chi-town

i was in chicago for a sustainable design leaders' summit last weekend and was reminded how much i like it there - the buildings, the lake, the neighborhoods... and one thing that i had not seen before, although i'm not sure how i missed it because i have been to millennium park before, is THE BEAN!
there is a lot of public art in the park but this thing (officially called "Cloud Gate") definitely draws the crowds - i mean, who wouldn't enjoy looking at one's reflection and the chicago skyline in a polished steel sculpture shaped like a legume (it's actually meant to resemble a drop of mercury that is about to land on the plaza)!
other highlights of the leisure portion of the trip (because the work part was awesome too but would take too long to recap) were a run along lake michigan on saturday morning (the whole length of the lake is dedicated to parks and bike/running/walking paths and it was packed with people, even at 7 a.m.), having a frozen cocktail on the beach (yes there's sand) with my roommate, and dipping our feet in the water next to (potted) palm trees :)
[will add photos, stay tuned].