Chicago – The Windy City
Thursday, September 20th, 2007September 20th
The weather is still so hot – did not even bother taking jumper into town – loving it! We made use of the motel free shuttle to the airport and caught the “subway” in. It’s v weird as the tracks run in between the lanes of the motorway and sometimes overhead in town. Got a good view of neighbourhoods coming in but did take an hour to arrive in town.
We skipped the Sears tower as had it on good authority that the John Hancock Observation tower has a better view. The 94th floor on a clear day was amazing – the photos do not do it justice.
It is inside with floor to ceiling windows. My stomach curled up and hit my ears many times, Josh and I actually found it easier to crawl on our knees to near the edge where Ophelie had no issue putting her head on the glass – I couldn’t look at her! There is some cheesy music playing in the background so I am guessing people go up there to propose. With the music and the height it really was enough to make you feel queasy!
I really liked Chicago and the kids did too. It feels more relaxed than NY and I felt it has more of a hip edge to it surprisingly, but what do I know about fashion. I think NY has it’s own style and vibe whereas Chicago seemed more in tune to Brit fashion and styles.
The architecture is great and you spend so much time looking up. The Tribune Tower has bits of famous buildings embedded in it’s walls, the Taj Mahal, Hamlet’s Castle, Parthenon, Berlin Wall and the Forbiiden Palace. It was fun running round looking at all the different bits of history. The twisted piece of metal from the World Trade Centre really stuck out.
Many buildings have the old iron fire escapes outside – I guess a throw back to the great fire. Apparently it all started when Mrs O’Leary’s cow knocked over a lantern………
Pizza was calling – you have to taste it in the home of the deep dish. We ate the famous Stuffed Pizza at Giordano’s and I can say it was yum. The amount even beat Josh – a minor miracle! I felt it necessary to sample the local wheat beer too and can also say it added to my culinary experience.
A first travel find for us – when one of the kids needed a loo break (and only 10 mins after the last one!!) we passed the Museum of Freedom that had free entry so in we went. It was a very interesting museum. Lots of exhibits on censorship (for eg music that had been banned) and what the concept of freedom means. It had electronic versions of the Declaration of Independence that you could zoom in on and it explained the sentences which was great for the kids. Who knew that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” was so important to Jefferson? I always wondered where the concept of a Happy Meal came from…………..and yes that was a joke.
A few more “exciting” shots from Chicago and I apologise for the pohots to everyone – I still have not managed to quite work them out yet.
Thanks to everyone for your e-mails and comments – it is comforting to know all the news from home and haven’t you all been busy since we left!!!! Please keep the news coming.
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