It's Windy Out Here!

Perfect evening to be in Chicago...

"An Italian Across America" has been blessed once again with a gorgeous sunny day, really couldn't ask for a better day (and this should tell you that after all, I'm not that hard to content), especially because one of our plans today was to have lunch at the Signature Room restaurant on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Tower in downtown Chicago!

In order to get to downtown, we need to get on the "L" as they call it here, which stands for "eLevated", I guess just a posh way of calling a train that runs up high in the sky between buildings! ;-)

I hate to criticise, but today I have to. CTA, the transit authority here in Chicago should have done a better job for his customers. They have 1,2,3,5, or 7 day passes, and just about anybody would think that they can buy these passes at any station from an attendant or the numerous vending machines, right? Nope, WROOOOOOOOONG!


You can't find "Visitor Passes" at CTA stations (isn't that weird?!?!), instead, you have to purchase a $2 one way ticket to get downtown, or any other place, and then you can buy a ticket (if you find a place where they sell them!)...Sounds fishy, doesn't it?!?! ;-)


Oh well, that's what we did, a little upset but hey, we're on vacation, there's no reason to be pissed!


Once we got downtown, we walked to and through Millennium Park, saw the big metal "bean" (maybe it has a name, I don't recall! LOL), and then also finally saw the two fountains with the faces of real people from Chicago. It's an amazing piece of art work, I really enjoyed it, especially because I've heard so much about it, and saw pictures in so many places that I almost felt like I had been there already in the past.


After that, we walked roughly ten blocks to the Hancock Tower, where, after taking an elevator up 95 floors, we had a drink while we waited for a window table overlooking the city and the harbour on Lake Michigan.


Superb view, superior service, and really competitive prices! I mean, if you think that we would have paid $15 each to get up to their Observatory, and that we paid $40 (with tips) for lunch, well, that was a real deal (and we didn't have to stand in line to get on the elevator either!).


After lunch we went to see a Baptist Church, and then went south on the Magnificent Mile for a stroll, and for some window shopping...!

H&M is there on N Michigan Av, we had to stop and buy some clothes!

We then went back home, (another 30 minutes ride on the bus with traffic), and this evening we had dinner at a very nice Italian Restaurant called "Calo". If you go there, try one of their pastas, their sauces are good, but please, avoid their pizza (which is what I got), I don't think they know what REAL pizza is supposed to taste like.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and at this point I'm still full from dinner and can't really think about having brunch, so, I'll exclude that from our plans right now.

We're probably going to see some museums and/or Art Galleries, I'm up for some "culture", especially in such a big city like Chicago.

By the way, now I know why they call it the "windy" city; it was unbelievable today!

Have a good night,
Nico

P.S. It is almost midnight here in Chicago, IL, almost 7 o' clock in the morning in Sardinia, Italy where my brother lives. Today (June 29th) is his 36th birthday, and although I can't be there physically, he knows I'm celebrating with him anyway from here, waiting to see him again, and laugh together as always in front of an extra cold pint of beer. There you go Bro, this is for you!