#178 He is German

Our last full day in Chicago started with flowers.

Specifically, flowers at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show.

The show was held at the Navy Pier, which was another want-to-see spot on our list.

Before I go any further; let's discuss my stance on flowers. Flowers are beautiful, yes, of course. But, my husband knows that flowers are never, ever the way to my heart. Why? Because flowers die, as was seen in a few of the exhibits at the flower show. I don't usually prefer flowers as a gift. I don't use flowers to decorate my home. This is all because of the simple fact that they are going to die, and until they do I have to use my valuable time trying to keep them alive.

My favorite parts of the show were not just the flowers themselves, but they ways they were incorporated with other materials to make them not only flowers, but works of art.

My favorite table.
If you know the movie "ZuZu's Petals" comes from, I love you

Here's a nice way to recycle beer or soda bottles.

Mallory's favorite table

This is a cake. The entire thing is edible. Mind = Blown.

At the end of the exhibit, we were greeted by a mass of vendors. Some people might run from this like the plague, but we enjoyed perusing through unique jewelry pieces, different cut and arranged flowers available for purchase, and, our favorite, a vendor offering samples of Wisconsin cheeses with flavors such as 'Pizza', 'Cranberry', and 'Bacon'.*




At 3,000-feet long, the Navy Pier has a world within itself; offering shopping, indoor gardens, daily cruises, a movie theater, rides, The Children's Museum, and many other delights that come to life during the summer.

Though I read the books and saw the first film, it wasn't until after our trip that I realized/remembered that Chicago was the setting for the Divergent book trilogy. Many scenes from the first book were set in the Navy Pier area, specifically at the famous Ferris wheel.

For the  record, Hubby ad I cannot take a normal picture together. I don't want to point fingers, but I'll bet you can figure out who is the problem. (The person on the left!)

Most of our morning was spent at the Navy Pier. Had the weather been a little warmer we could have easily spent the entire day there. I think a summer trip to Chicago is a necessity so we can capture the full extent of what the pier has to offer. 

Our dinner plans led us to Lincoln Square. Not to be confused with Lincoln Park where we had been earlier in the week for shopping. Some of us were a little eager about this trip. This series of photos should sum up the energy Hubby was exerting:

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, our dinner for that night was at the Chicago Brauhaus, an authentic German restaurant. In recent years, Hubby has felt a strong connection to his German roots. This led to him asking for me to research and cook him some authentic German meals (we have had Beer Simmered Brats and Wiener Schnitzel thus far).

We had time to kill so we wandered in and around the area, peeking into some of their charming shops. Among our favorites were Timeless Toys, The Chopping Block, Gene's Sausage Shop & Delicatessen. We spent a lot of time in the sausage shop as Hubby picked out various landjägers he wanted to try. 

The only negative about the area was that for a Friday evening, a lot of shops were closing or already closed. The area had enough to offer though that we were still able to occupy our time until dinner. Like the Navy Pier, this is another area that I would be eager to explore on a warm, sunny afternoon in summer.