Chicago

After a shaky start at customs, where I decided that dad would not have made it into the US and would probably of had a fight with the grumpy american customs man, we finally arrived in Chicago, stepping off the plane into a wave of heat.  The hostel we were staying in was a bit of a trek, but was definitely worth it.  Everything was really nice and clean, and we got free breakfast and a free BBQ on Friday.  In the afternoon we walked around downtown and went to the Contemporary Art Museum in the late afternoon.  This is where Nick then realised he actually doesn't like contemporary art, mainly because its just a squiggly picture and then some pretentious description of it next to it.  However, some of the things there were good.  On our walk home, we passed a very busy pizza restaurant, so we nipped in here to get dinner.  It was called Uno's and the pizza take about 45mins to cook because they are so deep!

We were in Chicago for 5 days, and even that amount of time didn't seem long enough to do everything that the city had to offer.  On Wednesday we walked by Michigan Lake all the way to Navy Pier, stopping to look at all the boats and in the evening we went to Micky's, a pub near the hostel to watch the Stanley Cup Final, where our team the Canucks won!!

On Thursday we ventured to the Chicago Museum of History, which was really good and informative, and probably why we ended up there for nearly 5 hours.  The first hour wasn't that enjoyable because the museum was packed to the brim with screaming hyper children, but they soon left and the "oldies" could go back to the peace and quiet and buzzing sound of learning.  Coming outside we both looked a little shell shocked from all the information we'd stored away somewhere, we had a nice cup of tea and made our way to the Art Museum because the hostel said it was free on thursday evenings.  However upon reaching the museum, we found they don't have that offer anymore.  We were next to the Millennium Park so we took a stroll around there before heading back.  There was a really shiny peanut looking sculpture we played around with.

The next day we rented some bikes from the hostel and rode down Lake Michigan Lakefront for a few hours, cycling past the aquarium, the planetarium and a park dedicated to firefights and paramedics. The weather was gorgeous again.  Later that day we went back to the Art Institute of Chicago, which was really good.  I especially enjoyed looking at suits of armour, and the impressionists art.  We stayed well away from all the contemporary art this time :-)  On our way home we took a stroll around the Clarence Buckingham Fountain, which was something else.

Yesterday was our last day, and was a day of fun!  In the morning we had a look round the Zoo, which is free and was really good.  Nick got to see the penguins and I got to see some seals.  We also saw a really cute baby monkey.  After the zoo we went in search of Frank and Dawgs, a hot dog place recommended by the hostel.  The food there was amazing.  The place was run by an ex top chef, so the hot dogs were something else.  I had lamb hotdog with pistachios, greek yogurt, mint and pear chutney.  I really wanted to go on a boat when we were here, so we walked back to Navy Pier, but the boat I wanted to go on (looked like a pirate ship) was away until monday which was a real blow.  So Nick bought us an icecream and we took the River Taxi as our boat trip here.  The weather had been amazing with the sun out, however, it suddenly got very dark and everyone started rushing around.  Next minute, the heavens opened and there was a huge thunder and lightning storm.  We sheltered under an umbrella by the river, which was really romantic, even if we were soaking wet.  After the storm had passed, we headed up Michigan Avenue to the Drake Hotel for afternoon tea.  It was soooo posh, but lovely.  We so weren't hungry, but there was scones, banana bread, sandwiches and mini cakes to be had :-)  Later that evening after sharing dinner after all the food we'd eaten that day, we headed to Kingston Mines, a blues bar close to our hostel.  The atmosphere in here was brilliant, and Nick and I even got up to dance after a few more beers.  All in all, yesterday was a very fun day!

We really loved it here in Chicago, the weather has been great, our hostel is in a safe neighbourhood, and everywhere there seems to be something to do.  The areas we have been to are obviously wealthy, because everywhere is green, there's loads of random sculptures all over, and buildings look shiny and new.  I'd definitely come back here to see more, because there was no way we could try and do everything in such a short space of time.