This is a combination of my 2006 and 2007 trips to Chicago.

Touristy stuff downtown

Chicago is a smaller city than NY, the central district (everything inside the Loop) is walkable. Even outside the Loop, like up on Michigan and Navy Pier, it’s walkable.

I travelled a lot on public transport in Chicago — Metra and CTA. But like a good tourist I also took the hop-on, hop-off trolleybus, which is okay value at $25 for a day.

The bus does a loop, from the Tribune building up Michigan Avenue, the central district, theatre district, museum campus and back up the lakeshore towards Navy Pier.

One of the most important landmarks is Sears Tower. There was a short video show about the history and its statistics, which was surprisingly informative. It was a hazy day so once we got up to the observation deck we could only see a part of the view. I can see how the skyline could look on a good day. I like Chicago’s architecture, it’s really beautiful, more than New York. I took this photo at a crossroad, looking straight up. I like it, it’s got an interesting perspective.

Everywhere is walkable. The skyline was impressive. I like the buildings in Chicago more than the ones in New York. There is a uniformity, yet artistry to them. New York skyscrapers all scream out or attention; the ones in Chicago are just there, laid back allowing people to enjoy. Even the sculptures are cool.

From Sears Tower we walked to Millenium Park. It’s really pretty. The big attraction are the unusual sculptures. The reflective bean was interesting, but I also had fun at the Crown Fountain where people could walk on the shallow pool between the two screens. Another fun thing about Millenium Park is the security guards moved around on segways. How sophisticated.

In the same area as Millenium Park are the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Art Institute. I browsed around at the CSO shop. Heh, didn’t realise Daniel Barenboim is a big shot there. I’m old enough, and like classical music enough, to remember Jacqueline du Pré’s death. Now I realise why the street outside the CSO is named after Sir Georg Solti. So when Barenboim leaves they’ll name another city landmark after him I expect.

Across the road from the CSO shop is the Art Institute. For $12 I got easily one of the most extensive collections of impressionists I’ve seen … though it doesn’t say much I’m not a regular museum-goer. I happily wandered around, it’s a cool museum.

Touristy stuff on the lake

The architectural cruise along the river and the lake was very impressive. The commentary was just right, information yet not intrusive. Lots of information about the buildings along the river, the skyline and the lake.

I visited Navy Pier both times. Can’t say I’m overly impressed — it’s nice enough to spend a couple of hours, with good restaurants, a killer view of the shore and lake, and some amusements. Not sorry I visited.

Federal Reserve

Visited the Federal Reserve of Chicago. There was a presentation on what they did (control the money supply etc) and we had time to walk around the exhibits. There was a big cube filled with $1m worth of $1 notes. A smaller dome of the same amount but in $20(?) and a briefcase of $100 notes. We were also given bundles of shredded money, a small roll turned out to be worth thousands of dollars.

Food

Since I stayed with Car on my visits, it’s always delicious home-cooked meals. But even going out to eat was great. Had lunch at a deli called Potbelly. Now I don’t know if it was our English or that of the servers but it was really difficult to order. We basically wanted salads. So we walked up to the counter and ordered 3 salads. Shuffled forward to the middle section of the counter and they asked us for our order again. It was confusing. We think they asked us what we wanted on our food, ie what toppings / dressings, but it wasn’t clear. We ended up with 2 salads (correct) but mine got switched to a sandwich. Sigh. It was a good sandwich anyway. We also had milkshakes and they were very good.

Another highlight was lunch at Bubba Gump at Navy Pier. Shrimps and margaritas, what else do we need?

Our usual hanging out place is Miller’s Pub, an Irish pub that serves good food and lots of types of beer. I was lucky enough to be in Chicago for St Patrick’s Day and the atmosphere was definitely very Irish. Another memorable meal was the steak and king crab we had at Lone Star — a Texas steakhouse in the suburbs.

Shops

I walked outside the famous Marshall Fields but no time to go inside. Apparently people in Chicago are outraged that Macy’s bought it and renamed. They feel that they’ve lost a big name. I sympathetise, it’s like bhs buying Selfridge’s and renaming it I suppose.

The main shopping strip is Michigan Ave, otherwise known as the Magnificent Mile. There were designer shops and department stores but honestly, once you’ve seen dozens of Tiffany’s or Burberrys you’ve seen them all. I had to go there of course, because of the Apple Store. Oh, and the bookstores! Sigh.

Wicked

One of the highlights of any Chicago visit is to see Wicked. I was also privileged enough to get a short backstage tour. Oh wow, it was a wonderful show! Simply fantastic. Better than Phantom. Better than Les Miserables. I want to see it in NY, in London.

How does Chicago compare with other US cities? Definitely very pleasant to live and move about it. Residents complain about the CTA, but it’s no worse than any other large metropolitan train system. House prices are relatively cheap. Weather can get extreme yes. At the end of the day, I’ll probably choose San Francisco because of the weather, the ocean and the cultural diverseness; but Chicago is not far behind. Heh, I speak like I’m an expert, but I’ve only really visited a few cities, so it’s not a fair comparison.