Our good friends from Brisbane, Australia - Colin & Robyn Stiller joined the fun in Chicago for the weekend.
Nick & I were watching their flight status and left home when they 'landed'. I walked in to the baggage claim area to look for them but they were already standing curb side and Nick had collected them.
Colin was in desperate need for a coffee so we took them to the local coffee shop in downtown Barrington called Cook Street Coffee. A Nutella and pecan croissant complimented the coffee!!
On Saturday... after making the Stiller's work (they actually asked to do odd jobs around the house) we decided to go and play Bocce.
"Bocce (sometimes anglicized as bocci or boccie)[1][2][3][4][5] is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowlsand pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy (where it is called Bocce, the plural of the Italian word boccia which means "ball"), it is played around Europe and also in overseas areas that have received Italian migrants, including Australia, North America and South America." ( Thank you Wikipedia!!)
It was a really fun time for most of us. Nick unfortunately was getting frustrated with himself and the game. We played on an indoor court at Pinstripes http://www.pinstripes.com/. The court was interesting as it was flat but there were loose particles on there too. If you 'bowled' it too fast it would roll all the way off to the other end. Or if you did not put enough muscle behind the bowl it would not make it. Over all it was a fun time ...
Rules: A silver ball is rolled across the red line and then your aim is to get your Bocce balls closest. If your ball either does not make it over the red line, or it goes to far and hits the back board it is not counted.
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| Robyn & Sue before the Bocce game! |
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| Colin and Lee measuring (with a tape measure) to see which ball is the closest!! |
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| Winners of the first game ... Robyn, Sue & Colin |
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| Winners of the second game ... Aussie Aussie Aussie |
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| The whole gang ... Nick, Colin, Lee, Robyn, Sue, Kirby |
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| Sue giving tips to Colin (I guess he did not need them) |
Sunday was normal. Church at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Barrington then out again for coffee and a bagel at Einstein Brothers. "This is one of the best bagels I have ever had" said Robyn.
Monday was a day of adventure in the Windy City!
Nick, Colin, Robyn & Kirby drove into Chicago and parked near Wrigley field. We walked to the 'Red Line' and took it all the way into Monroe station. Due to my need to drink water on the drive into Chicago a bathroom was first on the list. Lunch and my pit stop was at the flat top grill. It was really yummy and we all got really full which lasted all day.
Millennium Park was right across the street and that was our next stop!
Our first encounter was water. What happens when you go near water? ... Robyn splashes in it with all the other children!!!!
We then continued to walk around the park and stumbled across this piece of Chicago art ...
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| The Chicago Bean. |
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| "Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 1973" |
We arrived an hour before the game and just sat and watched. It was getting cooler but we were excited for the game to begin.
A minor detail about Colin is that he is a HUGE Rugby Union fan. He coaches, watches, breaths Rugby. So can you imagine a baseball game where the first 8 innings there is no score. It is a lot different from rugby - to say the least. 'Take me out to the ball game' was in the 7th inning stretch. This was something even I had to get use to.
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| Nick & Robyn at Wrigley Field!! |
The only run of the match - I mean game was in the bottom of the 8th inning. A Cub was on 3rd and ran and slid into home just before the ball came back in from the out field. It was real exciting baseball. The end result ... Cubs 1, Milwalke Brewers 0!!
But we were able to show the international visitors our awesome winning songs...
"Go Cubs Go"
Baseball season’s underway
Well you better get ready for a brand new day
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.
They’re singing …
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.
They got the power, they got the speed
To be the best in the National League
Well this is the year and the Cubs are real
So come on down to Wrigley Field.
We’re singing now …
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.
Baseball time is here again
You can catch it all on WGN
So stamp your feet and clap your hands
Chicago Cubs got the greatest fans.
You’re singing now …
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.
All around we had a very fun and tiring Monday stroll through the Windy City. A win for the Cubs (because the Aussies were there!!!! ;) The Stiller's then left early on Tuesday to fly to Des Moines, IA then onto South America before returning home. We loved having them here and showing off beautiful Chicago. Hopefully they can come back and see our home in Grand Rapids.
Love to you all
Love to you all
Kirby & Nick
Robyn & Colin! glad you had some aussie visitors. x
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