Chicago En Route to Detroit. 6/12/22. From the Windy City to the Motor City

Greetings from Detroit

As you know I don’t usually post my travel blog from trips within the US, but given Covid times I’ve sort of rethought that decision. This is my annual “girls trip” although we don’t have the full cohort of “girls” are not here and the trip hasn’t really been “annual” given Covid times. But here I am in Detroit with two friends—one from L.A, and one from Chicago.

Having recently returned from London, Geneva, and Malta (hope you got those travel notes)… and then a trip related to my book to Phoenix, it was a little grueling to think about yet another set of flights. But now I’m glad I did.

We all met in Chicago and spent a great day (even great weather) at Millennium Park revisiting “the Bean,” officially known as Cloud Gate is Anish Kapoor’s first public outdoor in the U.S. Regardless of how many times I’ve seen it, it never fails to impress. Technically, it’s 110-tons and is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which forever reflect Chicago’s skyline, the clouds above, and all the visitors who walk through and around the sculpture. Everywhere there were adults and kids taking photos, selfies, and touching the sculpture. It’s always great to see how interactive it is and how much everyone seems to enjoy it. 

We also strolled the park and stopped at the Crown Fountain which was designed by Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist. It’s basically two 50-foot glass block towers separating a shallow reflecting pool. These ‘towers’ project images of Chicago residents… and like traditional gargoyles the faces in the videos have water that spouts out of their mouths. Apparently  the faces (which change) were taken from a cross section of 1,000 residents. Kids were having a blast in the shallow pool as it filled with water.

We made a stop for lunch at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel which is an amazing restoration of a 125-year old building with ornate millwork, marble and mosaic tile floors, elaborate plasterwork and custom stained-glass windows and then walked to a street fair in Old Town (where I had met Adrienne decades earlier) and then to Adrienne’s condo located on the 25^th floor of one of the Mies towers on Lake Shore Drive. Eventually we walked the mile or two to dinner outside at Gilt which was perfect on this balmy Midwest night.

This morning we headed to Midway and off to Detroit which was the focus of the trip. As soon as we landed we headed to Eastern Market where vendors sell everything from tacos to produce to locally made jewelry. Then we headed to our hotel—The Detroit Foundation Hotel which was created from an 1893 fire station that closed in 2013. The renovation is wonderful and we will be here for three nights. After drinks at the hotel’s Apparatus Room, we headed to the Selden Standard where we had a fantastic dinner including Lemon Chitarra; roasted asparagus with sunflower seed tahini, lemon, cumin, and some other spices;  crispy walleye with pureed carrot and chili butter; pork with gribiche and greens; and finally ended with an amazing key lime pudding. 

By then we were ready to crash.. and figure out tomorrow’s agenda. I brought a lot of work with me, but somehow I think not much will get done.

Fern