Teacher's Convention Weekend 2010

For the last several years we've planned getaways for Teacher's Convention weekend. Nothing solidly planned this year turned into a pleasant hodgepodge that provided a little taste of many things. It didn't have all the expectations of something you plan in advance and it breathed some spontaneity into our normally quiet weekends. There's freedom in deciding what you'll do at the spur of the moment and real enjoyment in discovering new things. It makes me feel like an explorer.

Thursday

I took off work to attend a continuing education course related to substance abuse at the UW-Madison Extension. Ry tooled around all day doing his own thing while I sat in a day-long course at the Pyle Center. The course was useful enough and it's always invigorating to learn something new that will stretch me professionally. After the course ended we met a friend of Ry's back from his college student teaching days named Darcy. We dined at Graze (a down-market sister of L'Etoile that uses locally sourced ingredients) with Darcy and her husband Andy. It's rare that you do the couple "first date" thing and it ends up swimmingly. However, this was the exception to the rule. They were super cool and I enjoyed myself quite a bit. They are into cooking, gardening, canning, literature, home projects and all things interesting. So, rock on Darcy and Andy.

Friday

We had firm plan to visit Ikea to purchase some sort of sidebar/buffet/shelving system to fill up our very long and empty kitchen wall. We'd been looking around for a while without much luck, so we figured the Swedish giant would have something. I've only been there one other time on a Saturday, we walked through a tiny portion of one story and I almost flipped out in a full -n panic attack and we left right after we found what we came for. The store was bearable on a Friday during the week and we had a mission, so we stuck it out for three hours looking at all of the options until we came up with the perfect option.


Having a little too much fun with the cart!


I made Ry pose for this pic, which apparently embarrassed him. I learned afterward that he's not all about this type of tom-foolery in stores. You learn something new about your partner every day and I can respect that for the future.

The combination we picked out wasn't actually assembled together anywhere on the floor, but we dreamed it up and were happy with the results. The pics don't do these justice, but they look very nice, especially with the track lighting system we've got that shines right down on it. Ry got the great idea to put our china in it and the silver detailing just sparkles in the light. This sparkling-bling-china-thing seems a little upscale-snooty for my taste, but I was so happy with the results. It looks downright classy.


Full-frontal.


Another kitchen angle.

We took so long in Ikea that we weren't going to be able to do some of the other things we wanted to in Chicago, so we decided to drive into the city and spend an impromptu night. Ry has been jonesing to eat at a vegetarian restaurant he used to frequent when he lived in the city called The Chicago Diner. We enjoyed delicious vegan potstickers, lentil cakes, a seitan gyro and a vegan reuben with bubbly beverages. Weirdly enough, our waitress was a girl who has served us at Beans and Barley many times. We also knew the Manager who happened to be a friend of a friend.


Mural under the 'L' on the way to the restaurant.


Neon with hipster waiter rushing through.


Bill with little note indicating Wisconsin love from our server.

We called up a boutique hotel called the Hotel Burnham and were able to get a room. It was luxurious, cozy and historical, just what the doctor ordered. We stopped into the Walgreen's next door and bought toothbrushes and some candy (funny combo). We chilled out in our complementary robes and watched movies until late into the night.


View of the Trump tower from our window.


Hanging art exhibit in Burnham lobby.


Breakfast in the Atwood Cafe, the house restaurant.

Saturday

At least once a year we visit the National Museum of Mexican Art Day of the Dead exhibit and the Lincoln Park Conservatory for a stroll down memory lane. We went to both of these places on a chilly December date about a week after we first got together. It was a magical time and it's nice to relive it with warm fuzzies each year. Not to mention that we also like hanging out in Pilsen for its Mexican flavor. This year we added the Lincoln Park Zoo to our agenda. The weather was warm and sunny, but also cool, a perfect mix for a fall lakeside stroll.


Ah, Pilsen, you're such a colorful neighborhood.

Beautiful little urban treasures.

Hmmm, Chiapan artist...not quite sure what you're trying to say here. Just kidding.

Day of the Dead offering.

La Guadalupana.

Flamingos at the zoo.

Fiddler at the zoo.

Cool old-fashioned sign. I highly recommend their winter seasonal exhibit starting in December.

In the Palm Room.

In the Orchid House recreating a shot from one of our loverliest dates ever.


Dessert at Pizzeria Spacca Napoli to finish off a sweet day.

Sunday
Ry spent a good chunk of the day assembling Ikea shelves while I raked the yard. We also hung up some items we hadn't been able to get to yet like our colorful Oaxacan cross purchased at a mercado in Mexico City, a decorative leaf wall sconce above our bed, papel picado paper cutouts to celebrate the Day of the Dead and our chat lunatique sign in the kitchen. The house is starting to feel much more like our house now that we are getting the last of our items up.

We had only a few trick or treaters who got a kick out of us having our cat out on a leash. There were many comments about his pretty silver coat and his green eyes. We carved punkins together at night and Silvio escaped and climbed up a tree. Ry was able to grab him down by his tail at the last second. I roasted punkin seeds and cleaned up while Ry finished his crazy-super-detailed carving.



Colorful tree. This is actually deceiving since I raked the whole yard except between those two bushes.

Cat on a leash.

Ry with his super complicated stencil. I just want to point out that he carved the Mexican revolutionary Zapata, while I carved a smiley face jack-o-lantern.

Punkin guts.

From the curb.

Up close.

Roasted seeds. Yeo family recipe.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend! I wish for another pleasant little odyssey just like it sometime soon. Well, maybe not just like it, but full of the same spirit of variety.

Flat Bottom Boat

We got a late start to our day yesterday, but eventually took a long train ride out to Xochimilco to take a boat ride in the Aztec canal system. We took the green line train twelve stops to the end and then boarded a commuter train which we also rode out twelve stops to the end. There were a British family and a German man going the same way with a Japanese tour guide who we guessed was also headed to Xochimilco, later on we saw them on a boat next to us in the canal.

One thing I deduced from the train ride is that no matter where you go, whatever's next to the train line never looks pretty. However, I did see an add for Luna Nueva (attention Twilight fans) that entertained me and lots of beautiful bougainvillea hanging from the walls of houses along the way. One thing that sort of amazed me when we first arrived and continues to do so, is that architechture essentially looks the same everywhere except the United States. We barrel along the highway or train line here and I feel like I could be in Greece or out in the burbs in France. Way more compact, utilitarian and inward facing - courtyards behind large locked garage doors instead of a yard that faces out to the world.

When we arrived in Xochimilco we went on a mission to find me some sunglasses and a bathroom at the local market. This market was much larger than Coyoacan and somewhat overwhelming. However, they had many more goods and I highly enjoyed looking at the fruits and vegetables piled high. The pineapples, huge fruit baskets and tiaras for sale were some of my favorites. Later in the day we bought a pineapple for $1.50 that was divine. We took it home and I ended up eating a third of it in one sitting.

Market shot.


Gigantic buckets of dried chiles.


Pineapple pile with watermelon.


Fruit baskets for sale.

After obtaining a pair of cheap sunglasses we walked through town to an embarcadero, or boat dock to hire a trajinera that would take us on the canals. They are huge, colorful flat-bottomed barges with colorful paper signs that stick up into the air and say the name of the boat. They each have two names, always named for women. Ours was called the Alejandra. Our paddle man navigated the boat out of the sea of other boats crunched tight at the dock rowing with a long, long stick standing up at the back of the boat. Each of the boats have a long table with chairs where you can enjoy food or sit with friends. Most of the people packed large groups onto their boats and were partying it up with family. We just had the two of us on our twelve-seater, with a bucket of Victoria beer and an extra long quesadilla filled with huitlacoche (corn mold) and chiles.

At the dock.


Eating our huitlacoche.


Out on the canals.


Boat detail.


Boat detail parte dos.


Canalside animals: lazy doggies.


Canalside animals: ducks.


Canalside animals: graceful white bird.


Canalside animals: gigantic xolo = dog.


On the canals there are many small boats with vendors selling things that you can buy along your journey. Ry bought me a little basket of flowers with an orchid, roses and a ribbon to sit on our table. We didn't buy anything else but there is nearly anything you could want including little bags of potato chips, candy apples, cooked corn, tacos, beer, crafts and boats of musicians who will tie up to your boat and play a song for you. There were many flower nurseries and private homes along the canals. We didn't stop at the nurseries knowing we wouldn't be able to bring anything home but there were awesomely huge bonsais for sale. Toward the end of the ride we got out of our seats and sat at the front end of the boat to catch some rays.

Boat bouquet.


Things for sale: potato chips and candy apples. Notice the vendor's shirt. Clearly this man is a team player. Ry says that many reject items from American thrift stores end up down in Mexico. I imagine this is some kind ridiculous coroprate castoff t-shirt.


Things for sale:elote boat = corn boat.


Things for sale: music. Mariachi boat tied up to another with tunes.


Things for sale: flower vendor paddles by in canoe.









Soaking up every last bit together.


When we got back into town we visited the big church in the central square. It was quite a bit older than many others we've been to and had a great cloister with an awesome statue of Juan Diego wearing his cloak with the image of the Virgen De Guadalupe on it. There were also groups of carpenters refinishing and repairing the ornate wooden pews out in the courtyard.










Various shots of the Xochimilco cathedral.











Various shots of a small church and town sqaure we stumbled upon when lost. It's all decked out for Easter.


We took the train home and by the time we got back into the Centro I was totally fried from sun, lack of food, puffed up limbs with swollen bug bites and a general sense being overwhelmed by the number of people out on the street in rush hour. We made it back to our apartment where I had a mini meltdown and took some time to rest.

Ry and I walked to a cantina called Salon Corona for dinner. We enjoyed beer, al pastor tacos, and caldo de camaron. The shrimp soup came in a tall, clear glass. When I started fishing around in it I discovered a gigantic prawn with eyes and legs still attached. I pushed it back into the broth so I couldn't see it and passed it over to Ryan. I know shrimp have eyes and legs, and that having them on the creature is an indication it's fresh, but I just couldn't look at the little guy in that moment. Probably for the same reason being next to the meat stalls in the market makes my stomach churn. I asked Ry to do the dirty work of pulling the prawn's head off. Once I finally got a little taste, he was pretty yummy.

We walked home and went to bed soon after we arrived. I've been amazed how tired I am each day, even when it feels like we are not doing that much. The combination of the sun, altitude and walking miles on cobblestones and crooked pavement is catching up with me. I slept like a baby.

Today we are headed off to have breakfast at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Zocalo. Ry hopes that we can catch a glimpse of the volcanic mountains outside the city that are usually smogged in during the day. Then we're planning to see some Diego Rivera murals, visit the artisan market and head back to Coyoacan to see the Frida Museum since we missed it the other day.