Ok. I’ll come clean. The main reason I wanted to go to Chicago is the 1980’s Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi film The Blues Brothers (“There’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark out, and we’re wearing sunglasses.”) I imagined dark, gritty streets and dance numbers with Ray Charles at an old, worn out piana’.
However, stepping out of Union station where my 27-hour overnight Amtrak from Washington terminated, I was met with brilliant sunshine and not one toe-tapping. I’ll be honest, it was lovely but I was kind of disappointed!
On the first morning, I took a wander along the lake front. When I think of lakes I picture majestic waters with rolling hills or the odd mountain or two rising from its banks – think Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand.
But as part of the ‘Great Lakes’, Lake Michigan is just that; great. It is immense! If I hadn’t known it was a lake I would have thought it was the ocean. Foaming waves crash against the waterfront, with beaches and areas sectioned off for swimmers.
I walked the main front, joining part of the lakefront trail, from E Ohio Street along to the Adler Planetarium, where I sat enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the waves for some time and contemplating.
I’ve been away for more than a couple of weeks now and I feel like I’ve finally got into the swing of being on my own. It is quite a feeling knowing that you could go and do something energetic like hire a kayak, or a push-bike, or visit a museum and immerse yourself in some fascinating subject doing something intellectual, or maybe, quite possibly, just sit on the end of a pier front in a foreign city, in glorious sunshine watching everybody bustling around you. I’m really struggling, can you tell?
My route back took me through just a selection of the many parks Chicago has to offer; Grant Park, which stretches 10 blocks where I stood and watched the famous Buckingham Fountain in its top-of-the-hour display, Maggie Daley Park where climbing walls and skating ribbons sit next to the peace and tranquility of the Cancer Survivors Garden, and Millennium Park, home of the giant silver bean that is Cloud Gate where I laid on the grass in front of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and listened to an orchestra warming up for their free evening performance.
Later that evening, as I made my way back to the hotel, I stumbled upon a restaurant called The Purple Pig which was recommended by the bartender in Washington – it was fate! I had an amazing dinner with a glass of wine and finished with some lovely, runny camembert and crackers. Perfect!
Day two was a day of sightseeing. I started off with a walk along the ever-expanding Chicago Riverwalk; currently 1.25 miles of riverside where each section between bridges has its own details, from theatre style sitting areas to water play areas for kids and bars where residents gather to relax in the evening.
Then it was up to Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). At time of writing the 1450-foot-high tower is the 8th tallest in the world. Completed in 1973 with the Skydeck opening a year later, the building offers up impressive views of 4 states on a clear day.
In 2009 they decided that just being 103 storys high wasn’t impressive (reads; scary) enough and added clear glass bays jutting 4 feet out from the side of the building, giving visitors the chance to stand with an unobstructed view of the street below. Obviously I had to do it!
Once you get to the 103rd floor you are shepherded around the windows, eventually joining a queue to stand on ‘The Ledge’. You can hear the shrieks and laughter of other groups as the queue got shorter, and so by the time my turn came I knew I had to be double-hard and just step out. It’s harder than you’d imagine. Even though I was telling myself there was a solid surface to stand on, when I took the first step out (bearing in mind I didn’t even look down) my brain screamed “What are you doing you blummin’ idiot!” and my legs shook. Absolutely smashed it though. I’m happy if everyone wants to refer to me as a hero now!
After I’d calmed my racing heart and headed back down to solid ground I decided that I deserved to do something more gently-paced to finish the day. In my research of Chicago I’d read a lot of reviews for the many architecture river tours available, and I chose to sail with Shoreline Sightseeing.
These cruises take visitors up and down sections of the Chicago river, highlighting the history of the city and the architecture of many buildings towering above you, from 24 carat gold-leafed domes to the glass and steel of the modern skyscrapers. I absolutely loved it, but then I do like a good building front.
I finished the day with a recommendation for original deep dish pizza at Chicago based restaurant, Gino’s East. I have been trying to eat local dishes where I can and my love of pizza made this a must do, and ye gods I was not disappointed!
Quick pizza history brush up; invented in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno (although the original creator is debated) deep dish pizza resembles a thin crust pie with high sides, mozzarella cheese on the base, layered with your toppings of choice and THEN chunky tomato sauce. The deep dish is not for the faint hearted, the amount of cheese is heavenly!
The next morning, still high on gooey cheese, I walked down to Navy Pier and took advantage of the Chicago Divvy Bikes system. Here you pay $15 and can ride for free for up to 3 hours at a time. Perfect for exploring the lakefront along the 18 miles of purpose made trails.
I rode north 8 miles up to Foster beach through parks and alongside the beautiful blue lake. The city is currently updating the trails to separate the pedestrians from the cyclists and rollerbladers, so the last half mile of northbound trail was inaccessible. Nevertheless, it was a fair ride. I sat on the edge of Foster Beach with an ice cream feeling accomplished.
On the ride back however, I discovered just why I had excelled in my cycling prowess. Today was a windy day, and which way do you think I was blowing? Yep. North! Goodness me, there were points where I questioned if my bike had stopped working! By the time I had made my way back into the city, I was exhausted. I headed back to the hotel to get packed ready for the next day and had a couple of beers to celebrate my adventures.
My last day brought something of a surprise – rain! I haven’t seen actual real rain since forever. I had to check out of the hotel by 12pm but my onward, overnight bus to Memphis wasn’t until 9pm, so I headed to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Founded in 1879, the Art Institute is one of the oldest and largest collections in the United States. They also have an amazing phone app which allows you to access their audio tour for free.
Hurrah! Audio tour!
The Impressionist collection alone is immense, including work from Renoir, Monet, Seurat and Degas to name a few, and the building houses some well-known pieces including Edward Hoppers’ Nighthawks and Grant Wood’s American Gothic.
Although I had the perfect weather for museums I can highly recommend the Art Institute, they have such a collection from Impressionist to Modern art, ancient sculpture to photography and textiles. If you do get the opportunity to go here though, make sure you also visit the Thorne Miniature Rooms on the lower level. These 68 one-inch to one-foot rooms show intricate room detailing ranging from late 13th century Europe to 1930’s America. Amazing craftsmanship.
And with that, my time in Chicago ended and I was off on the next leg.
LDC
Long Distance Clara 