Chicago October 20, 2019
Amazingly, although our hotel is right next to O'Hare Airport (considered to be the busiest airport in the world with a take off and landing every 30 seconds) we couldn't hear a thing. I had the best night's sleep and was full of energy in the morning. We had a scrumptious selection of breakfast items to choose from, and as soon as we had finished eating, we attended a meeting for the whole group of "66ers" as we are referred to by Dale Butel, our illustrious leader. He gave us a bit of a low down on the general rules to be observed (such as don't worry too much about sticking to the speed limit, because nobody else does), and the importance of leaving on time (otherwise you could win "Dick of the Day" - I couldn't think of anything worse!!). We were given a detailed itinerary, and some souvenirs such as a lapel pin, a bumper sticker, a cap and a little Route 66 licence plate.
After the meeting was finished, Jenny and I decided to nick off to a laundromat and get some washing done. We caught an Uber there.
While I looked after our washing machine, Jenny raced off to the pharmacy to to get some paracetamol. You know how it is when you're over 60 ... there's always some odd ache or pain that flares up when you've done more of a certain type of exercise than normal. (We've done a stack of walking!) Would you believe you can't buy Panadol, or the equivalent over the counter in the US? Everything here is aspirin based! We found that out from David who is a retired pharmacist, and is also doing the trip. Oh well, it's no big deal for Chicago because next year recreational cannabis will be legal here!!
The washing didn't take long to do. We had to use 10 "quarters" ($2.50) to get the machine going, and 1 quarter to dry the clothes - well, they were nearly dry. Then we caught an Uber back to the hotel with enough time to drape the damp socks, undies, T shirts and trousers over the standard lamp in our room so they would have some extra time to completely dry out.
We then raced down the elevator to a waiting bus which whisked us away for a tour of Chicago.Our tour leader was amazingly knowledgeable and enthusiastically sprouted facts and figures as we slowly made our way along sections of Route 66 to the heart of the city.
What a fascinating metropolis it is! In the late 1600's the area was dominated by French explorers, missionaries, fur traders, and the Pottawatomie Native Americans. Today Chicago is the third largest city in the US with a population of 9 million people living in 300 suburbs, some of whom work at the 14 000 manufacturing plants or are one of the 14 000 police officers employed by the State of Illinois.
We passed Mt Carmel Cemetery (one of 42 Catholic Cemeteries in Chicago) where Chicago's most infamous son, Al Capone, is buried ... along with a whole bunch of archbishops and cardinals. (Is there some kind of correlation?) Chicago is also the home of Amtrack which means that over 12000 trains enter or leave the city everyday.
There were many scenes which brought back memories of The Blues Brothers movie for me. These included the road running under the railway track, and the railway track at the same height as the second or third floor of the buildings.
There are so many spectacular tall buildings brightened up by blooming flowers and trees whose foliage is beginning to turn hues of red, orange and golden greens. I was impressed by how many people were out an about for Sunday lunch. Apparently 65 000 people were expected to turn up for a Chicago Bears Baseball game which explained why the traffic was so chaotic. Some of the buildings were having an 'open house' and in some cases queues of people were lined up outside waiting their turn to go inside to look at the decor.
Some of the art installations (including Picasso's only city sculpture - not pictured because I was on the wrong side of the coach) were impressive too:
Although it is a very neat and tidy city, with obvious extreme wealth, I was saddened to see men who had served their country begging for assistance.
As the day wore on, the air got colder and colder, and soon the tops of the buildings were shrouded in mist or fog. Check out the temperature on the Qdoba sign.
The inside of the coach was warm, and I, like many other jet lagged passengers, was struggling to stay awake. Fortunately we got moving when we got off the coach to get some lunch at Portillos. I was tempted to try a Chicago hot dog. It's basically a sausage in a bun with salad, cheese sauce, a huge chunk of dill pickle and a couple of chillies on top. It was pretty yummy, but I think the New York hot dogs may be better. I'll have to let you know when I get there.
The decor at Portillos was what you would expect in a place like this:
With a bit of sustenance to keep us going, it was time to experience the next installment of our tour:
A trip along the Chicago river to learn about all the architectural styles of the buildings that back onto the river. We'd been warned the air on the river would be cold. I took my scarf, gloves, jumper and coat ... and I was still cold, but the buildings were amazing and fascinating.
There were so many fascinating things to learn in terms of the effects of events such as the Great Chicago Fire, The Great Depression and World War Two on the kinds of structures that were put up. As a result of the fire, steel girders were used resulting in multi storied buildings (the first time this had been tried anywhere in the world); as a result of the Depression very plain square structures were built; nothing was built during WWII, but then the wealth and prosperity of the US after that led to some of the most ingenious and creative feats of architecture and engineering the world has ever seen. It's truly inspirational (and that's saying something for a gal who avoids cities!!). We also learnt that the ferris wheel was invented in Chicago, and no matter what the weather is like, there is always one in operation!
We were all freezing after we got off the boat, so we ducked into a souvenir mall. Jenny and I met a detector dog on the job, and saw some really interesting things for sale.
To finish off a thoroughly entertaining day, some thorough entertainment at Tommy Guns. We were taken back to the prohibition era of the 1920's and introduced to the Mob. The music, storyline and most importantly the food and drinks were superb. It was a wonderful show.
I slept all the way home on the coach!
If this pace is anything to go by, getting a blog entry written up everyday is going to be a challenge, as will staying awake in the evenings. It feels like it's going to be a real education. Catch you again tomorrow.
After the meeting was finished, Jenny and I decided to nick off to a laundromat and get some washing done. We caught an Uber there.
While I looked after our washing machine, Jenny raced off to the pharmacy to to get some paracetamol. You know how it is when you're over 60 ... there's always some odd ache or pain that flares up when you've done more of a certain type of exercise than normal. (We've done a stack of walking!) Would you believe you can't buy Panadol, or the equivalent over the counter in the US? Everything here is aspirin based! We found that out from David who is a retired pharmacist, and is also doing the trip. Oh well, it's no big deal for Chicago because next year recreational cannabis will be legal here!!The washing didn't take long to do. We had to use 10 "quarters" ($2.50) to get the machine going, and 1 quarter to dry the clothes - well, they were nearly dry. Then we caught an Uber back to the hotel with enough time to drape the damp socks, undies, T shirts and trousers over the standard lamp in our room so they would have some extra time to completely dry out.
We then raced down the elevator to a waiting bus which whisked us away for a tour of Chicago.Our tour leader was amazingly knowledgeable and enthusiastically sprouted facts and figures as we slowly made our way along sections of Route 66 to the heart of the city.
What a fascinating metropolis it is! In the late 1600's the area was dominated by French explorers, missionaries, fur traders, and the Pottawatomie Native Americans. Today Chicago is the third largest city in the US with a population of 9 million people living in 300 suburbs, some of whom work at the 14 000 manufacturing plants or are one of the 14 000 police officers employed by the State of Illinois.
We passed Mt Carmel Cemetery (one of 42 Catholic Cemeteries in Chicago) where Chicago's most infamous son, Al Capone, is buried ... along with a whole bunch of archbishops and cardinals. (Is there some kind of correlation?) Chicago is also the home of Amtrack which means that over 12000 trains enter or leave the city everyday.
There were many scenes which brought back memories of The Blues Brothers movie for me. These included the road running under the railway track, and the railway track at the same height as the second or third floor of the buildings.
There are so many spectacular tall buildings brightened up by blooming flowers and trees whose foliage is beginning to turn hues of red, orange and golden greens. I was impressed by how many people were out an about for Sunday lunch. Apparently 65 000 people were expected to turn up for a Chicago Bears Baseball game which explained why the traffic was so chaotic. Some of the buildings were having an 'open house' and in some cases queues of people were lined up outside waiting their turn to go inside to look at the decor.
Some of the art installations (including Picasso's only city sculpture - not pictured because I was on the wrong side of the coach) were impressive too:
Although it is a very neat and tidy city, with obvious extreme wealth, I was saddened to see men who had served their country begging for assistance.
As the day wore on, the air got colder and colder, and soon the tops of the buildings were shrouded in mist or fog. Check out the temperature on the Qdoba sign.
The inside of the coach was warm, and I, like many other jet lagged passengers, was struggling to stay awake. Fortunately we got moving when we got off the coach to get some lunch at Portillos. I was tempted to try a Chicago hot dog. It's basically a sausage in a bun with salad, cheese sauce, a huge chunk of dill pickle and a couple of chillies on top. It was pretty yummy, but I think the New York hot dogs may be better. I'll have to let you know when I get there.
The decor at Portillos was what you would expect in a place like this:
With a bit of sustenance to keep us going, it was time to experience the next installment of our tour:
A trip along the Chicago river to learn about all the architectural styles of the buildings that back onto the river. We'd been warned the air on the river would be cold. I took my scarf, gloves, jumper and coat ... and I was still cold, but the buildings were amazing and fascinating.
There were so many fascinating things to learn in terms of the effects of events such as the Great Chicago Fire, The Great Depression and World War Two on the kinds of structures that were put up. As a result of the fire, steel girders were used resulting in multi storied buildings (the first time this had been tried anywhere in the world); as a result of the Depression very plain square structures were built; nothing was built during WWII, but then the wealth and prosperity of the US after that led to some of the most ingenious and creative feats of architecture and engineering the world has ever seen. It's truly inspirational (and that's saying something for a gal who avoids cities!!). We also learnt that the ferris wheel was invented in Chicago, and no matter what the weather is like, there is always one in operation!
We were all freezing after we got off the boat, so we ducked into a souvenir mall. Jenny and I met a detector dog on the job, and saw some really interesting things for sale.
To finish off a thoroughly entertaining day, some thorough entertainment at Tommy Guns. We were taken back to the prohibition era of the 1920's and introduced to the Mob. The music, storyline and most importantly the food and drinks were superb. It was a wonderful show.
I slept all the way home on the coach!
If this pace is anything to go by, getting a blog entry written up everyday is going to be a challenge, as will staying awake in the evenings. It feels like it's going to be a real education. Catch you again tomorrow.
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