I got to the park just as the workers were opening the gates up for the day.
Then I finally arrived at The Bean, but there were already people there. Two influencers (or wannabe-influencers?) had set up a camera on a tripod, and were filming themselves walking back and forth in front of the sculpture. I patiently waited off to the side so I wouldn't get in their shot. But after a few minutes of them repeating the same walk (and then rushing back to the camera to see if it turned out), I went around to the side to get a few pictures.
The Bean is officially called Cloud Gate, and is a large outdoor sculpture by Anish Kapoor. It's an iconic and popular attraction, known for its highly polished stainless steel surface that reflects back the park, the sky, and the downtown skyline. It was designed to look seamless, like an elongated drop of liquid mercury (or perhaps a part of the T-1000 from Terminator 2).
The sculpture gets its nickname "The Bean" because it kinda looks like a bean (and not because it was named in honor of Mr. Bean, like I had hoped).
The Bean opened to the public in 2006, and quickly became a popular attraction and emblem of the city. Most of the souvenirs we saw featured the Bean somehow (and we did end up buying a fridge magnet shaped like the Bean before we left).
It was time to head back to the hotel, but along the way I made a stop to say hello to the lions in front of the Art Institute.
And just across the street from the Art Institute, at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Adams Street, is the starting point of old Route 66. From here, the Route stretched over 2,400 miles to California.
In the distance you can see the Sears Tower (sorry Willis Tower). Stay tuned for some pictures from inside there (and also the Art Institute), coming soon....
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