I just visited Chicago for the first time, and I really loved it! It has beautiful architecture, great food, friendly people, and it's both drivable and walkable, depending on your needs. Here's how I spent twenty-four hours there. By the way, it was a beautiful August day, with unusually mild weather. I hear it can get quite steamy, windy, icy, sticky, slick, sultry, cold, or hot. Check the local weather before you go. |
Eat at Giordano’s. You can get some serious deep dish pizza, a salad, and drinks, for a reasonable price. The waitress brought my teenager free Shirley Temples. Everybody wins!
There are fountains, paths, trees. It's a lovely place!
I saw the Impressionists first, then found Georgia O’Keefe. Then I wandered around.
Take the Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture Boat Tour! Why? First of all, I love a good boat tour. There's just something relaxing about being on the water, away from crowds, looking at the beautiful city scape. Second, this is a really good tour. It covers mainly architecture, but that clues you in on the history and culture of the place.
Fun fact: when Chicago realized she’d polluted the river which was polluting her drinking water in Lake Michigan, she REVERSED THE RIVER so that it flowed somewhere else. Ta-da! Clean drinking water! (Sorry about the mess, St. Louis.)
If you don't care about architecture or history, there's a full bar on the boat. To each his own.
After the tour, walk along Lakeshore Drive. Fresh air, sunshine, plenty of photo ops. Maybe get a cool drink.
We had dinner at Minghin Chinese Restaurant. It's downtown, delicious, and climate-controlled.
Nice meeting you, Chicago! I’ll be back!
What would you do with 24 hours in Chicago? Favorite restaurant? Shopping? Concert? Sporting event? Let me hear from you!
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