The meet and drink of Chicago – catching up with friends (Throwback post)

Chicago

Our main reason for including Chicago on this trip was to see friends that we’d made on the road. Or, to be precise, on board ship – as all of the friends that we met in Chicago were made during our two 2012 trips to Antarctica (which, ironically, was generally warmer than Chicago in March).

Chicago

It’s always a bit uncertain seeing someone for the first time after meeting them on our travels. Will it be so easy to get on when everyone isn’t as relaxed and enjoying what is often going to be an amazing trip? Did you get on with them as well as you thought at the time? Even worse, did they offer to meet up, show you the sights or even put you up for a few nights, whilst never expecting that it would actually happen?

Chicago

Thankfully, with Tina and Mark we knew that they were direct enough to make it clear if they hadn’t wanted to see us! After our first 3 nights in Chicago (at the Chicago Getaway Hostel - decent, but quite expensive), we spent our last 4 at their flat near Wrigley Fields. As the first 4 people to find the bar on our Antarctic trip, they knew that we liked a drink, a laugh and penguins, but there wasn’t a great deal else to go on. And Chicago isn’t exactly full of penguins.

Chicago

All we’d asked was to see a few more local and non-touristy places, and their choices certainly didn’t disappoint. We went to Andy’s Jazz Club and Restaurant, along with other friends of theirs, for a meal and then drinks afterwards. We spent an evening in a couple of good bars in the Lincoln Park area, one of which – Prost! - was well into the German spirit, being a beer hall and restaurant with lots of imported draft beers and a very rustic feel. We also had a good brunch, checked out a few dark and long wooden bars, and happened upon a wine tasting in a tasty wine shop around the corner from the flat.

Chicago

All of this was great fun, and we shared a lot of laughs, often rather stupid ones but that’s just how it is with some people. We also continued to marvel at Tina and Mark’s ongoing sequence of long distance mini-breaks around the world. Nobody else we know seems to manage things like Hong Kong for the weekend!

Chicago also allowed us to catch up with two people from our first Antarctic trip. Victoria joined us all in two of the bars on Saturday. And Emily, who we had already stayed with in Texas in March, was in town as part of a transatlantic trip catching up with various people she’d met on her own travels. We met her again in a couple of bars for a few spare hours before her flight. These coincidences of meeting people during short crossovers are strange, welcome, and increasingly common for us!

All in all, it was great to catch up again, and writing this already 3 years since it happened, it is a shame how quickly the time can go. But this is where Facebook really comes in handy to stay in touch a bit and keep an eye on what people have been up to.

Downtown Chicago – walking the classic tourist sights (Throwback post)

 

Cloud Gate, Chicago

Not having a lot of free time to see the sights, we used a self-guided walking tour booklet by Metrowalkz , which included route maps for different areas of the city and gave good background on the main sights. The routes were interesting, scenic and felt very safe.

Millennium Park, Chicago

One of our highlights was Millennium Park, a large (25 acre) open space amidst the tall buildings. It includes the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, an impressive outdoor venue designed by Frank Gehry

Millennium Park, Chicago

Cloud Gate, Chicago

Millennium Park, Chicago

Cloud Gate, Chicago

The most arresting thing that we saw there, however, was the Cloud Gate (by Anish Kapoor). Also known by locals as ‘the bean’, it’s a flowing sculpture that’s highly reflective in all directions, like a hall of mirrors.

Cloud Gate, Chicago

It’s fun to play with taking various pictures of yourself and the surrounding buildings, including from right under the sculpture. Of course everyone wants to play in the same way, so it’s best to avoid going there at peak times if you want some of the reflections to yourself without waiting for too long.

Cloud Gate, Chicago

Cloud Gate, Chicago

Another stand-out place that we visited was the Art Institute of Chicago. Travelling a lot, we often find it often too easy to get a bit bored by museums and galleries, but this rose above most of them. Maybe it partly depends on what you like. But if you like Impressionism, then you’d love the many very recognisable works on show, including loads of Monet haystacks. There was also a very large temporary Picasso exhibition, which one of us liked a lot, the other not so much.

Willis Tower, Chicago

We also rose above the sights in another way, in The Signature Lounge on the 96th floor, 875 N Michigan Ave (the John Hancock Centre). Visit this stylish bar as an alternative to the 103rd floor view from the Willis (formerly the Sears) Tower, and for the entrance fee saved you can buy a cocktail or a couple of beers.

Willis Tower, Chicago

Willis Tower, Chicago

view from Willis Tower, Chicago

view from Willis Tower, Chicago



Tribune Building, Chicago

The neo-gothic Tribune Tower is a peculiar building, as the outside includes 120 labelled stones from various world structures, including the Berlin Wall, Westminster Abbey, and the Coliseum. It is unclear whether all of these were acquired openly and honestly, but it is interesting to see what’s there.






Tribune Building, Chicago

Tribune Building, Chicago

Tribune Building, Chicago

Tribune Building, Chicago



Chicago Cultural Centre

The Chicago Cultural Centre, dating from 1897, is also worth a look. Originally the city’s central library, which was established with a donation of 8000 books after the Great Chicago Fire of 1870 destroyed the old public reading rooms, it has a Greek/Roman style.




Tiffany dome, Chicago Cultural Centre

But we especially liked the restored 38-foot Tiffany stained-glass dome, containing 30000 pieces of glass – the world’s largest Tiffany stained-glass dome.

Healy-Millet dome, Chicago Cultural Centre

There is also the nearly as impressive, 40-foot Healy-Millet stained glass dome.

The Centre hosts many free arts events and exhibitions, so make sure it’s not closed for a show if you just want to pop in to look around.

Chicago Cultural Centre

Chicago Cultural Centre

Chicago Cultural Centre







Taking the Temperature of Chicago (Throwback post)

We didn’t really see a lot of Chicago, and we liked it to different degrees. This was partly due to it being such a cold time to visit. The wind didn’t help; we couldn’t quite believe that Chicago is only called the ‘windy city’ due to the windbag politicians of the past.

We only ended up there in March due to US immigration policy that would have stopped us from instead re-entering from Canada later that year (due to having already spent nearly 3 months in the USA, then not leaving adjacent countries before re-entry).

But still, Chicago in winter was impressive (more so from Nic’s perspective). It has a classy skyline, with a good and sympathetic mix of old and new buildings and some particular architectural gems. Also, the streets were generally quite wide, so it didn’t feel claustrophobic.

Beyond the centre, we walked through a number of other areas, which felt like distinct neighbourhoods with real character, quite individual shops and large old red-brick buildings, rather than just dull suburbs.


One other specific thing that we liked, which maybe says something about the city’s attitude, was the fact that Lincoln Park zoo, apart from being free and open all year, just lets people run/jog on wide paths throughout it without going through entrance gates – rather better than the average running route!


On the other hand, apparently the metro system had recently become more frequented by homeless people riding it from one end to the other due to the recent closing down of their shelters, which doesn’t suggest such a socially cohesive approach.



Overall, it was still interesting to visit Chicago but it would definitely be better to try at another time of year, when it would be easier to wander and there are more outdoor activities, like the baseball at Wrigley Field that we could visit in season.