Cora in Chicago – Sunday Funday

After the jam packed Saturday, Sunday was a lot more relaxed of a day.  We lounged around the joint, having breakfast.  Talking.  Kissing.  Being a couple.  Despite how wonderful everything else was, I really think Sunday morning, just BEING WITH CORA (not in that sense) was my favorite part.  And that's one of the ways that I know that this relationship has legs and is the real thing.

The simple joy of being with her, and chatting over Cheerio's and yogurt.

Today, at lunch, I realized that I've been in a bit of a funk since Monday when she left.  That's why there was no post on Tuesday, and yesterday was a little short.  I miss her and I'm sad.

Eventually, we hit the shower and hit the road for a trip back to my  old neighborhood.  The rails more accurately.  Lincoln Park is oddly, not an easy place to park.  It also gave us the chance  to stroll through my current neighborhood a bit, and give Cora a better idea of where I live, and what my morning commute is really like.  Plus, being elevated, and the ground so flat here, it really gave her a good chance to "see" everything.

Our first stop was my favorite pasta joint in the old neighborhood, the Pasta Palazzo.  It's a cute little store front where they do the cooking right behind the bar.  We had the place mostly to ourselves (most folks on Sunday noon are still trying to get breakfast at Nookies Too or Toast) and we loved it.  We split an order of hand made monster sized ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach, in marinara sauce.

Tasty.

And due to a combination of "Cora-struck" and seen it 100 times, I didn't end up taking a lot of pictures on Sunday, other than at the zoo.  I know, taking the nanny to the zoo on her day off?  But she really did love it, and I hope she posts the video she shot at the zoo.  She was laughing so hard, and her sweet laugh made me fall in lover with her all over again.  Aside from the fact that it's FREE, another thing I love about Lincoln Park Zoo is the view from the bridge right outside the south entrance.  Cora and I even saw some people getting their wedding pictures there.  And this is despite the fact that the pond has been drained, and there's hurricane fence with green tarps on it lining the mudhole.  That's how rockin' the place is! After the zoo, we walked along the lake front bike bath, wound thru the park, and ended up at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba for some Spanish Tapas.  (Ummm, Chicago IS a food town, with no dominant ethnic group, so they all come out to play.)  We had the pintxos platter (shrimp & egg salad on toast, serrano ham & caramelized pineapple, goat cheese croqueta, short rib-stuffed piquillo pepper, artisanal spanish cheese & quince, mushroom & rice croqueta) which are tiny bite sized foods, and my favorite, the baked goat's cheese in tomato sauce.  Some of the pintxos where just okay, some rocked, but the goat cheese was the star of the stop.  To add to the flavor, I had a nice glass of red sangria.  Cora tried a sip, but stuck with water.It was getting late enough, so we headed back toward my neighborhood, and after hitting a few little shops, we went to Barba Yianni  for a little Greek food.  Once again, back to the appetizers!  Fried calamari and saganaki.  What's 'saganaki' you ask?  Flaming cheese.  Like huge fireball.

There are a lot of waiters in Greek restaurants missing eyebrows.

Our fireball was something like that.  And I like the cheese after the show, too.

Dessert?  We shared some Phish Food ice cream back at my joint, and burned off some calories by knitting and doing crossword puzzles.  (**whistling**)  Actually, I think we snuggled up on the couch for a two hour nap.

And then sadness started to creep in that this would be our last night together for a month.  But we fought it back by doing a whole lot more of that kissing stuff.

Tomorrow, a reprieve from Gov'nor Sass!