Leaving the Aquarium, it was lunchtime, and passing the Hot Dog stand, i decided to have my first American Hot Dog, but in Chicago it’s different, it is an insult to want tomato ketchup on, so a real Chicago hot dog has pickles, onions, peppers, mustard, tomatoes, and lettuce. Not bad, but i did miss the ketchup!
I then wandered back through the park and picked up the South Tour. We were a small group on this tour (you can get on or off at a couple of the places if you wish, but this group all stayed on), and we had a very informative lady, who loved her city, and loved to tell you about places of interest, some you possible wouldn’t find in all the tour books.
From Grant Park we headed south on LSD, and headed into the Kenwood district, which definitely one of the nicer, wealthy parts of the city, there were some big houses in that area. We passed the home that Muhammad Ali and lived with his family, and across the road, was the house where he used to go for his faith, and then a few blocks on into Hyde Park and we drove past both ends of the road on which the Obama’s have their home, the secret service where out, and there are strict controls for visitors to any of the homes on that street, no one can pop by on the off chance for a quick coffee.
We passed area’s dedicated to the city’s first black mayor, the current mayor has been in office since ’89, and his father had held the office from ’55 to ’76, before heading down to the Museum of Science and Industry – it is well worth the visit, though it’s definitely something to do when you have several hours to spare.
The MSI is situated in a building known as White City, which is the only part still remaining of where the World Fair was held in 1893. We drove past the gold statue that had been outside the World Fair, but now it is 3 times smaller.
We headed towards the University of Chicago, which many of its original buildings where based on the design of the buildings of Cambridge University, England, but we first passed the Robie House. This is the most famous of Frank Lloyd Wright’s house, which has a resemblance to the horizontal lines of the Midwest Prairies, which is what the style was then called. At the front, the porch area is a very distinctive low pitch roof and pillar, which has since been copied many times, and inside there is 174 art glass windows and doors.
We then headed back north, first passing the DuSable Museum of African American History and then along Martin Luther King Drive, we entered into Bronzeville District, which was the centre of Chicago’s African American culture from the 20’s to the 50’s. When you enter this area from the north, going south, there is a statue of an unknown man carrying a suitcase, which symbolises the hopes and dreams of the people, but the statue (made of bonze), is designed to look like it is made of leaves, these are actually representing soles of shoes, which symbolises the walk the people made to get there – we saw this as we left the district.
The district is also the home of Chicago Blues, and you will see “statues” of men playing blues, but also the guitar and sax. Driving up King Dr, we saw many of the Brownstone style houses, of which many are being restored to their former glory, and also saw the home of the Marx brothers. Leaving Bronzeville, we passed Checkers Recording Studios, which was started by the Chess brothers in 1957, many famous names started from here, and many others recorded here – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones.
Our final place of interest, was a fire house, which was used in the film Backdraft (one of my fav’s), well the front was....it is now a restaurant.
Leaving the tour, i then went for a big wander around the streets of downtown, walking up Magnificent Mile – but not shopping! – before heading out west and down to Hard Rock Cafe for my dinner.
The next day was clear, so i headed on up Willis Tower, and even ventured out onto the ledges. It was fascinating to see how big Chicago was, the areas i had visited, but it was so much bigger than them. Although it was clear, it was not clear enough to see some of the other states. Looking out across Lake Michigan, it felt like you were actually on the edge of the Ocean, or something like the English Channel, it didn’t seem possible that this was only a Lake!!
Lake Michigan is one of 5 Great Lakes, which have 20% of the earths freshwater, and 95% of North Americas. The largest is Lake Superior, which could easily hold the other 4 lakes! 3 of the Lakes, are bordered by Canada and USA, but Michigan, is bordered only by USA, and the final one is bordered only by Canada.
Today was the final day i could use the hop on/off, so i caught one from outside the tower, and back at Millennium Park i caught the North Tour bus. This tour bus, starts off on by heading across the river and up Michigan Ave, which you can see the Wrigley building, which has a white terra-cotta exterior, and is the home of the Wrigley company, which did not start with chewing gum, but this was a later product, and onto the Gold Coast, driving through the roads of mansions, and passing the First Playboy Mansion (which is now condos), where Hugh Hefner started wearing his all day jammies, because the rigours of magazine production and all night partying, stopped him getting dressed.
At the south end of Lincoln Park is the Chicago History Museum, where you can learn more about the Great Fire, and many other things. Lincoln Park is 1200 acres, and definitely an urban oasis. Here you can go to the Zoo for free, although visiting around the middle of a hot day, does mean a lot of the animals are away. But there is a huge variety of animals to see, including the farm, and throughout the day there are discussions about different animals by the zoo keepers. It’s free. I wandered around various areas, seeing animals from across the world, little and large. Nearby is also the Conservatory, which has many flowers, ferns, palms and orchids – definitely stuff that should not grow in the diverse weather of Chicago (well a lot is kept inside), and is an oasis to visit in the winter months, and to get warm!
Our final stop on the tour was Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, there is only terracing on 3 sides of the pitch, as there is a street at the 4th side. Ingenious landlords/home owners have put terrace seats on their roofs, but the prices for a seat are not cheap.
NB if you want to do this North Tour, if there is a game at Wrigley Field it doesn’t run.
Arriving back there was time to wander around a different part of downtown, admiring the building’s architecture.
Tuesday nights during the summer period, is Film in the Park. Grab food and drink (not alcoholic), blanket to sit on and a few friends and head to Butler Field of Grant Park, to watch a film on the big screen. I didn’t grab any of them as had not originally planned to go. I was walking through the park, when i saw people starting to gather, and taking care where they sat to avoid the mess from the Canada Geese, it was a while before it was due to start, so i went off to see Buckingham Fountain, which does a display on the hour (last one at 7pm).
It was a big social occasion to watch the film, but first was seeing the sun set behind the skyscrapers of downtown, and then it was “Young Lincoln”, an old black and white film. I enjoyed myself.
My final day in Chicago, started with blue skies and sunshine. I booked to go on one of the Chicago Architectural Tours along the river (there are also walking tours of history of skyscrapers downtown, or Art Deco architecture, or a couple of others), all with guides who know a lot of the history of the buildings, designers etc. The sun was out, and we all sat on the upper deck. Seeing the city from the river, definitely gives it a different perspective.
Seeing the boat garages of Marina City and River City, seeing the train lines that run under the buildings on the west side of the river. The embankment and walkways are being improved, with many places to stop for a drink or something to eat, although a little way to go before it’s finished. Seeing all the bridges along the River, with their different ways to be opened (swing, lift up central part) and the homes of the bridge men. Some of the lift up bridges had accommodation in this part, so when the bridge was up the lift man could go for his lunch etc whilst waiting for the boats to all pass. There is not as much traffic on the river these days, and the majority of boats that do frequent it go beneath the bridge no problem. We could see barges at the side of some warehouses, so there is still some commercial traffic.
Many of the old warehouses are being converted into apartments in an attempt to regenerate these areas, and they make sure that shops are also included!
It was interesting to learn the history, see the different styles, but also the regeneration that is happening.
After the tour i headed off towards Navy Pier, and to see what it had to offer, but by the time i got there, the clouds were coming over, and the temperature was dropping. The pier is a windy place, as it sits out in Lake Michigan, but gives a different view of the skyline.
Wandering around the arcades, food places, and play areas, i noticed a seat with a big flower at its centre. The flower has a long stem, and i found out that this is one of several that is around the city, it is a solar panelled flower, where you can plug in your phone or laptop to charge up for free, whilst you have a seat. Ingenious.
Tired of walking, i decided to take the water taxi to Union Station and then walk back to the hostel. The clouds were turning blacker. I had forgotten, again, to bring my waterproof....on arriving at Union Station, the first raindrops were appearing, but really it never got much heavier than a light drizzle, enough to get wet though. I just decided to shelter for a bit, and then walk the 7 blocks back....the British spirit kicking in...It’s just a bit of water!
Time to pack up, tomorrow was moving day...a plane ride to San Francisco...and the hope of better weather.
In the morning, it was drizzling outside, whilst i had breakfast earlier than normal, but as i checked out it eased off slightly, but definitely still needed waterproof, although by the time i’d walked the 4 blocks to the underground stop i was too warm. Once on the underground it was a nice journey to the airport, not many people going in that direction at 8.30am. Having found the right terminal, i could check-in even though i was early, but everything is getting more technologically advances, automatic check in, and as this was an internal flight with American Airlines, every bag going into the hold had to be paid for. When you check your bags in, they cannot weigh more than 50lbs (23kgs), otherwise it’s a $50 charge! My suitcase weighed 57lbs, so i moved 6lbs (in books) into my hand luggage, and they stuck a HEAVY tag on it....i was let off the last 1lb.
Repacking the hand luggage was interesting though....especially as i needed to have my laptop and liquids easy access to go through security.
I had Brunch, which filled me up, and meant that if the food was not up to much it didn’t matter. I was due in mid afternoon, but then the clocks also went back 2 hours as well.
I then wandered back through the park and picked up the South Tour. We were a small group on this tour (you can get on or off at a couple of the places if you wish, but this group all stayed on), and we had a very informative lady, who loved her city, and loved to tell you about places of interest, some you possible wouldn’t find in all the tour books.
From Grant Park we headed south on LSD, and headed into the Kenwood district, which definitely one of the nicer, wealthy parts of the city, there were some big houses in that area. We passed the home that Muhammad Ali and lived with his family, and across the road, was the house where he used to go for his faith, and then a few blocks on into Hyde Park and we drove past both ends of the road on which the Obama’s have their home, the secret service where out, and there are strict controls for visitors to any of the homes on that street, no one can pop by on the off chance for a quick coffee.
We passed area’s dedicated to the city’s first black mayor, the current mayor has been in office since ’89, and his father had held the office from ’55 to ’76, before heading down to the Museum of Science and Industry – it is well worth the visit, though it’s definitely something to do when you have several hours to spare.
The MSI is situated in a building known as White City, which is the only part still remaining of where the World Fair was held in 1893. We drove past the gold statue that had been outside the World Fair, but now it is 3 times smaller.
We headed towards the University of Chicago, which many of its original buildings where based on the design of the buildings of Cambridge University, England, but we first passed the Robie House. This is the most famous of Frank Lloyd Wright’s house, which has a resemblance to the horizontal lines of the Midwest Prairies, which is what the style was then called. At the front, the porch area is a very distinctive low pitch roof and pillar, which has since been copied many times, and inside there is 174 art glass windows and doors.
We then headed back north, first passing the DuSable Museum of African American History and then along Martin Luther King Drive, we entered into Bronzeville District, which was the centre of Chicago’s African American culture from the 20’s to the 50’s. When you enter this area from the north, going south, there is a statue of an unknown man carrying a suitcase, which symbolises the hopes and dreams of the people, but the statue (made of bonze), is designed to look like it is made of leaves, these are actually representing soles of shoes, which symbolises the walk the people made to get there – we saw this as we left the district.
The district is also the home of Chicago Blues, and you will see “statues” of men playing blues, but also the guitar and sax. Driving up King Dr, we saw many of the Brownstone style houses, of which many are being restored to their former glory, and also saw the home of the Marx brothers. Leaving Bronzeville, we passed Checkers Recording Studios, which was started by the Chess brothers in 1957, many famous names started from here, and many others recorded here – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones.
Our final place of interest, was a fire house, which was used in the film Backdraft (one of my fav’s), well the front was....it is now a restaurant.
Leaving the tour, i then went for a big wander around the streets of downtown, walking up Magnificent Mile – but not shopping! – before heading out west and down to Hard Rock Cafe for my dinner.
The next day was clear, so i headed on up Willis Tower, and even ventured out onto the ledges. It was fascinating to see how big Chicago was, the areas i had visited, but it was so much bigger than them. Although it was clear, it was not clear enough to see some of the other states. Looking out across Lake Michigan, it felt like you were actually on the edge of the Ocean, or something like the English Channel, it didn’t seem possible that this was only a Lake!!
Lake Michigan is one of 5 Great Lakes, which have 20% of the earths freshwater, and 95% of North Americas. The largest is Lake Superior, which could easily hold the other 4 lakes! 3 of the Lakes, are bordered by Canada and USA, but Michigan, is bordered only by USA, and the final one is bordered only by Canada.
Today was the final day i could use the hop on/off, so i caught one from outside the tower, and back at Millennium Park i caught the North Tour bus. This tour bus, starts off on by heading across the river and up Michigan Ave, which you can see the Wrigley building, which has a white terra-cotta exterior, and is the home of the Wrigley company, which did not start with chewing gum, but this was a later product, and onto the Gold Coast, driving through the roads of mansions, and passing the First Playboy Mansion (which is now condos), where Hugh Hefner started wearing his all day jammies, because the rigours of magazine production and all night partying, stopped him getting dressed.
At the south end of Lincoln Park is the Chicago History Museum, where you can learn more about the Great Fire, and many other things. Lincoln Park is 1200 acres, and definitely an urban oasis. Here you can go to the Zoo for free, although visiting around the middle of a hot day, does mean a lot of the animals are away. But there is a huge variety of animals to see, including the farm, and throughout the day there are discussions about different animals by the zoo keepers. It’s free. I wandered around various areas, seeing animals from across the world, little and large. Nearby is also the Conservatory, which has many flowers, ferns, palms and orchids – definitely stuff that should not grow in the diverse weather of Chicago (well a lot is kept inside), and is an oasis to visit in the winter months, and to get warm!
Our final stop on the tour was Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, there is only terracing on 3 sides of the pitch, as there is a street at the 4th side. Ingenious landlords/home owners have put terrace seats on their roofs, but the prices for a seat are not cheap.
NB if you want to do this North Tour, if there is a game at Wrigley Field it doesn’t run.
Arriving back there was time to wander around a different part of downtown, admiring the building’s architecture.
Tuesday nights during the summer period, is Film in the Park. Grab food and drink (not alcoholic), blanket to sit on and a few friends and head to Butler Field of Grant Park, to watch a film on the big screen. I didn’t grab any of them as had not originally planned to go. I was walking through the park, when i saw people starting to gather, and taking care where they sat to avoid the mess from the Canada Geese, it was a while before it was due to start, so i went off to see Buckingham Fountain, which does a display on the hour (last one at 7pm).
It was a big social occasion to watch the film, but first was seeing the sun set behind the skyscrapers of downtown, and then it was “Young Lincoln”, an old black and white film. I enjoyed myself.
My final day in Chicago, started with blue skies and sunshine. I booked to go on one of the Chicago Architectural Tours along the river (there are also walking tours of history of skyscrapers downtown, or Art Deco architecture, or a couple of others), all with guides who know a lot of the history of the buildings, designers etc. The sun was out, and we all sat on the upper deck. Seeing the city from the river, definitely gives it a different perspective.
Seeing the boat garages of Marina City and River City, seeing the train lines that run under the buildings on the west side of the river. The embankment and walkways are being improved, with many places to stop for a drink or something to eat, although a little way to go before it’s finished. Seeing all the bridges along the River, with their different ways to be opened (swing, lift up central part) and the homes of the bridge men. Some of the lift up bridges had accommodation in this part, so when the bridge was up the lift man could go for his lunch etc whilst waiting for the boats to all pass. There is not as much traffic on the river these days, and the majority of boats that do frequent it go beneath the bridge no problem. We could see barges at the side of some warehouses, so there is still some commercial traffic.
Many of the old warehouses are being converted into apartments in an attempt to regenerate these areas, and they make sure that shops are also included!
It was interesting to learn the history, see the different styles, but also the regeneration that is happening.
After the tour i headed off towards Navy Pier, and to see what it had to offer, but by the time i got there, the clouds were coming over, and the temperature was dropping. The pier is a windy place, as it sits out in Lake Michigan, but gives a different view of the skyline.
Wandering around the arcades, food places, and play areas, i noticed a seat with a big flower at its centre. The flower has a long stem, and i found out that this is one of several that is around the city, it is a solar panelled flower, where you can plug in your phone or laptop to charge up for free, whilst you have a seat. Ingenious.
Tired of walking, i decided to take the water taxi to Union Station and then walk back to the hostel. The clouds were turning blacker. I had forgotten, again, to bring my waterproof....on arriving at Union Station, the first raindrops were appearing, but really it never got much heavier than a light drizzle, enough to get wet though. I just decided to shelter for a bit, and then walk the 7 blocks back....the British spirit kicking in...It’s just a bit of water!
Time to pack up, tomorrow was moving day...a plane ride to San Francisco...and the hope of better weather.
In the morning, it was drizzling outside, whilst i had breakfast earlier than normal, but as i checked out it eased off slightly, but definitely still needed waterproof, although by the time i’d walked the 4 blocks to the underground stop i was too warm. Once on the underground it was a nice journey to the airport, not many people going in that direction at 8.30am. Having found the right terminal, i could check-in even though i was early, but everything is getting more technologically advances, automatic check in, and as this was an internal flight with American Airlines, every bag going into the hold had to be paid for. When you check your bags in, they cannot weigh more than 50lbs (23kgs), otherwise it’s a $50 charge! My suitcase weighed 57lbs, so i moved 6lbs (in books) into my hand luggage, and they stuck a HEAVY tag on it....i was let off the last 1lb.
Repacking the hand luggage was interesting though....especially as i needed to have my laptop and liquids easy access to go through security.
I had Brunch, which filled me up, and meant that if the food was not up to much it didn’t matter. I was due in mid afternoon, but then the clocks also went back 2 hours as well.
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