For how much of my life I spent going to Michigan, one might have expected that I had (at some point) taken a side trip to Illinois to see one of the most famous cities on the Great Lakes. After all, it’s not that far from the Mitten State and both my parents often traveled there for one reason or another.
So it might surprise some of you, that this was my first trip to Chicago.
It also might surprise some of you, that I loved it.
Technically, my trip to the Windy City was a work trip. During the first weekend of June, the Chicago convention center is turned into basically Disneyland for Oncologist (minus the rides). I was there working at an information booth in the East Building pretty much all day. I got there at 6:30AM CT and didn’t leave until approximately 6:30PM CT, except for one day where I had a couple of receptions.
That meant that I only had a couple of hours each evening to explore the city.
And I did not waste them.
My hotel was close to Navy Pier, the River Walk, and Millenium Park. I had a great view of the Navy Pier and Lake Michigan from my room. Since it’s summer, the sun stayed up lake enough for me to enjoy the sunsets. It only rained one day.
Truthfully, I barely got a taste of Chicago.
I didn’t have an opportunity to go to any museums, see the aquarium, or take that famous river architecture cruise that everyone at work jokes about (there are multiple types). However, I made it a priority to enjoy my time, see some of the sites, and try the great food famous offerings.
From my understanding, Chicago is famous for three things: the prohibition mob, the unique architecture, and the food.
I decided to focus on the food and ended up trying my first authentic deep dish pizza (apparently I did right to get it at the Giordano’s on the Navy Pier), my first Chicago hot dog (Detroit Coney dogs are still better, but it was worth the try), and spent an evening at The Dearborn (one of the chef’s is a guy who beat Bobby Flay on Food Network).
In my quest to try all this food, I also took the opportunity to enjoy the local street art, which included the architecture. I caught a glimpse of The Bean (yes, I know that’s not it’s real name; no, I will not call it the proper name because the artist is a massive d*ck). The Blue Cross Blue Shield building had lights lit up that said #ENDALZ (end Alzheimer). The river walk has tons of art displays - some of which are actually play areas for kids. I especially loved the play area in the park behind Millenium park. Each play area was incredibly sensory stimulating, physically challenging (I only walked over a shaky bridge because I’m well over the age of 12, but my inner child was so happy), and incredibly well taken care of. I wish we had more of them in other cities.
Navy Pier was my first stop. That evening, I had the longest amount of time to go out and explore and I could easily see the famous pier from my hotel. Though I didn’t go up to the area with the rides, I did enjoy walking around the area. There’s a combination of indoor and outdoor spaces available to walk around with a Children’s Museum, hotel, shops, and restaurants to go with the ride area. It reminded me a lot of boardwalks along the New Jersey coast, specifically the piers in Wildwood and Ocean City. The only thing that threw me off was the smell. Instead of the salty sea air, it was the scent of city mixed with fresh water of the second largest Great Lake. It wasn’t a bad smell, just different.
There’s still a lot I need to explore in Chicago, so I know I’ll be back (especially since my sister also loves the city and wants to visit during the Christmas markets). I really want to see the art museum and aquarium, and I have to take a ghost tour. I’d also like to see a comedy show or a recording for NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”. And apparently that architecture cruise is well worth the money.
So there’s only one question that remains.
Is Chicago deep dish pizza better than the famous New York slice?
No, they are both great for different reasons. The truly best slice of pizza (at least in the United States) is Jersey Shore Boardwalk pizza. It’s the oregano, trust me.
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Until next week.
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