Last week was a treat for me - visiting downtown Chicago for the first time. I've been to every other major U.S. city, but by happenstance never made it to the heart of the Windy City for either business or pleasure.While I have been to the American Numismatic society and Central States shows, those were out on Rosemont by the O'Hare airport, an hour away.

My purpose was to visit the Chicago Coin Expo and discuss the newman Numismatic Portal. I also saw some E-Sylum contributors and supporters.

To take full advantage of my first-time visit I booked an extra day's stay and took my son Christopher with me - he'd never been there either. Here's a photo gallery including some city sights, numismaticpersonalities and some numismatic-related sculpture.

The Palmer House
We took the train from O'Hare airport and walked about a block to our hotel, the Palmer House. It's a large, classic formal hotel with a marvelous lobby.

I wondered where a spare door in our room went, so I tried the knob. When it opened, I got a very creepy "Tower of Terror" vibe seeing this abandoned bathroom with an inch of dust bunnies on the floor. I think Iheard the Twilight Zone theme. I couldn't resist texting the photos to my wife who asked, "WHY ARE YOU STAYING THERE???" Actually, the working bathroom and the rest of our room were just fine and quitenice.

Chicago Sights
Chris and I walked around downtown for a bit to find a place for lunch (deep-dish pizza, of course), then headed toward the Navy Pier for a river cruise tour of Chicago architecture. It was an enjoyable afternoon. Before myphone battery died I took some pictures.

The Chicago Coin Expo
After breakfast Friday I went to the show. One of the first people I spoke to was numismatic bibliophile Bill Burd, who'd brought a selection of world gold for sale.

Next to Bill's table was the Chicago Coin Club. Manned by Bob Leonard, Steve Zitowsky and Carl Wolf.

Bob Leonard showed me a book on Myanmar currency and Carl had a chat with Kyle Ponterio.

Here's E-Sylum supporter Jeremy Bostwick of Numismagram with a nice selection of medals.

Next up was E-Sylum supporter Shanna Schmidt with her Mom Ellen. we had a nice chat about numismatics, coin shows, and the magic power of M&Ms as a table draw.

I shouldn't have been surprised to see Tony Terranova - he's everywhere!

The Art Institute of Chicago
After lunch Christopher and I visited the Art Institute, a convenient two-block walk from the Palmer House. Here's an 1834 painting "Pergola with Oranges" by Thomas Fearnley.

Eveyone loves the Impressionists and I'm no different. But nothing prepared me for Room 243. My jaw immediately dropped on entering the room and it stayed dropped until we left. The room was filled with Monets,including not one but a series of four Haystack paintings. It felt like the most beautiful room I'd ever entered, like I'd died and gone to heaven. That room alone was worth the price of admission.

I have a soft spot for another Impressionist though, American Mary Cassatt. She was born in my hometown of Pittsburgh, and I've owned at least half a shelf of books on Cassatt and her works. Here are two paintings wesaw in Chicago.

I was on the lookout for artworks associated with numismatics. Here are a few that caught my eye.

The French statue is a scaled copy of the one in the Lincoln Memorial (pictured on the reverse of the Lincoln Memorial cent). Otis Kaye was one of the trompe l'oeil artists frowned upon by the U.S. Secret Service forpainting realistic images of paper money.

It was a great trip and I'll look forward to another visit. I hope all of our readers consider planning to attend the 2019 American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money in sort-of-nearby Rosemont, IL.