Blogs from Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America - page 16

First day in Chicago was wet and windy, with the Sears tower shrouded in mist. For the first time on this trip we wore jeans, jumpers and macs. (Bit of a shock). Deciding against a trip to a lakeside beach, we went instead to downtown Chicago. We were really impressed. Chicago is a futuristic city full of gems of modern architecture and artworks. Sky scrapers are in all shapes and colours. There is a blue wobbly looking one, a red one, the black Sears Tower, a skyscraper with an angel on top, a triangular prison tower with a ball court on top (seen later from Sears), and older ornate skyscrapers in a gothic style. All along the waterfront is a park with several artworks. There is a a wonderful new open air arena with a roof ... read more

The land of Abraham Lincoln, Al Capone, Bill Murray, and Walt Disney. With a guest-list this stacked, Chi-town packs a bunch so you'd better be prepared to see and do a lot. But in fairness to the minnow-cities of America, it's unjust to list the famous citizens of Chicago, for everybody who is anybody had to have stepped foot in this metropolis at one point or another, whether they dropped straight from the womb or simply made their name here. It's also why O'Hare Airport is the second busiest airport in the world and the Windy City has more highways passing through it than any other in the country. It's cemented its reputation as the foremost expert on improv comedy, known as a hotspot for jazz and blues, and is the breeding ground for skyscrapers with ... read more

We didn’t have to get up too early this morning so eventually got up walked down to California Pizza Kitchen for some food. Marnee got a pizza and I got some dumplings. While eating breakfast we heard from Nick and organised by text to meet him at Eataly after we’d finished. He and I ordered a Nutella Crepe each and he filled Marnee and I in on his whereabouts for the last couple of days. After that Marnee and I walked to the Chicago Red Line Station to catch the train out to Wrigley Field. It only cost us $2.25 to get out there and about 20mins on the train. We took some photos around the stadium then Marnee had messaged home to get her parents to log onto the internet as there is a live ... read more

We started slow and very seedy today. Last night was huge and it hit us hard. We eventually dragged our butts out of bed and headed to California Pizza Kitchen for a late breakfast/lunch. We each got a pizza ad some recovery Coca-Cola before making our way on foot to Grant Park. We walked via the Magnificent Mile on the way and stopped in at a couple of shops but we weren’t really in the mood for shopping so we continued on. We came across a protest on the way to ‘Free Palestine”, we took some photos but didn’t get involved like the hundreds of others that did. Once at Grant Park we first checked out the Millennium Monument, then the funny head statue then to the Crown Fountain. The Crown Fountain was quite a new ... read more

Geo: 41.8861, -87.6364Weather: 78*Location: ChicagoHighlights: No tire issues, funny monkeysLowlights: Some tired feet grumpies#of Swearwords: 0People we met: Angel (waiter), Bill and Lucy HoganActivities: Sheds Aquarium, LIncoln Park Zoo, Habatchi dinner with Hogans, walk, walk, walkHotel: Courtyard Marriott Downtown/RiverFunnies: Sake ShootersHelpful hint: Buy Aquarium tickets online ahead of time. Use ParkWhiz online to find cheap parking and reserve a spot.Restaurants: Chango Loco (navy pier), Todoroki Japanese (Evanston) Wow, what a day! One thing the Windy City offers (or any big city for that matter) is walking, walking and more walking and some whining (and I don't mean the wining I'm hoping for.) And a bleeding wallet. Food cost money. Parking cost money. Attractions cost money. Kids cost money. Money cost money (literal... read more