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We'd been looking forward to visiting Chicago ever since trekking into the mountains at Chiang Mai all those months ago, when a pair of eager Chicagoans had raved about the place. "There's so much to see, a great atmosphere and lots of music festivals," they told us, and that's exactly what we found.
We found Steve very easily, waiting in the lobby of the UBS Tower where he works. It was maybe his still very broad Essex accent that gave him away. We were then met by Sarah, and we all enjoyed lunch, before they both headed back to work and we headed to bed at their place after another long overnight bus journey.
That evening, feeling refreshed and revived, Steve & Sarah took us on a quick tour of the city, which stood to whet our appetites for our exploration the following day and also for Sarah's fantastic BBQ chicken, which we enjoyed on our return.
Our first full day in Chicago started with a much needed lie in, before navigating our way downtown on the bus. Fortunately, we found ourselves right outside the Hancock Building, which with its dark and intimidating facade, began our hunt for buildings that had probably appeared in the recent Batman films. However, before we could begin, it was necessary to stock up on fuel at the nearby Cheesecake Factory.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent meandering through the crowds on Michigan Avenue, whilst admiring the fantastic and varied architecture on show. One minute we were marvelling at the fascinating gothic frontage of the Tribune Building, and the next we were mesmorised, along with everyone else, by the reflecting skyline in The Bean, in Millenium Park. We could've spent hours gazing at the various formations of the buildings in the glistening mirrored structure, as it seemed many tourists did, but we were expected back home to sample one of the many music festivals we'd heard so much about. Before that though, there was just enough time to try a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.
The Deep Dish Pizza is an institution in Chicago, and for those of you thinking it must be similar to a deep pan pizza, you're very much mistaken. Luckily we'd ordered small pizzas as the normal sized ones looked big enough to feed a family, as they're more similar to pies than pizzas, being so thick and so full of filling. Definitely worth trying, but certainly not something you could be eating on a regular basis.
That evening, the four of us, along with Sarah's friend Rob, headed out to the first night of Pitchfork Festival. Apparently it's one of Chicago's smaller festivals but it was still full of people readily purchasing drink vouchers in order get hold of some beer. We enjoyed the evening sun and the beer, whilst vaguely listening to the rock band on stage. We had to wait a couple of hours though for the main event in the form of Public Enemy, who some of you may remember from the 80s and 90s. It seems we were slightly too young to know any of the songs but that didn't mean we couldn't 'fight the power' along with everybody else. All in all, it was a great evening and only stood to earn Chicago yet more brownie points.
Steve & Sarah had highly recommended the Architectural Boat Cruise and the high calibre of architecture on display meant that it didn't disappoint, and better still the weather stayed nice even though it had been threatening to rain. Our very knowledgeable tour guide gave us plenty of information on all the buildings along the river bank, so that by the end we were able to distinguish between an art deco offering and a post modernist masterpiece. I was also able to get experimental with the camera and went black & white for the first time on the trip.
As happens so often on this trip, by the time it came to catch our bus we felt as if we hadn't seen all that Chicago has to offer, although thanks to our excellent hosts we'd gotten a more authentic experience than in many cities, and were able to finish off with delicious cocktails in one of Chicago's salubrious but hidden bars, no Brad Pitt on offer though!
Rosa
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