{"id":20185,"date":"2016-08-22T17:59:16","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T07:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=20185"},"modified":"2016-10-09T15:06:20","modified_gmt":"2016-10-09T05:06:20","slug":"blogs-from-america-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=20185","title":{"rendered":"Blogs From America – Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Watching USA vs Costa Rica in the Copa Centenario at Soldier Field, Chicago.<\/p><\/div>\nT<\/span>he next stop on our American summer vacation was a three day visit to Chicago, the Windy City!<\/p>\n

Chicago is the third most populous city in America and is a significant contributor to the cultural fabric of the nation. \u00a0It is the home of the Chicago White Sox, deep dish pizza, Soldier Field, Lake Michigan and the Sears Tower. \u00a0Oddly enough, Chicago’s crime and corruption are so notorious that they are effectively\u00a0a part of the city’s identity. \u00a0Their most famous mobster is of course the Prohibition-era crime lord Al Capone but even in modern times, the city hasn’t been able to shake their association with crime. \u00a0Chicago is currently the murder capital of America having more homicides than any other city. \u00a0Also four of the last seven<\/a><\/strong> governors of Chicago have gone to prison.<\/p>\n

Despite its reputation however, Jen and I were blown away by Chicago and it was one of our favourite destinations on our holiday. \u00a0The architecture in the city is a sight to behold. \u00a0I found myself enamoured with the city’s incredible skyscrapers and subsequently I picked up a copy of\u00a0Erik Larson’s bestseller The Devil In The White City<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>which goes into some detail explaining how the Chicago World’s Fair<\/a> and the Great Chicago Fire<\/a> of 1871 helped shape\u00a0the modern Chicago skyline and who these men were that designed the Chicago we know today.<\/p>\n

Chicago is also a very green city. \u00a0Some of the city’s biggest attractions – Soldier Field, The Field Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Shedd Aquarium – are all situated near Millenium\u00a0Park, a lush area of parkland that sits between downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan. \u00a0In the summer, you can see couples taking a stroll in the park, kids playing under water fountains and people generally having a good time. \u00a0It gives the city a relaxed and inviting sort of vibe.<\/p>\n

We only had a short amount of time in Chicago but thankfully, its a very easy city to get around. \u00a0Public transport is very convenient. \u00a0You can use the PayWave on your ATM card to tap and go on and off the L-train. \u00a0Also, a lot of the city’s attractions are in very close proximity to one another. \u00a0Even in three short days we had enough time to get through our list of attractions and still make time to go out for drinks at night and make some new friends!<\/p>\n

As we found to be the case with most other cities in America, the locals are very friendly and love\u00a0to have a chat. \u00a0Not unlike New York, I think Chicago natives have a reputation for being brash or outspoken\u00a0but we found them to be cheerful, generous and accommodating.<\/p>\n

City of Chicago<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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A selfie with Sue the T-Rex at the Field Museum, Chicago.<\/p><\/div>\n

Here’s what we got up to in Chicago. \u00a0Our first stop was Willis Tower<\/a><\/strong>, which I had always known by its original name – Sears Tower. \u00a0Completed in 1973, it is the second tallest building in America and the fourteenth largest in the world. \u00a0It’s a pretty good spot to start your visit to Chicago. \u00a0The view is incredible on a clear summers morning and it helps get your bearings for what is a pretty big cityscape.<\/p>\n

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Skydeck, Wills Tower.<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, if you’re visiting Willis Tower you’ll owe it to yourself to visit the Skydeck where you can stand in a glass container where you can see Chicago in all its glory, including the streets 108 stories below your feet! \u00a0As someone with a major fear of heights, it certainly got the heart racing.<\/p>\n

Our next stop was to make our way around the various exhibitions and museums in Chicago. \u00a0Let me tell you, they are all world class. \u00a0You can get a CityPass for $98 a head which gives you access to pretty much all of them.<\/p>\n

We started with the Art Institute of Chicago<\/a><\/strong> which is home to some of America’s most famous paintings include Night Hawks<\/a><\/strong> and American Gothic<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0The AIC has a vast and formidable range of exhibitions including African American, Impressionist, Expressionist, American Modernist and Iconic galleries. \u00a0I learned that American Gothic constituted part of a movement by conservative American painters who were alarmed by the industrial revolution and reacted against it by painting a series of works that idealised the rural lifestyle. \u00a0This particular exhibit<\/a><\/strong> actually had some of my favourite works that I saw that day. \u00a0Americans are really spoilt when it comes to art exhibits. \u00a0They have three incredible institutions – MOMA, the Guggenheim and the AIC – which collectively house some of the most important and influential art works of the last five hundred years. \u00a0We really have nothing that compares back home in Australia.<\/p>\n

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The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.<\/p><\/div>\n

Next up, we went to the Field Museum<\/a>. \u00a0<\/strong>As with the AIC, it is a very worthwhile experience and home to all sorts of amazing exhibits. \u00a0One of the special attractions that was showcased when we were there was the Terracotta Army\u00a0from China! \u00a0It was a very special treat to see first hand these incredibly crafted soldiers from 210BC, made to accompany the first Emperor of China into the afterlife.<\/p>\n

One of the permanent attractions at the Field Museum is Sue, the world’s largest and best preserved tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. \u00a0My inner ten year old was absolutely thrilled.<\/p>\n

After that, we went to see the\u00a0Shedd Aquarium<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0 Of all the places we went to in Chicago, I think this was the only one that didn’t totally blow me away. \u00a0I think part of it is that in Australia we have aquariums that are equal to the Shedd in terms of attractions and facilities whereas we have nothing to compare to the AIC and the Field Museum. \u00a0The other problem we had at the Shedd that we didn’t experience everywhere else was the crowds. \u00a0The line for the Shedd ran out of the building and was a couple of hundred people deep. \u00a0I say that as no exaggeration. \u00a0There was literally a line snaking all the way around the building just to get in. \u00a0We managed to skip the queue thanks to our CityPass but predictably, it was absolutely crowded inside.<\/p>\n

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The Field Museum, Chicago.<\/p><\/div>\n

One of our biggest regrets on our trip to Chicago was running out of time to properly explore the\u00a0Museum of Science and Industry.<\/strong> \u00a0There was all sorts of cool exhibits inside but unfortunately we saw almost none of it because the museum was coming up to closing time. \u00a0Mores the pity because it looked amazing.<\/p>\n

Wining and Dining<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Escabeche de Camaron served on alpacca wool at Next Restaurant, Chicago.<\/p><\/div>\n

We had a lot of plans for wining and dining in Chicago. \u00a0Some of our plans came together. \u00a0Some of them didn’t.<\/p>\n

One of the best loved culinary contributions to come out of Chicago is the deep dish pizza. \u00a0We asked a few locals (mostly our Uber drivers) where they would recommend. \u00a0A couple of people suggested\u00a0Gino’s East<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0So we went, we waited over an hour once we ordered (!) and were left slightly underwhelmed by what we got. \u00a0It certainly wasn’t bad but it didn’t exactly rock my world either. \u00a0Maybe I got them on a bad day. \u00a0Maybe I built it up too much in my head. \u00a0Or maybe New Yorkers are right and thin crust really is the way to go.<\/p>\n

Another thing that didn’t quite pan out the way that I’d hoped was a trip to Steak n Shake. \u00a0It was my favourite film critic Roger Ebert’s favourite burger chain and I can still remember how lovingly he described those burgers in his memoirs (see my blog post – American Burgers<\/a><\/strong>). \u00a0Unfortunately, none of the Steak n Shakes in Chicago are anywhere near the city. \u00a0I wasn’t prepared to shell out $20 to take an Uber into the middle of nowhere just to try one. \u00a0Fortunately for me, I would come across a Steak n Shake on my road trip through the American South. \u00a0You’ll read about that in another blog post.<\/p>\n

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Just before our trip to the States we saw the Netflix series<\/a><\/strong> Chef’s Table<\/em> dedicate an episode to Chicago restaurateur Grant Achatz. \u00a0Achatz is at the forefront of creative contemporary dining in America, a Trans Tasman counterpart to Heston Blummenthal. \u00a0He has four restaurants that each have a defining concept at their core:<\/p>\n