Saturday, April 27, 2013

Chicago - Flowers and fish (and tiny little dinosaurs)

Saturday morning dawned clear and beautiful.  What better way to enjoy a perfect spring day in Chicago than by visiting a flower show at the Lincoln Park Conservatory?

Their spring gardens were exquisite with their foxgloves and lilies . . .

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and astilbe, geraniums, daffodils and hydrangea.

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The orchid room was a valiant attempt but couldn't hold a candle to the orchid room at the Smithsonian's Botanical Garden back home.
 
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At some point koi are just too big and become scary.
My favorite thing was the obvious sense of humor that was on display in the fern room. Someone on staff clearly understands what would make walking through a bunch of plants fun for a three-year-old!


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They weren't kidding about "small" dinosaurs . . .
(a mastodon, on the other hand, it completely anachronistic here -- come on guys)
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Meow.
After the conservatory, we headed down Lakeshore Drive to the Shedd Aquarium.  I had originally been excited to see the aquarium, which claims to be one of the best in the US and vaunts itself as Chicago's top attraction, but was appalled at the size of the crowd in the ticket line (which, to be fair, arguably wasn't the aquarium's fault) and the outrageously incompetent management of said crowds inside (which was entirely the aquarium's fault). 

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After waiting in line for nearly an hour to get inside, I spent ten minutes wandering through the darkness feeling lost and crowded and wondering where the fish were.  I'm pretty sure that's not the sort of experience I was supposed to have.  Adding up the horrendous crowds, the poor layout of the space, and the astonishing admission price (most tickets ranged from $25 - $40), I would definitely not recommend the aquarium to anyone -- unless, maybe, you were someone who loves fish as much as this guy:
 
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy botanical gardens! Makes me think of the one in Iowa. Lady