Our tour began at the base of the Wrigley Building at Michigan Ave.
The Chicago skyline north of the Navy Pier.
The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse
Looking west from the harbor at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge.
The Trump Tower to the right and the bridges on Wabash and State Street in the middle.
Looking towards Lake Street with a L crossing the river.
View of the Art at the Mart and the river.
Looking south on Michigan Ave. 
View from Lower Wacker Dr.
Plaza outside the Wrigley Building looking south to the London House Building on the corner of Lower Wacker Dr. and Michigan Ave.
Views from the London House rooftop bar. Looking north at the Wrigley and Tribune Buildings.
Looking west up the Chicago River.
Looking east on the Chicago River toward Lake Michigan.
The Chicago Water Tower was built in 1869 and is one of the only buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The castle-like building houses a gallery that showcases the work of local artists and photographers.
The Bean looking south.
The Bean looking east.
Reflections on the Bean.
The Bean looking west.
Lunch one day we decided we better have a Chicago deep dish pizza, so we went to Giordano’s. We each had a Caesar salad and a personal sized pizza. Both were delicious, but even their thin pizza was a little thick for us.
The second night we chose The Purple Pig and we were not disappointed. Each of our meals were the best of the trip. Stan again with the salmon served with potato gnocchi, green vegetables and pesto. Sounds a lot like what he had the first night, but the flavors were completely different and he enjoyed it. I had the Agnolotti with a mushroom ragu, black truffles and fried goat cheese. I have to say it was the best pasta dish I’ve ever had.
On our last night we decided to visit a place that was a little different. We went to an Indian Gastropub called Bar Goa. We enjoyed a couple of Gimlets and shared some small plates. We ordered the Avocado Pakoda (chickpea batter, smashed avocado chutney), Samosa Bomb (activated charcoal pastry, sweet corn, cheddar cheese) and the mushroom fried rice made with portobello and shiitake mushrooms, fried egg and madras curry aioli. All the dishes were very good.
Iowa welcomed us with a little snow…luckily it didn’t last too long.
My friend Karen calls her beautiful property near Albia, IA Cabinland…it’s a little piece of heaven. We really loved the parts of Iowa we saw. It’s a beautiful part of our country.
Looking towards Karen’s home from her pond.
We visited Pella, Iowa, it was a little visit to the Netherlands. It’s a cute little Dutch town full of Dutch heritage, architecture and food. It also has the tallest working grain windmill in the United States and tulips…lots of tulips.
Just a few of the beautiful tulips in Pella…there are 180 flower beds of tulips throughout the town. In May they celebrate the tulip with an annual Tulip Festival.
Central Park in Pella.
We went to Jaarsma Bakery, which was founded in 1898 with family recipes brought from Holland. One of the most popular items they sell are Dutch letters cooked in a brick oven. They feature almond paste inside puff pastry. The sugar-coated treats usually come shaped like the letter “S” for Sinterklaasavond, the Dutch name for the night of gift-giving from Saint Nicolas. In the Netherlands, the holiday is much like Christmas, but celebrated with gifts on Dec. 5 or 6. Dutch immigrants who landed in Pella in 1845 brought the tradition to Iowa. Visitors to Pella’s Annual Tulip Time Festival stand in long lines to get a taste of their famous Dutch Letters.
The Sunken Gardens Park in Pella.
Karen and I had fun painting a few rocks and then hiding over 30 in the area. We love to spread a little kindness wherever we go. We even got to see white pelicans on the Miami Lake, which is behind her property. They are migrating north too.
What a treat it was to see these white pelicans…I wonder if they are the same ones that winter in Rockport.
This Monroe County’s Freedom Rock there is one in each of the 99 counties in Iowa. They are painted to honor America’s Veterans and to promote Iowa tourism.
The Welcome Home Soldier Monument is a public monument in Albia of national magnitude to honor all the United States Veterans, living or deceased, in the nation’s heartland. It was very impressive…I haven’t seen anything like it except in Washington DC.
The sculpture La Rogativa (the procession) tells the story of Puerto Rican patriotism. The monument, located in Plazuela La Rogativa near the San Juan Gate, commemorates one of the most evocative legends of the island. When the British attacked Old San Juan in 1797, a quick-thinking priest took it upon himself to lead the outnumbered soldiers and civilians on a religious procession through the city. Apparently the British mistook the citizens’ prayer march for reinforcements and abandoned their attack.
Just one picture of the beautiful streets of OSJ.
Save A Gato (SAG) was created in 2004 to address the booming cat population around historic Old San Juan, particularly around the Paseo del Morro pathway. SAG is the only non-profit organization that has an agreement with The National Park Service to manage a colony of cats on national park land. Trap, neuter and return (TNR) has worked wonderfully to reduce the size of the cat colony around El Morro by 50% since 2004.
Views from the city wall. Looking south to the La Fortaleza and the governor’s mansion and looking north to the El Morro and Casa Rosa.
La Garita gives diners the best view in OSJ while enjoying a great meal.
It was a perfect day to enjoy a few Mojitos and a little seafood. I don’t think we could have found a better view anywhere on the island.
The colorful homes of La Perla.
The views from the waterfront.
Looking west to El Morro.
Casa Blanca was the first governor’s residence in Puerto Rico. It was built in 1521 and served as the first fortification of the San Juan islet. It was the residence for Juan Ponce de León and his family, although de Leon died in an expedition to Florida without ever getting to occupy the structure. It was used as the residence of his descendants, until the mid-18th century. This is the gate into the property.
This pretty home was built later and surrounded by beautiful gardens.
This was the original home. Parts of it have been restored and are open for viewing. It’s hard to believe the buildings in Old San Juan are so old. Even harder to imagine all the people who have spent time walking these same streets.
A few pictures of the inside of the original home.
Each room in the home had views like this of the San Juan inlet and harbor.
Part of the grounds close to the newer home.
Looking up at Casa Blanca from the city wall.
This is the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. We were able to walk through the building. It’s full of government offices. The views from the upper patio were amazing.
