Chicago, IL, USA

The final stop in my trip was Chicago.  Now, if you have been paying attention on this blog you will know that (a) I had been there before and (b) I am not in the habit of going places twice.  I first went to Chicago as the first stop on my Route 66 trip which gave me only little over a day there.  Since then I have always had a desire to go back and explore the city some more, so that's what I decided to do.

 

It seems that it is festival season in Chicago at the moment, particularly in Grant Park.  The weekend before I arrived there was apparently a book festival, and the weekend after I left an art one (either of which would have been great for me!)  However, the weekend I was there was the Chicago Blues Festival.  Now, the blues is not necessarily my choice of music, but as it was free I thought I would go along for a bit.  Weather conditions meant that it wasn't ideal - heavy rain the night before meant that the ground was flooded, but the sun had come out meaning it was the hottest it had been (and there was limited shade).  As such I didn't stay too long, but with 4 different stages there was certainly a lot going on.

 

There was, though, an arts festival on for me to visit.  The Old Town art festival had 250 stands, with artists selling work from all over the US.  As ever at such fairs there was a huge variety of styles on display - all for sale but the risk in transporting it back to the UK meant I held back on purchasing!  There was also live music, including an impressive band (the Harris family band) who were all 18 or under.

 

Part of the reason for going back to Chicago was to get out and about a bit more.  Next to Old Town was Lincoln Park, home of Chicago's Zoo which is apparently the largest free zoo in the world (or America, or somewhere!).  Zoo's aren't necessarily high on my list of places to visit, but as it was near and free it was fun to have a look around.  It is situated next to the Lincoln Park Conservatory - a big glasshouse of tropical plants.  The next day I went out to the Oak Park district of Chicago to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright house.  This was the first house he lived in when he got married.  He built it himself (obviously being a new architect paid well in those days) and over the years added to it as he tried out new styles and ways of working.  You can only visit it in tours (of limited numbers),  but it is obviously popular as the tour I was on was at its maximum even on a wet Monday.

 

The weather was a bit hit and miss over the trip, with some heavy rain during my time in Chicago (and some other days that were either cloudy or chilly).  However, I picked the right day to visit the Skydeck viewing platform.  Last time I was in Chicago I went up the 360 Chicago at the John Hancock Centre but this time I went to Chicago's highest building.  Whilst it was relatively unpublicised I got a day/night ticket which meant I could also go back at sunset (fortunately the weather stayed good all day!).  Like the tower in Toronto, the Skydeck had a glass-floored area, this time as small pods which were on the side of the building.  These were very popular, with queues of people usually waiting to go on them.  With the height of the building you can see a long way, and it was especially impressive to see the city lit up at night.

 

The Skydeck wasn't the only place with an odd ticketing policy.  A number of big tourist attractions had "headline" ticket prices that were quite expensive (around $30) which included shows and the suchlike, whereas you could actually visit the main bulk of the attraction for a lot less.  A good example of this was the Shedd aquarium which I visited for only $8 despite them pushing main options at $30.95 and $35.95!  I wonder how many people this puts off...

 

It was also notable that last time I lucked into a number of "free admission" days at attractions, whereas this time they appeared to be a lot more limited to locals, rather than general tourists. 

 

Being me, I visited a number of different art galleries and exhibitions during my time in the city.  Some smaller places that I hadn't visited before included the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Architecture Centre, the gallery at the Water Tower, the Loyola Gallery (which focused on religious art), the Spertus Gallery and Illinois Gallery.  I also revisited the Cultural Centre and the Museum of Contemporary Art, both of which had new exhibitions from when I last visited.  In the case of the Museum of Contemporary Art there was more to see last time I was there, with a lot of the displays this time being video art (which is always tricky as you come in half way through).  At the Cultural Centre however there was a good display about advertising focusing on Valmor products which made all sorts of claims over the years!  On my last morning I also went back to the Art Institute of Chicago (apparently voted on Trip Advisor the world's greatest museum).  A lot to see there as ever, including special displays on Irish art, but I think in terms of "world's greatest" the Detroit Institute of Art really shows what can be done in presenting and explaining art.

I also went to a number of museums.  With my liking for slightly odd museums I visited the International Museum of Surgical Science (which was particularly odd where it had a room on Taiwan).  I also went to the Chicago History Museum, which was well presented and the Harold Washington Library, which also included some interesting  displays (not least on the man it is named after).

 

In getting out and about I also road some more on the "L" - Chicago's local train system.  Unlike in most cities this isn't underground - it is in fact elevated both in the centre of the city and out in the suburbs.  This means that at street level you have roads covered with a scaffolding-like set-up which is now obviously a part of Chicago, but you do wonder how any city would react if someone proposed adding it today...

 

The L wasn't the only method of transport I used.  I took a ferry trip across the bay, which was a good way of taking a different look at the city.  It also took me to the Navy Pier, where I found that there were evening fireworks (that evening!) which made for an unexpected treat.  And, as ever, I did a lot of walking round the city, looking at (and in) buildings and exploring the place.

 

All in all, it was good to go back and look more at Chicago (if a little expensive - hotels particularly aren't cheap!).  The whole trip has been busy with lots to see and do - it certainly felt like more than a fortnight (in a good way) and even the occasional rain did not put a dampener on things.  Now, where to next?