Nature!!!!

Went to my newly discovered most favorite place in Chicago Wednesday: The Lincoln Park Conservatory.

My leg has been bugging me so I decided to see how long it take to

walk there. Answer: 45-50 minutes. The conservatory is absolutely gorgeous. Outside, there are some beautiful pines, and if you squint and look at a very specific spot, you can fool yourself into thinking you're seeing mountain scenery. Well, and if you use your imagination.

The conservatory is really warm inside, because duh! it's a greenhouse (btw, just learned about the greenhouse effect this week in my 4th grade classroom-it all makes so much more sense now!), and it smells wonderful. The main entrance room is full of beautiful palm trees and ferns and some exotic flowers and plants, including bananas!

The second room is the fern room. It's full of really old types of plants that covered the landscape when the dinosaurs were around. They even have some cute little plastic dinosaurs hidden in the ferns.

The third room is wonderful. The orchid room is filled with many different types of beautiful orchids. There's also a koi pond and beautiful statue.

The final room is a burst of color. Beautiful purples and pinks everywhere. It's a little cooler in there and there are benches. I just sat there for a few minutes in silence until some more people came in.

Wonderful.

And the best part? It's free!

Side note: On my walk to the conservatory, I happened upon a beautiful little trail alongside a pond full of ducks and geese. It was a nature preserve area. So beautiful in the midst of the city.