Sometimes you've just got to grab life by the horns and travel 1,154 miles to the other end of the country for a day. Not an overnight stay, but a get-up-at-3am-and-get-back-home-at-midnight kind of day. That's one of the great things about this country: you can jump on a plane pretty much how you would catch a bus and if you're lucky enough, you can get some seriously cheap flights. Once our $100 return flights were booked, we got on full planning mood on how to make our 10 or so hours in the Windy City a productive one. First and foremost though, we had to go on the hunt for a winter coat! We left behind 25*C weather to a balmy 6*C (and Chicago was going through something of a warm spell...it could have been -10*C)!
We got up very early after finishing at late shift at work and boarded our 6am flight with just a backpack and camera in toe. It was quite refreshing to pack so light to be honest, we knew we weren't going to have to waste previous time waiting on our checked luggage and we skipped off our flight into the much fresher air of Illinois.
As soon as we got into the heart of Chicago, I was immediately blown away by the architecture and the look of the city. Super high skyscrapers that looked straight out of the movies! We first headed down to Millennium Park to see the famous Bean, take the obligatory selfies and enjoy the humidity free air! As I said, I really couldn't believe how pretty the high-rises were and how striking the modern almost mirror-like buildings were next some of the older buildings.
Chicago sits next to Lake Michigan and it's only when you can't see the other side of the lake that you can really begin to comprehend the size. For me, I'd never seen a lake that was much bigger than a pond... Lake Michigan could have been the ocean! We then strolled along Chicago's Magnificent Mile, which is a large strip of fairly upscale shops (think Tiffany's and Cartier) and before we knew it, it was lunchtime and then meant a stop in Cheesecake Factory at the bottom of the John Hancock Tower.
Once lunch had settled, it was time to begin conquering my fears and ascend the 100 story high building. At the top of the tower, you can see a 360* view of the city and if you're brave enough, you can do the TILT experience which tilts you 30* out across the city (not for me, thank you). The top of the tower has loads of different computers and interactive features which help you pick out different buildings and landmarks across the Chicago skyline. It's one of the must-dos when in Chicago and I'm so glad we did it!
We did a bit more exploring on foot and wandered around the streets. As I said about Savannah, I really do believe walking around a city is the best way to get a feel for it and although we only saw a fraction of what the city has to offer, we were able to understand why it's the US's third city. We ventured out onto the Navy Pier which was eerily quiet and all closed up. It makes sense since we visited in February but it was strange to have nothing at all open. However, it was still a nice walk in the brisk air.
After all that walking, it was nearly time to head back to the airport to catch our flight! We leisurely strolled back, taking in a bit more of the atmosphere and finally headed back to Orlando. I thoroughly enjoyed our whistle-stop tour of this amazing city and it has definitely made me want to spend more time there at some point in the future to explore the museums, galleries and soaking up some of the music scene.
It was great to see another side to the States - this time a busy, business focused place that's so different from Orlando. Until our next adventure...!
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