Presidential Visit

Hi folks! We've been busy this week entertaining Piotr Ptak, future president of Poland, while here in the US on a research grant from the Polish Committee for Scientific Research. After two fruitful weeks at Standford University in California, Piotr concluded his research here in the windy city & we were honored to show him around the town during his free time.

We enjoyed a sunny day at the beach on the shores of Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes. No visit to Chicago is complete without experiencing Chicago deep dish pizza, followed up by Strawberry Shortcake by moi. Shedd Aquarium was worth the admission price with the Wild Reef exhibit voted the favorite by everyone!

My good friend & neighbor treated Piotr to an American baseball game, Sox vs Astros. Compared to soccer, the European favorite, baseball is a rather slow moving game. Thus, the piece that he remarked most was our national anthem, God Bless America! It moves me every time as well. Thanks Nate!

There was wild shopping on Michigan Avenue after commanding views of the city & shoreline from the Hancock observatory! Can we say YUM to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory?? AND what about all that JAZZ as we dined al fresco? Gracie entertained the band as they warmed up with a few modified ballet moves. Fascinated with percussion instruments, Grace imitated the drummer's every move as he readied his drums. She even had her feet going. I think this girl is a future Muzicnet student & CLC band member for sure!

Just to check it off the list, we stopped by Navy Pier for a brief - really brief visit. Not enough time to appreciate the most visited Chicago attration, but hey...we were on a shopping mission!

All this with some of my best cooking/grilling & Gracie fun to boot! Gracie's favorite part was Piotr as her pink horse & protector from the mixer monster as I made homemade ice cream. Of course, there were many wonderful moments at the beach & playing in the yard. We broke in the new butterfly net catching fireflies one night. What memories!

AND speaking of homemade ice cream...butter pecan was on his list of MUST TRY items while in the US so how could I not break out my secret recipe? Don't you know he thought it was better than any we could purchase??

After a time of worship at CLC today & lunch, we sadly dropped our friend at the airport for his grueling flight home to Katowice. It was truly our pleasure, Piotr. What memories! Remember us when you get moved into the Presidential Palace! I checked it out & it's quite impressive. :o)