Chicago '16

My mission to update my blog every week has failed when I did not have any update during the past weeks. If you followed my social platforms, you would have known that I went to Chicago during the past weekend. I don’t think I should bring my MacBook along; hence, no update for the past week. On this week’s post, I will then share with you everything that happened in the Windy City, Chicago.

As it was a long weekend, we actually made a very last minute plan to travel to Chicago. We booked our flight and hotel on Tuesday and flew to Chicago on Saturday morning. It was 3 days 2 nights of trip, but it was a really short gateway as our flight to Chicago was about 7 hours and the time difference between San Francisco and Chicago is 2-hour, so we touched down Chicago airport around 5pm. We then requested for Uber to send us back to hotel before heading to the nearest restaurant to have our dinner. After having our dinner, we loitered around to explore some tourist attractions, which were a stone threw away from our hotel.

We first dropped by Grant Park to enjoy the night view of Chicago. Grant Park is basically the principal downtown park of Chicago, which is situated between Michigan Avenue and Lake Michigan. While we were walking around the park, we came across plenty of monuments, fountains and statues. The main attraction in Grant Park especially during the nighttime is the captivating Clarence Buckingham Fountain. This fountain was specially built by Kate Buckingham to honor her late brother, Clarence. During the night, the fountain is animated with computerized choreography of colorful spotlights and spouting water.

After spending about an hour at there, we were totally exhausted and we decided to return back to our hotel and rest earlier. When I was really tired and needed sleep so badly, somebody was being so inconsiderate and snored like how a pig snores! It was really annoyed and pissed but I just could not do anything. At the end, I could only sleep for 2 hours before the alarm even rang. It was totally a nightmare and I swear it would be the last time to encounter this situation.

The next day, it was a tourist kind of day. We woke up before the sun even rise. We prepared ourselves and walked to the trademark of Chicago, Willis Tower. Before reaching our first destination, we also passed by the famous art museum, The Art Institute of Chicago. We did not drop by the museum because we were not interested with any museum related destinations. Due to the Labor Day weekend, Skydeck Chicago was opened an hour earlier than normal days. We were lucky enough that we did not have to queue up to enjoy the picturesque view of Chicago. With its signature black aluminum and bronze-tinted glare-reducing glass, it was once nominated as the world tallest building. The innovative design and graceful styling are indeed a perfect treat for my eyes to start off my day in Chicago.

We spent about 2-hour at Willis Tower before heading to another main tourist destinations of Chicago, Millennium Park. Millennium Park becomes an iconic draw for visitors and locals to enjoy the magnificent view of natures, landscapes and architectures. The unique habitats, picturesque architectures, and awe-inspiring landscapes indeed offer great opportunities for recreation and relaxation.

A highlight and main destination of Millennium Park is undoubtedly the so-called “Cloud Gate,” which has become a tourist hot spot and is the perfect place to take vacation snapshots. This 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates that capable to reflect Chicago’s famous skyline. This bean shape sculpture allowed visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from different perspectives. Due to the scorching hot weather, we spent less than an hour at there before grabbing our brunch at one of the famous brunch spots, Yolk.

After having our brunch, we paid a visit to Trump Tower. This lofty building is situated across the Chicago River from the city’s business district, Chicago Loop. It is just a block away from the southern end of the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue.

We continued our journey to Chinatown of Chicago by taking water taxi at Michigan Avenue. The tickets cost us $10 each. There was nothing much to do in Chinatown besides exploring some of the Chinese cultures. After Chinatown, we dropped by Navy Pier because many people always say that you wouldn’t truly experience Chicago without a trip to Navy Pier. Personally, Navy Pier is kind of boring because this is a place, which is more appropriate for children. It’s a playground of entertainment, museums, activities, restaurants and shops that is more suitable for families to spend some bonding times.

Before ending our Chicago trip, we had our last meals in Chicago at one of the well-known Chinese Restaurant, Minghin Cuisine. This restaurant served variety of Chinese foods that included the mandatory Dim Sum. The foods were really sumptuous and mouthwatering. I will surely pay a visit to this restaurant if I happened to visit Chicago for the next time. While walking back to our hotel after dinner, we also stopped by several shops to grab some souvenirs because our flights back to San Francisco on the next day were early in the morning.

Overall, Chicago is a nice city that is almost similar to New York City in terms of architectural and landscape. While New York is always in hustle and bustle phenomena, Chicago is slightly less busy but it is still a swarming city. I will definitely recommend you to visit Chicago at least once in your lifetime.