A Sunday around Downtown Chicago

 
I need a new routine. For six years now, my Sunday routine has been gym, Brick Lane and Spitalfields, and then laundry. Truth be told, I feel a bit at loose ends here. So I set myself a mission. Walk around downtown Chicago and find street art. (You know I love street art.)

I started out in Millennium Park at the Pritzker Bandshell, designed by Frank Gehry. It was closed for a rehearsal–someone was singing Sinatra–so this photo was about as close as I could get. No street art to be found. This was all very clean and neat and tourist-ready.

 
Then I dropped by the Art Institute to check out the Bresson exhibit. I love Bresson. But at $18 a visit, this would be an expensive Sunday morning routine.

 
Bresson talks about finding the "perfect moment." He took all his photos with 35 mm Leicas with 50 mm lenses. This makes me feel awful for pining away for my SLR other lenses that are sitting in a warehouse outside Chicago right now, waiting to be delivered. (I move into my new place next week.) I bought a book of Bresson's work for $50 at the gift shop. The hardcover was a gasp-worthy $75.

 
After the museum, I stopped into Intelligentsia for a decaf latte. I like Intelligentsia. I looked at their Web site and saw that they do tours of their roasting works in Chicago. I will have to go.

I walked around a little while longer, looking for street art. But I was unsuccessful. Wrong part of town, apparently. So instead, after stopping at Radio Shack to buy a headset for Skype, I took myself out to lunch at the Sweetwater Tavern, which was full of TV screens but had some nice looking salads.

 
I had the Black and Blue salad:  grilled steak, mixed greens, portabella mushrooms, caramelized onions, tomatoes, gorgonzola, cilantro lime vinaigrette. Love love love salads in America. The only problem was that you couldn't really choose how you wanted your steak cooked. Mine came medium well, a travesty. I said so on Twitter, and at least Sweetwater agreed.

 
After lunch, it was time to return home to the Command Centre. Laptop, iPad, Blackberry, iPhone, dinky AT&T pay-as-you-go phone. Digital SLR. And my awesome Altec Lansing laptop speakers. I can't decide if the three phones make me look more like a drug dealer or a girl that gets around town, if you know what I mean. 

A nice Sunday, all in all. (And yes, I did get some laundry done too.) But I need a better Sunday routine with some window shopping thrown in for good measure. Suggestions most welcome! And I'm still on the lookout for that street art.