Sweet Nothings

Beautiful Windy City panorama (wind not pictured) The 2016 edition of the Goulds’ annual Stateside trip saw a move away from the West and East coasts, instead taking in a chunk of the Midwest and some good ole Southern comforts. Masochists can read all about my 2011 visit to Chicago here , complete with tortuous title pun. My wife and I covered much of the same ground this year, the main difference being an increased, nay all-consuming, focus on food. Indeed, this entire holiday presents further evidence that we are now selecting destinations purely on the basis of treat availability, and in the sincere belief that calories consumed abroad will magically have no effect. Hence we enjoyed a  Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae and stocked up on bags of their absurdly moreish chocolate squares, abandoned our salads at the Michigan Avenue branch of the  Cheesecake Factory halfway through to ensure room for the mountainous slice of eponymous dessert, and made sure to sample some of th