The Chicago Bucket List

A friend of mine unexpectedly dropped into town for her spring break and we decided to meet up after not hanging out in a couple of years. The meeting point was The Museum of Contemporary Art, which worked for me since I had never been there before!

Greeted by strange figures without rhyme nor reason, it reminded a bit of Centre Pompidou in Paris, which holds one of the world’s largest modern art museums. Inside there were dark rooms behind curtains, we found strange music, lights, and kids sitting down trying to make out on a bench in the corner of the room.

I have never been knowledgeable about, let alone modern art and found myself highly amuse by the ridiculousness of some of the art exhibits. One person’s ridiculousness is another person’s perception of the highest degrees of modern art. Either way, I felt it was time to have some fun and take funny pictures since art breeds art. One man’s comedy is another man’s art!

One of the more interesting aspects of the museum was that the structure and space itself could be perceived as a work of art. Hallways had vaunted ceilings and wide open space gave my eyes the independence to move about and take in the whole scene and enjoy having room. I sometimes wonder who invented the first art gallery and who ultimately decided that all art museums must have high ceilings and roominess to house all of the art. One of my favorite things about the Museum of Contemporary Art was magnificent winding stairwell leading to a bond at the bottom.

After finishing up at the MCA, we decided a trip to Water Tower would be appropriate. I honestly have never walked up to the top of the Water Tower and probably haven’t stepped into it in almost fifteen years. Inside we were thoroughly disappointed to find the way up were chained off, but we were able to get a glimpse of this lion fountain.

What trip to Chicago would be complete without a trip up to the John Hancock Signature Lounge? What’s funny is that my friend is from Chicago, but she’s been away for so long I guess she was due to do some touristy things just to be reminded of home. Below, a picture of the lakefront from the top of the Hancock.