I’m not trying to toot our own horns, but Dominic and I are fairly well traveled. Sadly, that still didn’t stop us from making some rookie mistakes in the Midwest. While we were visiting family and friends in the states, we made an eight hour side trip to Chicago. Surprisingly, Chicago was one of the bigger cities Dominic had not yet visited, so we penciled it in between our time in Marietta and Columbus.
1st: Our first mistake was leaving from Marietta too late, meaning we arrived in Chicago just in time for some good ol’ big city traffic. To make matters worse I drank entirely too much water and no rest stops were in site.
2nd: When we arrived to our Airbnb room, we were a little surprised by the smallness of the bed and even more taken aback by the loudness of the springs from every slight movement. Needless to say the tall flopper that is Dominic and myself didn’t get much sleep, during our two night stay. I probably should have read a little more into the sleeping situation.
3rd: The Pilsen neighborhood itself was outside of the city center, which is why it was only $60 a night and we had free parking on the street. I was initially concerned for the safety of the area, but we weren’t harassed as we walked from the CTA at night. But because Pilsen is out of the Center we needed a good 15-20 mins to ride the pink line in. Normally that’s wouldn’t be a problem, but us being on vacation we were a bit slower to move.
1st: Our first mistake was leaving from Marietta too late, meaning we arrived in Chicago just in time for some good ol’ big city traffic. To make matters worse I drank entirely too much water and no rest stops were in site.
2nd: When we arrived to our Airbnb room, we were a little surprised by the smallness of the bed and even more taken aback by the loudness of the springs from every slight movement. Needless to say the tall flopper that is Dominic and myself didn’t get much sleep, during our two night stay. I probably should have read a little more into the sleeping situation.
3rd: The Pilsen neighborhood itself was outside of the city center, which is why it was only $60 a night and we had free parking on the street. I was initially concerned for the safety of the area, but we weren’t harassed as we walked from the CTA at night. But because Pilsen is out of the Center we needed a good 15-20 mins to ride the pink line in. Normally that’s wouldn’t be a problem, but us being on vacation we were a bit slower to move.
4th: After getting some ideas of places to hit up from our local host, we headed out to the CTA. There we spent a good 10 minutes trying to figure out which tickets to buy. Three day passes or only a one day. Then one of the workers very nicely helped us realize we only needed a day ticket like a couple of noobs. As we rode the pink line in we were able to enjoy the colors of the city, and see the fantastic Chicago Skyline. It was also later in the evening and the sun was on it’s move to set. It was definitely notable, that although Chicago is a large city, it was very well maintained and overall clean. The trains seemed nearly new and the depots weren’t overly littered with trash or the smell of urine.
When walking around, we did run into a few vagrants and peddlers, but overall we were only mildly molested. During our first day’s exploration, we enjoyed some free Jazz music in the Millennium Park, took some snap shots by the Cloud Gate aka “The Bean”, and walked to the Navy Pier where we stopped and had a fabulous deep dish pizza. Other than the pizza, the Navy Pier wasn’t very eventful, in fact I would say to many just skip it and do something else.
5th: The next day was our whole day for exploring. We wanted to find a good breakfast place so we checked out yelp and thought we found a jackpot spot “Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe”. They had over a thousand reviews and were centered in the middle of tourist Villa. We should have known better. By the time we got there the line was out the door and the minimum wait was an hour. We decided to pass and found a chain breakfast nook just around the corner.
6th: After filling up on a good American Breakfast we found our way to the hop on hop off tour. The tour in itself was good. Our tour guide was an older man that kept making horrible jokes, but he was really informative and we learned a great deal. We think his name was John, but don’t quote me on that. As I said the tour was good but we were very ill prepared. The sun was shinning, the sky was blue without a cloud in site, and we were freezing our asses off and getting sunburnt.
When walking around, we did run into a few vagrants and peddlers, but overall we were only mildly molested. During our first day’s exploration, we enjoyed some free Jazz music in the Millennium Park, took some snap shots by the Cloud Gate aka “The Bean”, and walked to the Navy Pier where we stopped and had a fabulous deep dish pizza. Other than the pizza, the Navy Pier wasn’t very eventful, in fact I would say to many just skip it and do something else.
5th: The next day was our whole day for exploring. We wanted to find a good breakfast place so we checked out yelp and thought we found a jackpot spot “Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe”. They had over a thousand reviews and were centered in the middle of tourist Villa. We should have known better. By the time we got there the line was out the door and the minimum wait was an hour. We decided to pass and found a chain breakfast nook just around the corner.
6th: After filling up on a good American Breakfast we found our way to the hop on hop off tour. The tour in itself was good. Our tour guide was an older man that kept making horrible jokes, but he was really informative and we learned a great deal. We think his name was John, but don’t quote me on that. As I said the tour was good but we were very ill prepared. The sun was shinning, the sky was blue without a cloud in site, and we were freezing our asses off and getting sunburnt.
The John Hancock building supposedly owns the air rights to the the Fourth Presbyterian.
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7th: We wanted to check out the Chicago Museum, but we horribly mismanaged our time and got there at closing, the guards were nice enough to at least use the restroom. We forgot that although we may be on Holiday, many people and places have a nice work time of 9-5. Instead we walked around a bit, then had a fabulous Dinner at “Shaw’s Crab Sack”. We ended up sharing a starter, a main course, and dessert and it was by far enough for both of us, gotta love American portion sizes.
After dinner we made our way to the Hancock Center, to view the skyline from their 360 Observatory. It was a mess. There was only one women working the tickets and it was packed. We were hopping to get up before the sun set, but by the time we reached the top it was already pretty dark. Still got some awesome shots. They also offered some gimmicky thing called Tilt in the 360 for an extra charge. It looked like people smashing up against a window, and having a touristy picture taken for a charge.
After dinner we made our way to the Hancock Center, to view the skyline from their 360 Observatory. It was a mess. There was only one women working the tickets and it was packed. We were hopping to get up before the sun set, but by the time we reached the top it was already pretty dark. Still got some awesome shots. They also offered some gimmicky thing called Tilt in the 360 for an extra charge. It looked like people smashing up against a window, and having a touristy picture taken for a charge.
8th. For our last night we decided to hit up a local piano bar. Sadly one of us didn’t fit the dress code, but luckily for him he was able to trade his tennis shoes for pair of oversized dress shoes and a Jacket a bit too wide. The bar was fun enough, but for our next trip we will look for a more appropriate Jazz or Blues place.
On our way out of Chicago we did stop for a fabulous Brunch place called Nana’s. Highly recommend this Brunch spot.
So a basic recap of what we will do next time.
1. avoid heavy traffic times
2. double check accommodations
3. Manage time better
4. Understand public transport
5. Avoid high tourist traffic areas
6. Dress in many layers (always carry sun block)
7. Double check closing times
8. Dress comfortably but also stylish
On our way out of Chicago we did stop for a fabulous Brunch place called Nana’s. Highly recommend this Brunch spot.
So a basic recap of what we will do next time.
1. avoid heavy traffic times
2. double check accommodations
3. Manage time better
4. Understand public transport
5. Avoid high tourist traffic areas
6. Dress in many layers (always carry sun block)
7. Double check closing times
8. Dress comfortably but also stylish
I don´t mind being a tourist. I´m a visitor, trying to discover places that are new to me and sometimes i might need the help of locals to point my lost nose in the right direction. I try to repay that hospitality whenever i can on my own turf, giving advice to people who need and want it. What i do mind though, is being seen as a walking wallet, prank victim and stereotype by less helpful natives.
I´d disagree on having made any "noob mistakes" in Chicago. Surely, sometimes we were a little late for the occasional sight, but we made sure that we enjoyed the time till then. So nothing, least of all some good time, was lost in the process. Yeah, Pilsen and our "vocal bed" were a bit outside of the downtown area, but we got to ride the metro several times, which enabled us to people watch and have several suburbs fly by our window. I actually do like the public transports in bigger cities. Without a tourguide bombarding me with infos, i actually get to enjoy my own view of the city, its inhabitants, its buildings and skyline and in general, get a glimpse at daily live.
I did like Chicago and i´d like to visit it again, maybe even with a group of people. It seemed rather relaxed, compared to other big cities. There´s still a lot to explore there and much more pizza to be eaten. Concerning jazz clubs, i´d probaly prepare a little better next time to get more out of the experience and by prepare i mean research an attire likewise.
So a basic recap of what we did right this time.
1. Visited Chicago
2. learned about furniture and what to consider when buying one
3. Enjoyed our time there
4. Used public transport
5. Enjoyed some of the major sights
6. Got to experience what it means to live close by a lake that shares a border with Canada
7. Shared some left-over pizza with a bum
8. Didn´t really care about time since we were on vacation
9. Dressed comfortably instead of stylish
D.
I´d disagree on having made any "noob mistakes" in Chicago. Surely, sometimes we were a little late for the occasional sight, but we made sure that we enjoyed the time till then. So nothing, least of all some good time, was lost in the process. Yeah, Pilsen and our "vocal bed" were a bit outside of the downtown area, but we got to ride the metro several times, which enabled us to people watch and have several suburbs fly by our window. I actually do like the public transports in bigger cities. Without a tourguide bombarding me with infos, i actually get to enjoy my own view of the city, its inhabitants, its buildings and skyline and in general, get a glimpse at daily live.
I did like Chicago and i´d like to visit it again, maybe even with a group of people. It seemed rather relaxed, compared to other big cities. There´s still a lot to explore there and much more pizza to be eaten. Concerning jazz clubs, i´d probaly prepare a little better next time to get more out of the experience and by prepare i mean research an attire likewise.
So a basic recap of what we did right this time.
1. Visited Chicago
2. learned about furniture and what to consider when buying one
3. Enjoyed our time there
4. Used public transport
5. Enjoyed some of the major sights
6. Got to experience what it means to live close by a lake that shares a border with Canada
7. Shared some left-over pizza with a bum
8. Didn´t really care about time since we were on vacation
9. Dressed comfortably instead of stylish
D.