Lumiere Hotel, St. Louis

After we checked out of Natchez Trace, we impulsively decided to go to St. Louis as our overnight stop on our way home. Turns out there is a gorgeous new casino downtown with two stunning hotels attached. We stayed at the Lumiere. It is one of those hotels where the rooms encircle the lobby from the inside, so each floor opens up so you can look down and see everything. This is the view from our hotel room floor.

Day:


Night:


We will definitely be staying there again!

Sun Records and Beale Street

We did leave the woods one day for a trip to Memphis.

Sun Records


Beale Street



Mmmm. Yummy ribs.


Hee. Best doorstopper ever.

Chicago by Segway

We rented Segways this weekend and explored Millenium Park and Museum Campus. It was great fun, and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the city who wants to see the lakefront without walking it. Here are some of the highlights:

Group Yoga at the Pavilion


Monroe Harbor


Skyline with the newly renamed "Willis Tower"


In front of Buckingham Fountain


Riding up to Soldier Field


South Loop condos


Field Museum


Dinosaur enjoying the sunny day


Self-Portrait of me and my Hubby


I even have more to post tomorrow. *gasp*

Merry Christmas Eve!

The Chicago Hilton:







Daley Plaza and the Christmaskindl Market












(That one is for my friend Jill. She will know why.)



Merry Christmas Eve!

P.S. Chicago Public Radio used one of my photos from yesterday on their home page today. Yay!

Weather Report: Snowing and Christmassy

Like the rest of the country, we've got a lot of snow and cold this Christmas. But no one let that slow them down this weekend!

Daley Plaza Tree




Christmaskindl Market in Daley Plaza




Even the street musicians were out. You could hear this one playing "Jingle Bell Rock" for blocks before you saw him.



+++++

If you're headed anywhere for the holidays, have a safe trip and a very Merry Christmas!



(I will be posting throughout the holidays. Got lots of timely pics to post!)

Stormy Monday skyline

Downtown on a summer Monday morning is very different when it's raining.





A splash of color


This only happens when it rains: an empty Bean.


Closed for lunch

Farewell to an Era

The Berwyn Spindle, an unusual ode to the car culture that was erected in the 1970s, was torn down in the dead of night yesterday. The link includes a short video of it coming down. It was pretty sad to watch.

I am grateful now I went out to capture last fall. The entire short photo set is here.

Wig Store, New Orleans

Happy Birthday, Dad!

The store and the birthday have nothing in common. I just liked the shot. :)

The French Quarter, as seen from the convent grounds

Almost looks more like Europe than it does an American city, doesn't it?

Beads on the Wire

Of course, in New Orleans, you expect to see beads everywhere. But there really were EVERYWHERE: on roofs, in trees, over statue ears, on telephone wires. Not just in the French Quarter, either; we saw them in residential neighborhoods, in the business district, any place you looked up you would see beads.

Blues on the River

A street performer in the French Quarter, New Orleans, spring 2008.

Verandas in New Orleans

The French Quarter in the spring. So pretty.

(Yes, I am back. I will try to post every day this week, I promise. I have New York and New Orleans photos to share!)

Going, going, gone

Taken in the pedestrian walkway at the RenCen in Detroit.

Detroit Greektown

My husband reminded me yesterday that I hadn't finished posting all the photos from our trip to Detroit. This is Greektown, a small but thriving neighborhood in downtown Detroit; it's only about a block long, but is full of great restaurants. Of course, this being Detroit, it also has a thriving casino. Mere blocks from our hotel!





We don't go to the Chicago pizza place. In case you were wondering. :)



I think this is the restaurant we like the best, but I can never remember which it is. You'd think the giant Greek guy on the door would help me remember, but you would be wrong.



Greek and American flags. These are my favorite shots of the street this time.