Chi-ca-GO

The long awaited trip to Chicago is finally coming true. After weeks of researching at the library, I swear I could remember the street names, attractions and ever bus routes without the help of a guide book.

At check-in, we volunteered to get bumped off the flight. (Think travel compensation coupons :p) As they paged for passenger Bui and Leong to the counter and we were like so excited. Guess what? They told us that we have been upgraded to 1^st class! Not thrilled. This is like swapping $100 bucks for a $15 meal and a little more comfort on board a plane that looked like it was stuck in the 1970’s. There was however, this overly excited lady who could not stop chattering about her free upgrade thing. *Shakes head*

The O’Hare airport is like my fav airport thus far. Huge, lots of shops, nicely decorated, plenty of natural light and direct cheap $2.25 24 hours train connection to the city!

Walking from the subway to the hotel was torturous. Thanks to the steep slope and the huge 70 over pounds luggage. Got ourselves a room at the 18^th floor of Hyatt Regency with a magnificent view of the magnificent mile across the Chicago river.

After a refreshing shower, we quickly head out to explore the famous Millenium Park. To our disappointment, the free outdoor concert ended by the time we reached the Pritzker Pavilion. Guess we spent too much time before looking in vain for the famous Giordano’s.

Decided to just explore around the park and come back for another concert the next day as our hotel is just a short 10 minutes walk away from the park. This is by far the safest park in downtown USofA that I have ever seen. Lots of people even at 9pm at night. No junkies, no homeless, no drug addicts. The reflective Cloud Gate structure or more famously known as the Bean is like a perfect photo spot. I could not say the same for the BP Bridge though.

As the sun began to set, we made our way south towards Grant Park. John was freaking out about roaming around the park at night. Talk about being too accustomed to the danger of LA parks. :p The long walk south was finally rewarded with the colorful lights and soothing sounds of splashing water from the Buckingham Fountain.

Although the quality of the much raved about Bobtail Soda Fountain ice cream fell short of my expectation, the breathtaking view of the fountain with the beautiful city skyline as the backdrop make the long walk here worthwhile. Oh and we got to catch the fireworks from the pier from the park. What a perfect first night out in the Windy City.