Russia 2019 (1) - River Cruise Decisions

Mike gets seasick pretty easily, so we have never taken an ocean cruise together. I've been on an Alaskan girls’ trip with my mom and sis, and a Caribbean cruise with my mom and brother's family. Mike and I discussed the situation of a "ship" experience and felt a river cruise might work well --no tide, no big surf, land in sight at all times.

Our original thought was a Mekong river cruise, as Mike had hoped to return to Viet Nam someday. That cruise also included stops in Cambodia and Angkor Wat. After looking into it further, the older ship was not the style we had in mind for a first-time cruise. The rooms faced out onto one big circle deck round the ship, so no private balconies; some days of land cruising in a bus; and some nights in hotels (packing and unpacking had no appeal).

So we swapped our destination to Russia and in July 2018 booked for a late May 2019 cruise with Lori at AAA-Portage. Here is our route starting in Moscow to St. Petersburg. But, oh, a 9-month wait!!!

Friend Jerolyn, invited us to the Kalamazoo Russian Cultural Festival. It was a great introduction to Russian life and included homemade Russian foods, a song and dance group in traditional dress, and meeting local folks of Russian descent.

Lots of friends offered books about Russia and the sites there, but somehow never found time to read, except one titled The Romanov Sisters. It is an excellent history of the "last tzar" era! 

<- Got another from neighbors Tom and Lisa (the Kalamazoo T&L, not the California T&L). Will read soon, as a good review. As an aside, T&L are our wonderful cat sitters for Bella.

There are a lot of steps and decisions on this trip. First, do you want to buy extra insurance in case something goes wrong? There are several price levels. We got the whole package which includes cancelling for any valid reason (like can't get a visa). Another biggie included was evacuation in case of emergency or terrorist incidents.

Next was the air package. We started out in economy-plus, but had a little unexpected windfall, so moved up to Business One (essentially the old first class).

The last big decision was on land excursions. The 13-day package includes one tour in every port and about 30 other options to choose from for purchase. That was a tough one. There were so many interesting choices. We chose quite a few to fill every spare moment. I'm sure this will be our only trip to Russia and wanted to fit in every experience we could while there. We did opt out of the "Russian Banya" that includes a birch brush broom massage, sauna, and cold plunge. Didn't really want to tempt a heart attack while in-country.

2018 - Back-to-Back CHICAGO Trips (Miniatures)

In December Ina (she's the President of the Midwest Miniatures Museum located in Hickory Corners, Michigan) and I returned to the Art Institute of Chicago, this time by train. The Kalamazoo Transit Center is only a block from home and it is a beauty. It was built in 1887 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is Richardsonian Romanesque in architectural style.

It was designed by Cyrus Eidlitz, who also designed One Times Square in New York City, the building where the lighted ball drops each New Year's Eve. Red limestone gathered from Michigan's Upper Peninsula was the original material used. Read more history of this depot at:
http://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/kalamazoo-mi-kal/

The train tracks run behind the depot.

The two arched tunnels flanking the original depot were added more recently. Similar stone from a quarry in Utah was used to match the original structure. City busses gather riders in this area.

The original ticket office is still used.

Orignal fireplace.

Not sure if the clock is original, but fits the historical decor.

 Here's their Christmas tree.

The train ride was clean, smooth, and on time (in both directions).

Union Station in Chicago is architecturally lovely as well, especially when decorated for the holidays. Their tree was huge.

We visited the gift shop filled with train related toys and such. That's Ina shifting out of the photo.

We arrived at the museum by cab.

The lions "guarding" the entrance wore full holiday regalia.

The reason for this trip to the museum was a lecture on the Thorne Room Collection. It is a set of 68 window box rooms depicting miniature vignettes, mostly European (13th century to 1930s) and American (17th century to 1930s). Their architectural interiors and furnishings were meticulously constructed by master craftsmen in a 1-inch to 1-foot scale. Work was designed and directed between 1932 and 1940 by  Mrs. James Ward Thorne (thus the name) of Chicago.

These are seven examples of the rooms. They are not individually explained here, but on the museum's website rooms are identified by country and era. I particularly like the art deco example, but each one is a treasure. If you tap on the photos, they blow up to view more detail and info.
https://www.artic.edu/departments/PC-15/thorne-miniature-rooms

Keep in mind these are tiny in reality although they look like a photo of a full size room.

Windows in most also displayed outside scenery of the time. Many included snow to be in sync with the season. (Sorry about the reflections.)

Some were decorated for the holidays with fruits and treats and other appropriate to the country accessories.

So realistic in every detail including ceilings.

Each little book, vase, painting, piece of furniture was realistically created by master artisans.

Prairie-style dining room from the USA.

A few other countries and spaces (such as a Pullman rail car and a Catholic church) are also represented. This is a traditional Chinese interior from 1937.

There are many references on line describing these room, the history of the project, and the biography of Mrs. Thorne. All fascinating!

After seeing the collection we browsed the museum a bit more. Here's a huge Marc Chagall stained-glass window design titled "American Window."

 An interesting old recliner.

 Modern glass and ceramic ware.

And paintings, of course. Ina and I are standing next to "Bedroom at Arles." This is one of my Van Gogh favorites and there is also a miniature replica of this same bedroom in our Midwest Miniatures Museum.

The gift shop. I didn't know who "Hairy Who" is, but look here:
https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/2722/hairy-who-1966-1969

After a wonderful museum lecture on the history of the Thorne Rooms, a visit to various galleries of the museum, and a quick snack at Union Station, we hopped back onto Amtrak for the trip home.

It was a wonderful and fulfilling day. Just love visiting Chicago (my home town) and Ina is a fabulous traveling companion.

2018 - Back-to-Back CHICAGO Trips (River Cruise)

In September the Kalamazoo Institute of Art's Art League group took a bus trip to the Art Institute of Chicago to visit the John Singer Sargent and Chicago's Gilder Age exhibit. (That was a mouthful.) I love Sargent's work because I am a "people" photographer and his works mostly feature "people" paintings.

Unfortunately, I somehow lost all but a scant few photos taken at the museum. Probably just mis-filed somewhere in my huge photo collection. These two were taken in the museum courtyard and, yes, the pumpkin is NOT real, but a realistic work of art.

If I find others shots, I'll add them to the blog. In the meantime ...
Sargent's bio:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Singer_Sargent
Sargent's works:
Google "John Singer Sergeant" and then click images

Traveling with me was my good friend Ina,  President of the Midwest Miniatures Museum. So our next stop was to view the Thorne Rooms collection also at the museum. Here's one of the rooms. More on this later.

Then the group bussed over to Quartino Ristorante for an Italian dinner. While we waited, I ordered a Negroni, a popular Italian cocktail served in Venice. I hadn't ordered one while we were there, but made up for that miss by ordering one today. It tasted kind of like a medicinal orange. Doesn't sound good, but it was.

We had a private room on the mezzanine for dinner. This shot looking down to the main floor.

One wall was decorated with this competitive bicycling jersey. Brought back memories of our visit to Turin.

Our meal was served family style at one long table and was quite tasty.

As we continued our excursion, the sun set in the west.

Our last stop was the best for me. I had been to the art museum a number of times and on a Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise (during the day), so nothing new there. This, however, was a twilight cruise starting about 7:30pm. The Chicago River takes on a whole new life in the evening light. It was hot with a light breeze. Thank goodness!

This river has its own interesting history including reversing its flow, dyeing it green for Saint Patrick's Day, boat locks into Lake Michigan, lighthouse (Mike's uncle was a lighthouse keeper there), and more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_River

We embarked on Chicago's Riverwalk at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. The cruise explored the main river and the north and south branches that form a Y-shape. There are 18 downtown movable bridges. They are mostly drawbridges, but there is at least one "elevator" bridge.

There was a lot of description of buildings and history broadcast on the cruise, including where certain hit movies were filmed, but it was not the kind of night to take notes. For a change I just wanted to relax and enjoy the scenery. So few buildings are named here. This is the Wrigley Building, once the headquarters of Wrigley chewing gum.

Obviously, the NBC Tower.

I should probably know the names of these two, but I don't. Tried to research, but no definite ID. Their classic beauty speaks for itself.

 The twin Marina City apartments. Their nickname is the "corncobs."

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Merchandise Mart on left with its changing color display.

Somewhere out over Lake Michigan was a fireworks display.

This is the Willis Tower built during 1970-1973 as the Sears Tower. It held that title until 2009 when it was renamed the Willis Tower, after Willis Group Holdings, an insurance brokerage. It is 110 stories, making it the tallest building in Chicago.

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Near the end of our journey, we saw the giant ferris wheel on Navy Pier.

The Reid, Murdoch & Company Building clock tower. Also the headquarters of Encyclopedia Britannica.

We really did not want this fairy land of lights and colors to end, but time was a ticking and we had a long bus ride back to Kalamazoo. We arrived home about 11pm.