The Chicago Experience

I spent one week in Chicagoland, so in the following days I will be writing a couple posts about my misadventures in the windy city. Home of the Chicago Cubs based on the mystic and historic Wrigley Field, an amazing downtown skyline considered one of the world’s tallest and most dense, with iconic buildings as the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), the John Hancock Center and the Trump International Hotel and Tower, some of the best restaurants and home of the deep dish pizza style, and finally with a vibrant night life with Jazz clubs and indie bands playing in different clubs, all these make the City of Big Shoulders one of the most exiting places I have ever been.

Chicago skyline

If you want to stay in the middle of the action, don’t hesitate and book any hotel inside the Loop, you can go shopping in Michigan Avenue which will be the American version of Oxford Street. Admire the architecture of the city centre, with buildings like Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, the historic Water Tower, or maybe get a look at the city from the Willis Tower or the John Hancock Observatory.

Anish Kapoor Cloud Gate

You can relax and have a stroll in the lakefront trail, enjoy some of the beaches around the Lake Michigan, or have fun in the Navy Pier. Also you can enjoy a jog as I did in Millennium Park, and stop to admire the Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, the Jay Pritzker Pavillion, see how little kids have fun in the Crown Fountain, and the Buckingham Fountain.

Navy Pier

If you’re a sport fan, you must go to the Wrigley Field for a Cubs game in Lakeview at the north of the city, one of the oldest ballparks built in 1915 and home of the Cubs since 1916. Also you can try the White Sox down south to the Cellular Field (formerly Comiskey Park). But if you’re into basketball you might be able to go to the United Center for a Bulls match, and finally if you’re more into American Football your destination is the Soldier Fields for a Bears game.

Wrigley Field

Think no more and give a chance to Chicago to enjoy an amazing skyline, great jazz clubs, succulent meals in top restaurants, vast variety of sport events, or a quite stroll in the navy pier or the millennium park.

Water Tower

The first thing that comes to my mind about Chicago is the Seinfeld episode "The Limo" where Jerry and George take a limo that was waiting for O’Brien.

Jerry: Sorry, the flight was delayed, how long have you been waiting?

George: I just got here. My car broke down on the Belt Parkway.

Jerry, Oh I can't believe, why don't you get rid of that piece of junk.

George: One mile from the exit it starts shaking, really violently shaking,
like it's having a nervous breakdown. It completely stopped dead.

Jerry: So you have no car?

George: No.

Jerry: So what good are you?

Jerry looks over towards a chauffeur holding a sign that says O'BRIEN

Jerry: I'll tell you one thing, this chauffeur's gonna be waiting a while,
O'Brien's not showing up.

George: How do you know?

Jerry: He was in Chicago, the flight was overbooked, wouldn't let him on the
plane. He kept screaming how he had to get to Madison Square Garden.

George: We should take his limo.

Jerry: Yeah, right.

George: Wait a second. Think about it. He's not showing up. Wait till you
see the line of cabs, its like forty-five minutes long. You said he's in
Chicago.

Jerry: He's definitely in Chicago.

George: Well the guy's just standing there.

Jerry: How would we do it?

George: We just go up to him, we say, "We're O'Brien."

Jerry: Maybe he knows O'Brien?

George: No, he doesn't know O'Brien, if he knew O'Brien he wouldn't have a
sign. Let's just do it.

Jerry: What if we get caught?

George: What's gonna happen? They can't kill us.

Jerry: Who's gonna be O'Brien?

George: I'll be O'Brien.

Jerry: Who am I?

George: You're you.

Jerry: Just me?

George: Yeah.

Jerry: Okay.

George: What, you don't want to be you?

Jerry: Well if you're gonna be O'Brien, why can't I be somebody?

George: Like who?

Jerry: Dylan Murphy.

George mumbles something.

Jerry: What, now you wanna be Dylan Murphy?

George: Well I like Dylan.

Jerry: You could be Colin.

George: Colin O'Brien.

Jerry: I'm Dylan Murphy.

George: I'm Colin O'Brien.