The Magnificent Mile

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We weren’t looking forward to the nightmare that is US customs and immigration, but we discovered at check-in that these are actually cleared in Canada, so you then effectively fly domestically. We were hence spared the usual queues from hell when we got to Chicago.

Our arrival in Chicago wasn't without some grief, however, as the traffic from the airport was horrendous and it took us about two hours to get to our hotel. We took an airport bus, which we initially thought was a mistake, however it was a fixed price so it saved us from the stress of watching the meter clocking up in a taxi whilst we crawled along.

After only a couple of hours walking in Chicago we also realised how psychotic their taxi drivers are. Red lights definitely don’t apply to them. They could easily teach the London taxi drivers a thing or two, if that can be believed.

We went for a walk along the so called Magnificent mile, which is effectively a stretch of Michigan Avenue through the heart of the city. We saw some of the iconic buildings such as the Water Tower, the Wrigley's Building and then we ended up at the Hancock Tower.

We started by going to the top of the Hancock Tower, with its observatory on the 94th floor. At that height, the difference between it and the Sears Tower (see Tower Number Three and a Tantrum Whist Shopping) was way too marginal to give a dam, and we preferred it by far. It wasn’t anything like as busy, it had loads of space to walk around, the queues to get to the top were a lot shorter, as were the ones to get down, and we didn't have to suffer a compulsory "tour".

There were some dubious photo opportunities at the top. In one our son and daughter could stand in front of a false picture of the view and pretend that they are outside cleaning the windows (I would not lower myself to such things, obviously). In the other, they could lean against a false girder and pretend that they're outside with nothing but that girder between them and the ground 94 floors below. Yes, yes very tacky, but we took the pictures anyway.

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Photos

The Magnificent Mile
A sign showing the Magnificent Mile

Hancock Tower View
The view from the top of the Hancock Tower at dusk

The Water Tower
The Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile

The Wrigley's Building
The Wrigley's Building on the Magnificent Mile