Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Chicago - the city of architecture

Rose and I drove down to Chicago on Sunday and arrived when the sun was setting. Having been so scared I was going to be cold - as it generally snows there this time of the year - we were pleasantly surprised we had to take a jumper off! First on our list for the afternoon was checking out Frank Lloyd Wright's art studio. Wright is a very famous architect and designed a bazillion houses and buildings in this area. Because it was kind of dark by the time we got to the address we'd found on the internet, we weren't 100% sure we'd found the correct house. (it was definitely his style, but then again, the entire neighbourhood looked like his style) His art studio is open during the day for visitors and is sort of a museum these days, so we thought we'd check it out a little closer. Although there were lights on inside, we still weren't sure if we'd found the right house. And when I saw a flat screen tv when looking through the window, I was sure we were trespassing on someone else's grounds... So we ran. Giggling.

We then drove into town and checked in at the local YH. As Rose had once lived in Chicago, the only thing I had to do was just follow the guide. Chicago by night was absolutely beautiful and the architecture was amazing. It's a city full of art. Not only are most buildings designed by very famous architects, there are random sculptures and art installations spread all over the city, and all for free. The most amazing one was something that looked like a giant reflective silver kidney bean. With the lights on everywhere and the fog hanging above the city to reflect the light in the air, it was quite spectacular.



Rose and I then walked to the second tallest building in Chicago and went up to the 95th floor where there's a mighty posh restaurant. As our overdraft limits don't allow for dinner near one of their windows, we went to the toilets which provides you with an even better view over the city. Having somebody with you who knows where to go is great!!

I couldn't leave Chicago without trying their famous pizza. It's big, it's thick, it's got a massive crust, it's yummy. And the one thing that helps me digest my food better is ice cream, so Rose took me to the biggest Rock-n-Roll McDonalds in the world for a McFlurry lookalike. (they were playing Jazz though - very suave!) Exhausted from all our sightseeing, I climbed in my bunk bed, put my ear plugs in - which are now as much part of my sleeping garment as my PJs are - and fell asleep like a log despite the ER metro trains racing past underneath our window.


Next day, we started off having pizza left-over breakfast in the park where a bunch of scary looking squirrels joined us. We spent the morning at the Chicago museum of Fine Arts and oh my, was I impressed! They have a superb collection of Impressionism painters and I also got to see a couple more Georgia O'Keeffe's. In the afternoon we managed - just about - to get on the architectural ferry trip around the city, where I was even further impressed with what this city has got to offer! If you like architecture, this place is like one big museum. The tour guide literally blew me away with her knowledge and the speed she produced all this information at, making me wonder if she automatically continues when she's asleep...

We finished off the day with a nice cup of tea and some shopping in Macy's department store and headed back to pick up our luggage. Rose dropped me off at the station where we said our goodbyes. Staying with Rose has been a wonderful and very entertaining experience and she's without doubt my favourite travel partner if she wishes to join me on the Trans-Siberian one day!! I really do hope she gets the position at Oxford University next year... Can't wait for more Rose-fun.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Volgens mij heb jij vanmorgen op mijne site gekeken ? :-)

Kurt

Lotte said...

Nope. En nu ben ik heel curieus... En zeker nu ik de naam van uwe website (nog maar eens!) vergeten ben! ;-) Kga u on mijne lijst moeten zetten!!

SarahVdc said...

Als ge uw woestijnen beع moest zijn, moogt ge ze altijd wel eens even ruilen voor 20cm sneeuw en -12, hoor. 'T is maar een voorstel...
Trouwens, in janari naar Siberie reizen is onmogelijk volgens de Russen, aangezien de spoorwegen dan zo goed als lam liggen en pas in Maart terug normaal functioneren. Da wilt dus zeggen da gij zo rap mogelijk die hele Engelse bende aan het werk moet zetten => uitnodigingen (daar kan ik jullie van hieruit bij helpen), visa, tickets, … Want voor’t geval ge het nog ni wist: Nieuwjaar wordt dit jaar op een ondersneeuwd Rode Plein gevierd!!!