First day in Chicago

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Geo: 41.8861, -87.6364

Today was a long day, really it started the evening before. We left Ipswich by train at about 9:15 headed for London. After getting into Liverpool Street about an hour later we caught the underground to Heathrow - finally arriving at the airport at about 11:30.

Our flight wasn't schedule to leave until 7:45 the following morning, so we had quite a lot of time to kill. Spending the night in a quite airport with just ourselves, the cleaners, and a handful of other nocturnal souls we set about killing time. A movie, a few hands of cards and a nap later it was time to check in.

Everything progressed very smoothly, and before long we were in the air and on our way..

We arrived into Chicago at about 9:50am local time - slightly ahead of schedule. After progressing through customs and collecting our luggage we made our way to the metro station to begin our train ride into the city. Boarding a fairly busy underground train, it took us about an hour before we'd made it to the city center. After negotiating a rail replacement bus due to the Chinatown station closure, we got to our hotel at about 1 o'clock.

After checking in, we jumped straight back onto the metro and headed into the heart of the city -also known as 'the loop'. As we exited the train, and resurfaced from above ground it started to rain. As we began to wander it started to rain even harder. Before long we were both stared to get thoroughly soaked through. Disappointed with our poor fortune we took cover inside and each had a drink. As the rain died down we braved the outside again and given the warm weather it wasn't long before we'd dried out.

We walked down to the river front to take note of where the ferry cruises left from, before making our way to Millennium Park to see The Bean and the Crown Fountain. We then carried on our explorations of the city - not with any real motive in mind other than to freely wander and see what we came across. As the afternoon turned into evening we were both starting to feel the effects of a long day, and decided it was time for an early dinner. We grabbed a rather disappointing burger from Wendy's before heading back to the hotel.

Arriving back shortly after 7 in the evening, we were both very tired and decided to turn in for an early night. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to get more done, and the weather will hold up for us.

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