What does the third largest city in the USA have to offer? These are my impressions:
O’Hare International airport ( the sixth busiest worldwide) is inconveniently nearly 20 miles from Downtown.
A journey that is made harder by major roadworks which will last until 2025 according to our taxi driver! It’s not cheap either costing us 60 dollars to our hotel!
To be fair you can hop on the blue line for just 5 bucks each but we like to remain fairly inconspicuous when travelling and thus avoid any chances of crime being perpetrated upon us. Given our two large and one medium suitcase that wasn’t going to be possible.
Chicago is the nation’s railroad hub and this is very evident wherever you walk around downtown.
Crossing over the railway soon becomes a walking habit and when you’re not doing that you are walking across the river! The Chicago River runs through the city of Chicago, starting 40 miles north of the downtown loop area and connecting into Lake Michigan. It adds another dimension to the city that I’d not expected.
The city is really clean!
It puts London, Paris, Barcelona and a few other European cities we’ve visited to shame.
People don’t walk!
We often saw people get on at one bus stop and then jump off two stops later. One bus stop is about one block which is 220 yards.
As part of the “Welcome to Chicago and our hotel” the receptionist told us to get a 5 day transport pass because “you’ll be getting buses everywhere!”. We averaged just over 5 miles a day and only used the bus when we needed to go to Lincoln Zoo in the north and the Museum of Science in the south..
Lake Michigan is huge!
When you first set your eyes upon it, it’s easy to think of it as a sea. It’s a 300 mile long freshwater lake with twice daily tides and if the city lives up to its name as being “windy”, waves can rise up to 20 feet! If we had the time we would have definitely returned to its grassy shores with a lovely picnic and a book to read on a sunny day.
The city is full of green spaces.
From Lincoln Park in the north, down to Millennium Park and south as far as Jackson Park.
The Millennium Park is where you’ll find the famous Cloud Gate sculpture by Anish Kapoor, the Cloud Fountain with its two 50-ft. LED towers and reflecting pool by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and the Buckingham Fountain which is among the world’s largest, 3-level rococo fountain built in 1927 in Grant Park.
Grant Park is also where Barack Obama made his “Yes We Can”victory speech back in 2008. Check it out on Youtube and you’ll get some idea of how much it means to the citizens of Chicago to see not just a black President but the man from their city in the White House!
The weather, what can I say.
You know that old saying “she changes her mind like the weather”? Well now I know where that phrase comes from -Chicago! You can leave your hotel in the morning in the blazing sun in need of sunscreen and a hat. Then when you leave a museum after lunch, you can walk outside and be met by a strong wind blowing in off the lake and then head back to your hotel in the evening in the pouring rain and this is all in one day!
And if that isn’t enough it is not called the “Windy City” for no reason. When that wind blows it brings in the cold air like a gust from some other being sneaking it’s way down the streets of the city and making you shiver!
There is an insurmountable variety of things to do.
We left with a list as long as your arm of adventures we would like to do in the future. I would advice getting a Chicago Pass or GoCity Chicago Pass, it was well worth the money. We bought an all inclusive 5 day pass and saved a lot of money even without doing everything listed on their website.
We also managed to fit in a Cubs game. Watching a baseball game at one of the oldest stadiums- Wrigley Field which opened in 1914 is a must for any real sports fan.
The museums are huge!
I’d forgotten until we visited that the Americans have a tendency to do everything on a much bigger scale than us and their museums are no exception.
We allowed up to six hours to cover everything in the Field Museum (a bit like the Natural History Museum in London) but I’m beginning to realise that my midlife brain can only cope with about four hours before it goes into system overload which was the case here. It’s spread over three floors and I’m afraid I didn’t make it to the third floor.
You really need a full day for most of their museums. The Americans really get it right, though, with plenty of very clean bathrooms, places to buy everything from snacks to a proper lunch and above all else there is always somewhere to eat your own picnic to keep cost down.
They also cater for all ages. We saw plenty of interactive, educational but fun displays for kids to use.
Staff were all super friendly wherever we went.
Their tube/metro system called simply “L’ isn’t inviting.
This might be an injustice but as you walk past a lot of the entrances to go down to the underground train system the smell of urine is just overpowering. Sorry we gave it a miss.
Use the bus!
They are clean and efficient. The drivers are proficient, not as friendly as we are used to in the UK but they have to run to a tight timetable.
There are 1,864 buses operating across 129 routes and covering 1,536 route miles. Buses make about 19,237 trips a day and serve 10,768 bus stops.
By using Google Maps we were easily able to find bus stops, jump on board and follow the route to our destination. Strangely the Chicago Transit Authority or CTA don’t seem to accept UK debit/credit cards. We had to buy three one day passes with cash instead but again once purchased they were easy to understand and saved us money.
The architecture makes you feel like you are looking at a painting.
Whether you are taking in the view across from the Planetarium of the Chicago skyline which is really awe inspiring and reminded me of looking across San Fransisco Bay on the boat back from Alcatraz.
Or staring up from an architectural boat trip on the river or taking in the panoramic views from the Skydeck or the 360 Tower at night you cannot help but be impressed.
We have been positively impressed with the variation of food.
Whilst it is famous for its deep dish pizzas, Chicago style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and popcorn you will also find healthy food on menus. There is a huge variety of cuisines, for whatever reason we didn’t expect this and would love to come back and explore Chinatown and Greektown.
Last but no means least it is a safe city!
Not once did we feel unsafe during the day or at night. Don’t be influenced by all the bad news spread across the media. I’m sure there are areas where you wouldn’t be safe but you find this in any major city and downtown is not one of them!
Chicago surprised us and we will definitely return!
A Midlife Adventure 