The Windy City

Chicago is huge and sprawling and awesome.

We flew into Chicago, eventually arriving in Greektown, where we were staying. Greektown is exactly what you imagine, and as far as I am aware, pretty unique. I've never known of a Greektown before (please do let me know) Another tidbit; Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw.

So, naturally, we had pizza for dinner that evening.

Famous Giadano's stuffed, deep dish pizza. Kind of a pizza pie. All of those things. And it was AMAZING.

Chicago's centre is really stunning, wide streets and skyscrapers, with the metro train two storeys up on old iron structures, winding through the streets above your head. It's a Metropolis and Gotham City. No wonder so many films are shot here.

We started our morning with an architecture boat tour, which was incredible. A very interesting architectural history has resulted in over 100 years of skyscraper buildings in many styles all lining the waterfront of the river and Lake Michigan. (which is mind-bogglingly HUGE, by the way)

We walked Chicago's magnificent mile, then visited the Hancock Tower. A very tall block with incredible views over the city and lake, and the air and boat show that just happened to be occurring during our visit.

Next, the Chicago Institute of Art, which has an amazing collection, and is somewhere I've always wanted to go.

On the recommendation of a cab driver we tried 'Chicago Mix' popcorn, mixing cheese and caramel popcorns together. It was...interesting. Nice for a handful, but really rich.

As Chicago is the place for blues, we hit up Buddy Guy's, Buddy's own blues bar serving up live music and soul food. The best act by far was Tommy McCracken, a guy that looked like a hobo Elvis, but sounded fantastic. He was in his 70s, and put all his passion and energy into a mreally memorable performance. Astounding!

Next day the fog had rolled into town for day, making the city very eerie, as all the skyscrapers disappeared above the 20th floor. Suddenly it seemed like a ghost town. We thought this would be a good day to go up the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) which was tallest in the USA for 23 years. Up on the 103rd floor, visibility was zero, but still really cool, everything was bright white. Here the have a glass box jutting out, which on a clear day would mean you see the street beneath your feet, through athree sheets of glass, over a hundred storeys below. SCARY STUFF. In the fog, it wasn't much less scary, as you could see the side of the building disappearing below you into cloud, accentuating the feeling of being just too high up.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the pretty parks, and visiting the Field Museum (Natural History and History) and the Shedd Aquarium.

Something to note in the US so far is the quality of the museums. They have consistently had the largest, most varied, quality collections, all curated to a high standard. A lot of money gets poured into these places, resulting in some great experiences. Although it gets confusing to navigate, as instead of areas being labelled logically, they are given names of private donors and companies that have invested their money. An upside of capitalism, I suppose.

We finished of our stay in Greektown with an "oopa!" by having dinner at a Greek place downtown. Really fun and tasty, but avoid Greek wine, friends.