More in the gallery:

And here’s some other random shots:

If you would like prints of any of these, please send an email to jrchiphoto@gmail.com.

More in the gallery:

More in the gallery:

Alcatraz:

This is a statue in San Francisco near AT&T Park. If anyone knows what the name of it is, I’d appreciate it.

Matanzas Creek, a nice little winery in Sonoma:  http://www.matanzascreek.com/

This statue was near the house we stayed in

The French Laundry – after 9 courses and 7 bottles of wine, everyone was happy.  They let us keep the menus as a memento, since they create a brand new menu every day.  http://www.frenchlaundry.com/

Cellar at Cakebread Cellars, another great winery: http://www.cakebread.com/

Castello di Amorosa – a very unique winery that only sells its wines at the castle itself.  The castle was completed quite recently,  a result in over a decade of building and research.  http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/

At B.R. Cohn they have many classic car events throughout the year, and some pretty cool model cars out front.  The owner is the manager of The Doobie Brothers, so there’s some cool rock memorabilia inside, and they donate all of the proceeds from one of their wines to the Armed Services.  They also have their own Olive Oil.  http://www.brcohn.com/

At the Kunde Family Estate, they have a fantastic cheese and wine pairing, featuring local and national cheeses.  One in particular, called Barely Buzzed, was our favorite – it was rubbed in espresso for a very unique flavor. http://www.kunde.com/

The St. Francis Winery may be the most beautiful location in all of the California wine country.  They offer a lunch and wine pairing that is just fantastic – I highly recommend it. http://www.stfranciswine.com/

Stryker: http://www.strykersonoma.com/

J Winery offers an awesome 8-course wine pairing in their Bubble Room.  http://www.jwine.com/

Finally, we went to the Rodney Strong Vineyards.  http://www.rodneystrong.com/

On the way into SFO:

Up on the third floor of the south side of the building is Preston Bradley Hall, which contains a 38-foot Tiffany dome, the largest of its kind in the world (below).  The building houses over 1,000 different exhibitions each year, and today was no different – there was a rather beautiful piano recital.

The building also has lots in other interesting architectural details, reflecting the grand style of the time.

On the north side of the building you will find the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial – a beautiful rotunda with an enormous stained glass dome (pictured below).

I then went over to catch the end of the day at Millennium Park.

Finally I watched the sunset.

Personally, I think that the Jeweler’s Building (pictured below) is one of the most beautiful buildings in Chicago.  It also has an interesting history – during prohibition, it contained a speakeasy called the Stratosphere Lounge which was an Al Capone hangout.  It was located in the top of the building, seen here, and you used a birdcage elevator to get there.  These days, the building contains a pretty good and relatively inexpensive Irish themed bar and grill called the Emerald Loop.  The menu features pretty much what you’d expect – burgers and sandwiches, as well as some more traditional Irish fare.  They also have a pretty decent beer selection on tap, and in the summer they have outdoor seating – a good place for lunch if you’re in the north end of the loop.

The top of the Prudential Building (or One Prudential Plaza, as it’s now called) houses an observation deck (seen below).  When the building was finished at 44 floors in 1955, it had the highest roof in the city of Chicago.  Of course, it is now dwarfed by the 1,136 foot, 83 floor Aon Center (or, BP Building, Amoco Building, and Standard Oil Building, as it used to be called).

The Carbon and Carbide Building (below, to the right, taken on a different, cloudy day) is another interesting building with Prohibition history.  Designed by Daniel and Hubert Burnham, it was completed in 1929.  The green terra cotta facade and the gold leaf detail were made to resemble a bottle of champagne.  It now houses the Hard Rock Hotel, and is located at Michigan Avenue and South Water Street.

I saw the Smurfit-Stone Building reflecting in the window, and I liked the ghosting effect.

The Picasso

Cloud Gate

Filed under: photos Tagged: architecture, Board of Trade, chicago, Cloud Gate, Cloudgate, Daley Center, downtown, Millenium Park, Oriental Theater, Photo Galleries, photography, Prudential, The Bean ]]> http://chiphoto.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/new-pics/feed/ 0 johnriordan DSC_0036 The Picasso DSC_0074 Cloud Gate Untitled DSC_0031 Stylin Man DSC_0139 Cloud Gate DSC_0036 DSC_0057 DSC_0121 DSC_0189 DSC_0187 Angels DSC_0047 DSC_0183 DSC_0144 DSC_0061 Untitled DSC_0153 DSC_0074 DSC_0173 The Picasso The Couple DSC_0212 DSC_0058 DSC_0078 DSC_0205 DSC_0150 DSC_0097 DSC_0199 DSC_0141 DSC_0130 http://chiphoto.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/trip-to-los-angeles/ http://chiphoto.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/trip-to-los-angeles/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:41:23 +0000 johnriordan http://chiphoto.wordpress.com/?p=47 ]]> I took a trip to Los Angeles a few weeks back, hope you enjoy the pictures!

Shot of Downtown LA, as seen from the Bonaventure Hotel

Artwork in LA

Statue in LA

Reflection of the Bonaventure

A man at Manhattan Beach

Bicycle in Manhattan Beach

Family in Manhattan Beach

Beaches

A VW Beetle at an intersection in Manhattan Beach

Sunlight

Lines and Ellipses

Bonaventure

Dice

The flash didn’t scare it away, and it just kind of sat there and watched me.  If anyone could tell me what type of bird this is, I’d be interested to know.