Dallas, Fort Worth, and the nation of Texas

Guess what this is:

Yes, that is right. A mouse on a cat on a dog. Only in Fort Worth.

~.~

Of course, it was unusually cold when I was there, but still warmer than Chicago. Dallas was really cheap and so full of modern architecture that it makes it a great trip for a poor student. Some things that happen in Dallas:

1. The sixth floor museum, the site where JFK was shot and his memorial
2. The Texas State Fair which happens there since a long time ago and takes place inside history museums which is really cool cause the history is part of the present, too
3. Apparently it is a really great place to shop

So when I went to the fair grounds I met this guy (who was kind of the curator but not really), Tom Hood, who was a Texas lover and a great person. He personally escorted me through the Texas State Building which is an art museum and talked about every single detail of it. This is the guy you need to talk to if you want to know all about Texas. Below are the Texas State Building and the Women's Museum:

 

If you ever go here and you feel the hunger coming, you should check out the Meridian Room which has a really chill atmosphere, great food, and a huge selection of beer.

~.~

The Dallas downtown has this new theater district that is full of sleek buildings by famous architects.
OMA:

 Renzo Piano:

I. M. Pei

So on the trip to Dallas I could not miss Fort Worth where two of the most amazing museums ever designed lie side by side. The Fort Worth Museum of Art by Louis Kahn and the modern art museum by Tadao Ando. They are splendid!!!

 

 

They also have this little traditional and very touristy area in Fort Worth where you can see how things are not anymore in Texas.

Lastly, on the way back up, many things happened to me. I spilled gas all over me trying to refill the rental - so I had to change at the airport not to stink up the place, for the first time ever finally talked with the person next to me on the plane (this is very good to do on long flights - I encourage everyone to try), and finally saw all the snow that was going to come down on Chicago...

Kansas City -- KA and MO

I decided I am going to start every entry with a guess-what-this-is picture that I have taken wherever I go. I do these a lot lately and this will be a great way to maybe get some people to guess. And if you can't guess, then just read the rest of the post and you will be able to know what it is by the end of it. So here is my Kansas City - guess what this is:

~.~

Kansas was just like a remembered it from being there five years ago - flat, vast, sunny (most of the time), and just relaxing. Well, Overland Park where I stayed is mostly like I described, but OP is a suburb after all. I love these clouds...

The cities are small and cute and filled with bars. The power and light district is great for a long night out, when the weather is nice.

Must-go-to restaurant in the city: La Fou Frog. They had kangaroo meat!!!!! But pretty much everything you ordered was great. The chef had complimentary little cute dishes for you and then the waiters even accompanied you to the parking lot. Totally worth the price.

Of course went to the after Thanksgiving shopping which was great in Kansas - cheaper and more room to park. But thrift store shopping was also great. In the one below, we saw that the bibles were free while you had to pay for the other books.

Architecturally speaking, the Bloch Building was pretty amazing. Both Casey and I decided we want to design a building like that in the future. The light in it was just amazing that we could not help posing for silhouettes in renderings. Also, channel glass is one of my favorite building materials.

 

Another cute little community center was the Nerman Museum of Contemporary art. That's a screen underneath the overhang.

Also, I am pretty sure this is the original AMC - the one they show before the movies start (where the little teenagers walk into!) Downtown KC, that's right.

I also have to mention the speed limits in Kansas (according to my post tradition) - they reach 70mph!!! Impressive! I tried to take a picture but I was going too fast!

 And to finish this post off... our new friends! We had a blast hanging out with Edward and Jake - they are just so shiny!

Things I am glad for in my life (right now)

1. my family
2. my friends
3. my washing machine 
4. my oil painting class
5. my job
6. holidays coming up
7. fall (picture)
   
8. gone with the wind
9. shows on CW
10. CTA bus tracker

While in Chicago, I live like other everyday people. I am also building up a list of all the cars I have driven so far. It is going to be good.

San Francisco - 3, Interesting stuff

The first day I went to downtown San Francisco they had this market with cool art and I took a video that I got to figure out how to post on here...But also saw that the cable cars were like the ones in Milan with the Lombardia flag! Weird...

They also have these beautiful trees everywhere that are so symmetric and fractal looking... lol I wish we had them here too but they probably can not survive in Chicago cold.

Also, this next picture is for my brother. I hope he reads the blog. I found it in the middle of the worst area of San Francisco. Its perfect.

This chess set ( at the SFOMA store) was so cool and cost like $200 but I bet it makes playing the game so much more exciting :-p oh also it came with a table / stand.

And here is my last interesting picture from outside the SFOMA. Don't they already have that?

San Francisco - 2, Architecture and Design

The weather is mostly beautiful, the people are mostly relaxed. San Francisco has the most complicated highway system I have driven in so far with seven different levels and crazy traffic.

Unfortunately, I only took pictures of the Bay bridge and the Richmond bridge (I saw a rainbow while there) but the camera died for the Golden Gate bridge :-(   However, I drove through it and it is definitely the most impressive of all three; wider, taller, and red...it's a real thrill!

I went to visit a couple of architectural landmarks I could not miss - the church from Pier Luigi Nervi: amazingly beautiful and grand. Pictures can not really describe it. Also, the San Francisco Modern Art Museum (SFOMA... lol) by Mario Botta that is so consistent in its design and so massive. Also went to the Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center in Marin County but it was raining so bad that day..ggrr!

 

This is the longest post I have ever written but I have to add some more things about design. Things that I can't avoid noticing! These bathrooms signs that have groovy people on them and also these chairs by the pier.

San Francisco - 1, Facts

1. The houses on the hills and their ceramic shingles remind me of Greece.
2. Sour dough bread is the number one choice. I like this place.
   
3. The fog is obsessed with the Golden Gate Bridge. I have the best perspective from my hotel but can never actually see it. It is sad. 
4. As soon as I got here it rained more than it has never rained before.
5. Expensive, expensive, expensive. To go into the city you can chose to pay 6 dollars by BART, 5 dollar toll if you drive and then good luck parking, or 7 dollars by ferry each way. Walking?
6. Trader Joe's are all over the place - dare I say more than Starbucks.
7. And so are homeless people - the weather favors the outdoor stay I guess...
   
8. A lot of people that live in the suburbs have no idea of what goes on in the city.
9. The fire hydrants are white!!! What??

Twin Cities...

...as in Saint Paul is the one to work in and Minneapolis is the one to party in. I wish someone had told me this before I went. **Note for the future**

Things that surprised me about these two:

1. Street parking is more expensive here than in Chicago and really hard to find. But parking garages are relatively cheap.
2. In Minneapolis they actually have open bar until 11:30pm and it's not a scam.
3. Every building in the downtowns has a sky-way level which are these bridges that connect all the buildings so people walk through them and don't even have to go outside. Why didn't we do this in Chicago?
4. Speed limit is 65 mph - I am pretty sure that is illegal in Illinois
5. No tolls anywhere! Yay!

Nature is really pretty and the Mississippi is everywhere and also many many lakes. I wish I had spent more time going around, I barely went to the Mall of America but at least I saw it.
I went to the University of Minnesota where I encountered these two interesting buildings. One is the alumni center and the other for the college of design.

Next time I need to plan more time for tourism out of the work time.I would definitely go back but stay in Minneapolis instead of Saint Paul, so there is more interaction with people.