Thoughts on Chicago and Milwaukee

Back after a two-week hiatus. I needed to rest and rejuvenate before blogging again. We had a wonderful time on our trip to the Midwest. Chicago is just how I remember it. The architecture looks even more beautiful than when I visited the city in 1979. We took a boat ride along the Chicago River and went to a food festival called "A Taste of Chicago." I explored the Art Institute (http://www.artic.edu) by myself and enjoyed looking at the Impressionist paintings as well as the Modern Wing. Also, I think I went to just about every store on Michigan Ave. (also known as the "Magnificent Mile" (http://www.themagnificentmile.com)). The highlight of our trip was the Eddie Vedder concert at the Chicago Theatre. The Chicago Theatre has a rich history and they did a great job restoring it. Save for a few obnoxious fans, the concert was amazing. Matthew met Eddie Vedder that afternoon at Portillo's Hot Dogs (http://www.portillos.com/portillos) and spoke to him for about two minutes. Portillo's can be descibed as "The Nathan's of Chicago." Great hot dogs! Never, never, never ask for ketchup on a Chicago hot dog!!!

Milwaukee, on the other hand, is a very depressing city. About 75% of the stores have "For Rent" signs. I'm not kidding. We stayed at the Hotel Metro (http://www.hotelmetro.com), which was a converted landmark office building. All the Art Deco touches are still intact. We spent most of our time in the Third Ward Historic District. You can call this the "Soho" of Milwaukee. We ate our lunches at St. Paul's Fish Company at the Milwaukee Public Market (http://www.milwaukeepublicmarket.org/index.php). Of course, our main reason for being in Milwaukee was Summerfest (www.summerfest.com). Normally, I don't like crowds, but I thought things were run very civilly and it didn't feel crowded at all (note: the following week, there were several arrests). Matthew and I saw Peter Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra, who was in top form. The next night, Matthew and Alex saw Kanye West--I opted out of that one.

The train ride . . . let's just say I'll never do that again. No wonder they call the Lake Shore Limited the "Late for Sure" limited.

Now onto today's puzzles:

Oscar Wilde

The cryptoquote: "The youth of America is their oldest tradition. It has been going on for three hundred years."--Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Oscar Wilde, of course, was known for his two masterpieces, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. He was also convicted of sex with male prostitutes and sentenced to prison for two years. Wilde was quite the trendsetter while at Oxford . . . he grew his hair long, detested team sports, and decorated his room lavishly. For a complete list of Wilde's works, see http://www.ucc.ie/celt/publishd.html#wilde.

Today's Crossword theme is "On the Vine" (Gail Grabowski). These are the theme answers:

20A: State of Comfort (BED OF ROSES). This is an old English expression meaning "the easy and peaceful life." It's also one of Bon Jovi's biggest hits.

62A: Sore loser's attitude (SOUR GRAPES). This is an expression originating from the Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes." In the story, the fox is trying to get grapes in a tree that's too high for her. In the end, the fox declares, "Hmmmph. They're probably sour anyway." The moral of the story is "It's easy to dislike what you cannot have."

10D: Harvard and Yale's group (THE IVY LEAGUE). Also included in this elite group are U Penn, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, and Princeton. They are known for academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and hefty price tags. It is also an athletic league. Enough said.

32D: Sailor's outerwear (PEA JACKET). I love pea coats. There are so many different styles, but the classic sailor's wool blue jacket is my favorite. This goes out to all my friends who love men in uniform.

On that note, I'm singing off for the day.

Till tomorrow,
The Puzzlechick