A Bit of Culture

• Our second day in Chicago we took in a bit of culture. First we watched a show of Chinese acrobats called CIRQUE SHANGHAI at Navy Pier. They jumped through hoops, balanced china plates, group rode a bicycle, and twisted their bodies into bewildering poses. Even the youngest performers had six pack abs and after the two hour show we felt as though we should have taken the entire group to the nearest buffet.
• We had an early dinner at a great Italian joint called Gino's East. The atmosphere was inviting. The walls were personalized, graffiti style, by all of the restuarant patrons. We ordered a "to die for" lasagne and their famous deep dish style pizza. The lasagne was so good that John Jr. actually tried it for the first time and liked it. The pizza was tasty but I think we are not fans of having the sauce on the top. All in all, a great place to go.
• We topped off our evening by attending Verdi's Requiem performed by the world famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I have no pictures of this event because one is not allowed to bring a camera into an orchestra hall. We've learned, through having John in orchestra, that there is much etiquette that goes into this kind of event. The gallery was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop prior to the first note being played. And, you'd better not clap just because the music stops! There are usually many movements to each piece, best just to wait for others to test the water first! I was proud; there was one instance that a few clapped at an inappropriate time, but not MY family! Good going Autrys! The hall was ornately beautiful, just the setting you would expect. However...we had the nosebleed seats. Whew! And, we barely fit into these nosebleed seats! The fat lady may be singing at the Opera but she sure isn't sitting in the audience! Anyway, the boys played their "A" game at this event...90 minutes of quiet and stillness with no intermission! Needless to say they got ice cream afterward.