It was my birthday during this last week. I was woken on Thursday morning to Luc and Paul bringing in a swag of beautiful presents. Nic had another one waiting next to him in his cot (crib). I was very spoilt.
As the day was on the cold side, I bundled the boys into the stroller and set of for the Artopolis Bakery & Agora for some birthday cake. I had read about this bakery as being notable. It was also within walking distance, located in nearby Greek Town. The bakery has an inviting setting with several purposes including a restaurant, café, bar, bread shop and patisserie. Luc was very excited to order his very own cake (slice). He chose one of the most-chocolatiest-looking cakes – key to a hyped afternoon.
Katie was available to babysit the boys, so Paul took me out to dinner. We went to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. We had been to the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor on our first weekend to check out the view. Being such a destination point for tourists, we were a little concerned that the meals might be overpriced bland fare. We were wrong. We had fantastically fresh fish to start with, and the most tender rack of lamb and beef dishes for our main course. Yummy cocktails and good wine heightened the experience. The desserts were the only let down- these were a little ordinary.
On Friday, I took the boys to their second playgroup, up town to Lakewood, with a group of mums and kids, introduced to me by Margaret. Margaret is a contact of Sharon’s (my high school friend who had lived in Chicago for 5 or so years). Five mums (Margaret, Ann, Debbie, Rina and myself) with 10 kids between us (each having 2), made for an entertaining morning. Luc absolutely loved the opportunity to play with some more toys… (his meagre selection is becoming a little tired)… and quite possibly enjoyed playing with the other kids as well!
On the weekend, we had a pretty relaxed time, slowing down our tourist pace somewhat. We ventured out for a walk each day. Saturday saw a return trip to Artopolis: to indulge Paul this time. Sunday we ended up on North Michigan Avenue to drop in one of my birthday presents to be altered (clip-on earrings to be changed to posts for pierced ears). Commonly referred to as The Magnificent Mile (Mag Mile), this is the street for shopping with big name shops, department stores and chain stores lining both sides of the street. It is a great place to go and warm up – what a great excuse for some shop-hopping! I suspect the shops will serve a similar function during the summer (to escape the heat). We visited Galt Toys and Luc was just so excited. He was allowed to choose a small toy and chose a ‘Hornet’ jet plane to take away. We ended our excursion with hot chocolates at the Ghirardelli soda fountain and chocolate shop.
Photo above was taken within Artopolis, looking towards the cake and pastry display
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