Eventually when I got myself back into a neutral state, I was able to rejoin everyone else and we decided to go for dinner.  We walked only a couple blocks away to a restaurant called Citrus for dinner.  Thankfully the wait staff spoke enough English and we knew enough Spanish to seat us and to order (I discovered that in Spain, or at least Barcelona, most people do not speak English.  In Amsterdam, however, literally almost everyone does.) The food was delicious, especially the tapas (small dishes/appetizers) and the service was pretty impressive for Europe.  I would definitely suggest it for people visiting Barcelona. Citrus PASSEIG GRÀCIA, 44.  08007 Barcelona, Spain [caption id="attachment_211" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Group at Citrus"]
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[/caption] That night we went out to try to find dancing, however like Rome, this was nearly impossible.  The night was almost a failure except for the "Harry Potter" shot that we got at Chiputos, C/ Aribau, 77, 08032 Barcelona, Spain. [caption id="attachment_212" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Harry Potter shot"]
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The next day we ate at the restaurant next door, Tapa Tapa.  Tapa Tapa was a perfect choice for lunch. I went with Jacob, Kelli, and one other girl from our group.  We ended up ordering and sharing several small dishes (the risotto was especially good) as well as sangria bianca (made with white wine instead of red).  The sangria was excellent and the food was all extremely delicious and affordable.
PASSEIG GRÀCIA, 44, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
[caption id="attachment_213" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jacob & I at Tapa Tapa"]
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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_214" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sangria Bianca"]
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We decided to go out that night to celebrate Halloween, although technically Halloween was the next day.  Kelli called the number listed on the website for the Sutton Music Club, C/ TUSET, 13, 08006 Barcelona, Spain. She had us put on the guest list and we began our search for Halloween Costumes.  Considering how many people were packing into the costume shop we were at, it was surprising how few people we saw actually in costume later that night.
We spent what felt like five hours walking up the aisles of the costume shop, picking through the limited selection and fighting frustration and claustrophobia until we had all chosen costumes and spent a small fortune on them.  We then headed over to H&M to find more articles of clothing and back to the hostel to try them on.
Dinner that night was uneventful, and afterward we hurried to get dressed and leave so we could all go dancing......
[caption id="attachment_215" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Halloween"]
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The next day, no one really felt like getting out of bed, and when we finally did, we went to a restaurant called Obama, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 603, 08007 Barcelona, Spain.  The food was very good, especially the Vegetable soup and the Turkey Avocado Wrap (which I had).  The decorations alone were totally worth seeing.  The owners must have spent at least 200,000 euro decorating the place!
[caption id="attachment_216" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Waiting for our food, at Obama's..."]
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That afternoon we shopped more, did some sightseeing, in particular Sagrada Familia.  Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882, designed by Antoni Gaudi.  Constructed hopefully will be completed by 2026, but at this point, it is still hard to determine an exact date.
[caption id="attachment_217" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sagrada Familia"]
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Later that night we had Paella for dinner.  I'm unsure of the exact restaurant we had it at, however since paella is a Spanish specialty, it will be good almost anywhere you might order at it (although pricey!).  The next morning we left the hostel at the crack of dawn to catch our 6:15 Ryanair flight back to Rome.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1635961/me21.jpg http://posterous.com/users/cQczTF0uxH1vc Maryjane sweetlydoingnothing Maryjane