Junebug B: Chicago - Day 2, M. Henry, MCA and Ravinia again

Matthew, Suz and I started Sunday morning out right - with a wonderful brunch at M. Henry, which has doubled in size and added an outdoor patio since the last time I was there. We had the pleasure of eating outside and it was a lovely, partly cloudy morning.

I always have a tough time choosing between sweet and savory as far as brunch goes, but I'm SO happy I went with the Blackberry Bliss Cakes! It's pancakes layered with warm blackberries, vanilla mascarpone sauce and a brown sugar and oat crust on top. It was truly blissful!

After brunch we took the El down to the Museum of Contemporary Art. There was a really interesting Buckminster Fuller exhibit up, which, to me, played well off of the Frank Lloyd Wright show I saw at the Guggenheim a few weeks ago. Both men were geniuses and had huge ideas for how the world should work. It was especially interesting to compare their ideas on housing and architecture.

I wasn't allowed to take photos in the exhibits, but here is a shot of the stairway in the museum:

We also saw Take your time: Olafur Eliasson, which was a fun exhibit that used light and reflective material to create huge, interactive pieces. There are photos and video on the museum's website.

The front steps to the museum were covered with the huge message "Museums are NOW". We had a lot of fun taking photos on the steps. Here's one of me:

After the museum we headed back to the Chicago stop on the Red Line to get back up to Matthew's place so that we could drive out to Ravinia.

At Matthew's we packed up a bunch of rain gear, preparing for the worst case scenario, but thankfully we didn't really need it! It was chillier than expected and Suz had to buy a hoodie. Here she is sporting her new look:

We stopped at Pita Inn in Skokie on the way up to Ravinia and got delicious falafel sandwiches and fresh made pita and dips and grape leaves and baklava and cookies for dessert! It was quite a feast.

That night's show was Pink Martini with Michael Feinstein opening. The Michael Feinstein part was enjoyable in a cheesy sort of way, but Pink Martini was awesome. And between the sets Michael Feinstein and Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini did an amazing piano duet of Rhapsody in Blue which was just a special treat. It's such a great tune and they pointed out that Gershwin himself had played the Rhapsody on that very stage.

The big news at Ravinia this year (besides parking being hiked up to $20!) is that they now have screens in the Pavillion. Before, when you sat on the lawn, you couldn't really see anything, but now there are some spots close to the stage where you can watch on the big screens. I think it's a great addition to the Ravinia experience. This is the view from the back of the Pavillion, which used to be only way to see what was happening on stage without paying for a Pavillion seat.