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anneintoronto
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« on: 30-Aug-10, 02:02:39 AM » |
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I am remiss in not posting this, the second part of my vacation, earlier, but I've been trying to find my camera, which had all my Chicago photographs on it, so I could share them with you...with no luck. Ah well, these things happen and I have wonderful memories of my visit! And you can always Google "Chicago"!
I flew into Chicago's Midway Airport early last Monday evening and eventually, after a walking tour of the entire airport (...should have started off to my left instead of my right!), found the convenience bus, that would eventually delivered me to my hotel. And, that's where Chicago got its first point for being friendly, as, on my "de-busing", the driver gave me a lovely hug and welcomed me to his city! Don't be surprised - as I well know, any good city has its full share of great hugs available! And there was Dale, who I'd never met in person, also ready with a warm hug -- and this visit, too, started off beautifully.
The next two days are almost indescribable - we walked and walked and walked, despite the heat and humidity! I was shown all manner of extraordinary places - some officially on the map, many not. We did see the famous Sears Tower - from everywhere we walked and no closer! We saw tiny Button Quail scurrying around in the greenery, in the delightfully airy butterfly display - the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven, (a part of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum); the Millennium Park with its Crown Fountain spilling out unhampered, where I, naturally, got both feet soaked, shoes and all; Navy Pier late at night, with its crowds, milling around and up and over and its Chicago's Children Museum, with its phased, synchronized, little water fountains; the Art Institute of Chicago, with its own interesting and varied architecture, and much needed washroom (!); the extraordinary Baha'i House of Worship, an amazing structure, that was standing in the dark, but was starkly bright, lighted by an abundance of spotlights... We also wandered around the "well lived in" Chinatown, with its own extraordinary sights and smells, and enjoyed a delicious meal in a small restaurant - I even used chopsticks, which, as usual, defied this user and threatened to scissor cross at every lift! We rode the elevated rail lines and the subway rail lines (believe me, the rides were fast and furious!!) and the rattling, meandering buses... But mostly, we just walked and talked and took in a lot of parts that make Chicago...well, Chicago! We went down back alleys, through small parks, under noisy el tracks, beside fast expressways, along hot, crowded streets, with their prerequisite street people, who were, by the way, just as interesting and individual as their counterparts in Toronto and certainly worth listening to... Put all together, this place - Chicago - was amazing, extraordinary, big (just ask my feet!)! Definitely a large city of distinction!
So, that was the Chicago I saw, and I was very impressed! It certainly receives 10 points for friendliness, 10 points for cleanliness and 10 points for unlimited, interesting places to explore!
Anne C. (Toronto, ON Canada)
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