The Wind Blew Westward into Sin City

I got up the next morning, totally recovered from the flu. Thanks for those Advil dear friend. As usual, the final morning at a place always gets me. Too lazy to explore yet not wanting to leave.

Headed up north for another stroll along the Magnificent Mile. Not crowded like the day before as most shops are still closed. Guess everyone is still snuggling in bed on a lazy Sunday morning. Deciding on our last meal in the city was not too hard as not so pricey non fast food options are kinda limited. Am glad that we stayed in the loop as food down there are way cheaper.

Our brunch at Big Bowl was a little on the pricey side but I would say it is worthwhile. On the look outside, the place looked kinda rundown. It is a whole different world on the inside. The whole chic Chinese fusion deco theme fits right in with the food. We had and order or skewers, scallop and the very unique ginger ale drink. It was the first time that I have freshly squeeze ginger in my ginger ale. Totally refreshing!

The trip to the airport was pleasant and interesting. We headed south to the Midway and not to O’Hare via the train. Yes, the city has direct train connection even to their budget terminal. How wonderful is that. The train ride down south has better view as it did not run along the freeway and has wide open spaces in its surrounding. Better does not necessarily mean more beautiful as the south is less affluent. Check-in was a breeze and soon we’re off to Sin City.

This is like my 4^th time in Vegas in a short 2 years period. Honestly, I am beginning to wonder whether I am gonna be bored this time around. Probably heading downtown and off the strip will be a great eye opener this time as I was practically stuck on the strip all my trips.

The baggage pick up was much more efficient this time around. Did not have to wait half an hour for 2 small little bag. Since part of the fun of staying in Sin City is experiencing the different hotels, we booked 2 hotels for our 3 nights stay. The 1^st being the MGM grand. Yes, I’ve stayed here before but who could resist a $60 deal inclusive of all day buffet, $20 slot play, free VIP club entry and complimentary poolside cocktail right?

The Grand Buffet at MGM did not fail to disappoint. According to John, they have certainly improved a lot over the year. The selection is now more extensive and it actually tasted better too. After tasting the food, I would have to second that. Hehe.

After dinner, we explored the place a little, play some jackpot, win some cash and went to bed. Yes without utilizing the VIP club entry becos the club is closed on Sundays. Bummer! Guess we’re meant to be two innocent tourist in Sin City after all. :p

Where the Compass Points: North and Crowded

Sunshine after a rainy rainy yesterday. Its breakfast once again at the Corner Bakery. I had to come back to try the pasta which was not available the previous day. It turned out to be a disappointment. Just when we thought things could not get worse, the plan to explore the large showroom area at Merchandise Mart failed to materialize as they were closed for private guest on weekends. Double Whammy!

We continue our trip up north towards Lakeview area. It is a very vibrant neighborhood, due to the gay Boystown and baseball fanatics of Wrigley Field. We kept our exploration short as the hot weather and thick crowd spells headache. We finally sat down at a coffee house to people watch which turned out to be a brilliant idea.

Although shopping was not part of the itinerary, it would be dumb to miss out on such a huge tourist attraction like the Magnificent Mile. Checked out the Hancock Tower and Pumping Station up close on the mile but did not go in as the Water Tower Place’s shopping seemed more alluring. Yes, the mission of not buying until we reach Vegas failed miserably.

Dinner at Foodlife was so much trouble. They put the wrong item into our card we had to page for the manager to fix it. Apart from that the whole dining experience there was fun and nice. Totally luved the Buffalo Wings that I had.

After a mile long shopping walk, we went on with another mile of walk toward the Navy Pier. The pier is definitely one of the most crowded tourist attractions in the city. Guess everybody loves rides and over publicized fun.

Few people took notice of the free hidden gem so we got to explore the Smith Museum of Stained Glass without much human traffic. Haha. The collection here is absolutely gorgeous, a thousand times more rewarding than those retail shops and rides outside. Did not stay long enough for the fireworks as I was feeling lethargic.

Later that night, I found out that I was actually having afever. Gosh,Could it be the crowd has infected me with H1N1? Noooooooooooo!

Night at the Museum

Deep dish pizza for lunch today! Woohooo. Headed straight for Giordano’s which is like only a short 5 minutes walk away from our hotel. Were told that the pizza would take 25 minutes. Long wait? No problem. Being super fungry will only help us to finish the pizza. Wrong! We only manage to eat half of it. As for the taste, it was good but thin crust is still our choice.

The main itinerary for the day is the Art Institute of Chicago. On our way to the museum, we stop by Millennium Park again. Took more pictures of the Bean and the park. As we were still early for the 5pm free entry, we stop by the ultra crowded and vibrant Crown Fountain. The hot and humid weather makes me wanna dive in and join the kids getting wet in the fountain.

The Art Institute of Chicago huge and really impressive. Their collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art is the most extensive ever. The museum is so huge that it was divided into 3 levels and 3 different wings. I really love the way they arrange the galleries. We did not have to walk through the same exhibit twice to get around the whole place.

So happy to be able to see the original Sunday Afternoon at the Island of La Grande Jatte and Paris Street Rainy Day. Learnt a lot more about Monet, Van Gough and impressionist stuff from my tour guide John.

My tour guide was however, not too interested in the modern art wing. After a short walk around the modern wing, we decided to take a break from our intellectual tour and went across to the Pritzker Pavilion for the free concert. Had a great time enjoying the concert before it started pouring. Armed with my little blue umbrella, we stormed back into the Arts Institute for shelter. On our way back, we saw park security shooooing people away from the Bean for they are concern about lightning incidents. Lol.

I’m glad we resumed our tour of the museum as this time I get to see the American Gothic and Nighthawks. We further explored the American Indians and the Asian Gallery before stumbling upon the very cute and nicely detailed miniature gallery of early American homes.

Our tummy was growling by the time we ended our night at the museum. After a long debate on where to eat, we finally decided to visit the Billy Goat Tavern., famous for its notorious waiter. Poor John was told to get a double cheeseburger when he was about to place our orders. Should have warned him about it. Ooopss. The Tavern is situated below the main street. Down in the basement it really felt like a whole different ghetto.

Our activity for the night is to find the Taj Mahal stone. No, we are not going to India! The Chicago Tribune building has over 200 stones from famous architecture embedded in its façade. It includes the Great Wall, Arc of Triumph, Constantinople, Notre Dame and so on. How interesting!

In the Loop, Out of the Loop, Back in the Loop

So what exactly is the Loop? It is actually the downtown core financial district where the El (elevated subway system loops around). The financial district in Chicago is also where the theaters are located. Deciding which play to catch was a headache as this place is second most play prolific place after NYC. But thanks to Eric’s request for a copy of the Jersey Boys catalogue, we headed to the BofA Theater. The bargain $25 early bird front row seats were snapped by old folks with insomnia so we had to settle for rear orchestra seats.

First fuel stop would be the not too expensive all American breakfast at the Loop with the El in sight at Wabash’s Corner Bakery . As we fill up our tummy, the loud passing train had us wondering how the city dwellers deal with the noise. They must have had really good earplugs. Lol.

The intention of getting bus passes and more sightseeing information from the Chicago Cultural Center led us to discover the world’s largest Tiffany stained glass dome in the world. The center also houses more exhibits and it is free!

With our bus pass, we are now ready to head out of the loop to another two famous free attractions. Our first stop is the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The exhibits are mostly summer tropical plants so it was not a big hoo-hah for me. The only plant that caught my attention was the heart shaped variegated sweetheart hoya.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is a much more interesting attraction. My personal favorites would be the Regenstein African Journey and the Farm-in-the-Zoo.

There is a few interesting animal at the zoo like the bear with a perpetually dangling tongue, zebra that constantly has seizures and camel with a sagging hump :p

After a nap at the hotel, we walk around the loop in search for a decent priced dinner place. I ‘stumbled’ upon some of the famous architecture downtown. These includes the Chicago Theater, Marshall Field Clock, The Picaso, The four Seasons, The Reliance Building, Carbon n Carbide Building, The Flamingo and many more along the way.

Had our dinner in this pretty old fashioned restaurant named Beef & Brady. Totally loved the simple yet hospitable feeling of the place. The price of the entrée was reasonable as well. The Jersey Boys was definitely more of a show for the baby boomers. I could only recognize 1 song from the whole play (they are supposed to be top billboard hits btw). I must say that it is very well written and enjoyable for a biography musical. Not boring and definitely more realistic than We Will Rock U. Performances by the cast were stellar.

We ended our night with a walk along the Chicago River. The view along the esplanade is simply gorgeous. Oh what a night!

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.