Back to Chicago for a couple of days. As you'll recall, I was here for a couple of days earlier in the trip. My father and I took in a couple of Cubs games but didn't have much time for non-sports activities, so a return to the town that toddles was in order.

I went the hostel route this time so I was able to stay in town (Dad and I had slept in the suburbs), on the near north side near Fullerton and Clark. Alas, the sands of the American Odyssey hourglass continue to pour; I had only one day and two nights to offer the Second City so I had to get a move on.

The first night, I took in a wonderful film at the Fine Arts, The Best Intentions. Directed by Bille August, the man behind the very fine Pelle the Conqueror, from a script written by Ingmar Bergman, it's based on the story of Bergman's parents young life together and is delightful; a truly insightful look at the difficulty involved when two strong-willed, proud people try to forge a life together. It's a long film, some three hours, but well worth the time spent. The acting is superb and director August makes this tale of the trials and tribulations of a young marriage his own. See it.

On Wednesday, I strolled through the magnificent collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was great, a whole new (to me, anyway) slew of works by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Degas, Manet, and Cezanne to savor. I know the collections of NYC's Museum of Modern Art and, especially, the Metropolitan Museum by heart and most of the museums I've visited along the way housed relatively small collections but the Art Institute - what a fine afternoon. I followed this with a tour of the city in a double-decker bus. Spending only one day here in Chicago didn't afford me the opportunity to get familiar with the city but this bus tour helped. Dinner was deep-dish pizza at one of the more celebrated spots for this Chicago treat, Gino's East. It was fine but, truth be told, deep dish is not my favorite style of pizza. I'm told that, in a People magazine poll, Gino's was selected as the country's favorite pizza. It was tasty but it can't touch John's in NYC.

Chicago has it all over New York in some ways: The subway token clerks are far more helpful than the miserable creeps that usually man the booths in NYC. Lines are generally shorter, especially at the post office but, alas, the postal clerks in the Windy City were just as laggard and disinterested as those in the Apple. Some things are universal, it seems.

Continue on the American Odyssey.
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