Boston

Naturally, we were in no hurry to check out of our hotel, so our final day in Washington was slightly curtailed but we still managed to make a couple of worthwhile stops, tying up a couple of loose ends in the process. 

First, we visited the Supreme Court (below).  Having paid our dues to the two other branches of government, it seemed only fair that we do so.  The Court is only fully operational between October and late spring, and due to a summer refurbishment we were unable to sneek a peak at the principle courtroom.  However, we did spend an hour or so checking out some exhibits and definitely left with a better understanding of how the Court works.  Don’t worry, I don’t intend to share …

Our second stop also had an air of inevitability about it.  Having both visited Vietnam and taken in every other memorial going in Washington, we were not about to leave without paying a visit to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall.  It is a visually striking monument – the name of over 58,000 soldiers either killed or missing in action, etched into a mirror-like granite surface.  The scale of the Wall is daunting. 

Nothing like an evening spent in a Greyhound bus terminal to cheer you up after visiting a war memorial!  It was with mixed feelings that we boarded our final ‘night’ bus (to Boston): delight at the prospect of not having to sleep on a bus for a very long time; dismay at what that means – we truly are in the home straight.

Sparse would be the word best used to describe our penultimate living quarters.  However, we are in a great location – just a ten minute walk from downtown and not too far from the famous Fenway Park.  On our first evening here they got spanked by their bitter rivals, the Yankees.  I wonder if this stunning sunset was any consolation?

Boston is nice and quite unlike any of the other cities we have visited.  That’s not to say that the others were unpleasant, just that Boston is more homely, somehow.  For example, although there is, inevitably, a degree of high rise, it doesn’t dominate the skyline as in other cities.  Older buildings (many of which hark back to the revolutionary days – see below) more than hold there own in the heart of the city – providing some quite neat photo opportunities …

In large part, this is because of the city’s history – Boston was one of the first major colonial towns, founded in 1630 by a group of Puritans fleeing the motherland.  As a result, the city was at the forefront of the American Revoluition.  As the Freedom Trail demonstrates …

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5mile walking track that leads you to numerous sites of historical significance.  As the name suggests, these sites are all linked to the revolutionary period and the colonists’ quest for independence from Britain.  The trail starts in Boston Common, its first port of call being Massachusett’s State House. 

From here, it winds its way through downtown Boston, finishing north of the Charles River in Charleston.  The final stop is the Bunker Hill Monument.

With an uncanny resemblance to that of Washington (I have no idea which came first), the Bunker Hill Monument marks the site of the first battle of the American Revolution.  We took the 291 steps (my calves are still feeling the burn, 3 days later …) to the top and enjoyed the views back across the river. 

And recovered. (I’ve managed to sneak this shot past the censors).

Although not a designated stop (according to our $2 map), the trail also passes the city’s Holocaust memorial.  Each of the 6 glass towers represents one of the main killing centres.  Cheery, I know but thought provoking.   To most at least – we did have the misfortune of overhearing some fat ass say “so what,” as she shrugged her shoulders. 

On a happier note, the memorial is directly across from America’s oldest tavern – the Bell in Hand.  Once we’d completed the trail we made a beeline for it and enjoyed a couple of cold ones.

After Washington, we’ve both been feeling a little ‘museumed out’ but Boston is home to one that we did not want to miss – the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.  Overlooking the Boston Harbour, the museum is housed in an impressive glass structure.

The contents of the museum are equally impressive.  The exhibits take you chronologically through JFK’s short presidency, beginning with his election vitory over Nixon and culminating with his legacy.  There is a tonne of video footage so we were in there for well over 4 hours.  Anna thinks I’m a bit obsessed but I just find the guy compelling.  He was an idealist and, though not without his flaws, had the potential to be a great human being.  Had he been given the chance, JFK’s could have had a resounding impact on the twentieth century (not to mention the United States).  The same could probably be said of his younger brother, Robert.  Incidentally, JFK’s youngest brother, Ted, is still a Massachusett’s Senator to this day, having first entered that office during JFK’s Presidency. 

Anyway, it was an excellent musuem.

Incidentally, towards the end of our stay in Washington we had the opportunity to design our own presidential seals.  For your viewing pleasure, this was my effort: 

Yeah, perhaps they should stick with what they have.  Anna will fill you in on the rest of our stay in Boston shortly.

Turning 24

On our fourth day in the capital we had decided to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  We arrived  a little early so were able to re-visit the WWII memorial in daylight and it was just as stunning.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum is another of the free museums that DC offers and it was presented and delivered excellently.  There are 3 floors which take you from the beginning in the 1930s through to the aftermath of the Holocaust and the Nuremberg Trials.  It is impossible to describe everything we saw, but suffice to say, that a lot of time and money has been spent making this museum widely accessible and very informative.

After the museum we headed up towards Dupont Circle to explore a new area of the city.  However, it was such a hot day that we only made it to the first ‘circle’ (Thomas Circle) which was buzzing with a bit more life than downtown, so we explored that instead!  Before going to Thomas Circle we had purchased tickets, for later that day, to see The Dark Knight (which was consistently sold out throughout the day) and so after our explorations we set off to get to the cinema in plenty of time.  By 6.30pm we were in the queue and the film was not due to start until 7.30pm!  The lines were crazy but thankfully we were very near the front so managed to grab some excellent seats and a tub of popcorn the size of a beach ball - it was HUGE! Needless to say the film was excellent and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

The next day we got up early to try and beat the heat of the day as we wanted to head to Virginia (on foot!) to visit Arlington National Cemetery where John F. Kennedy and his wife are burried, along with his brother Robert Kennedy as well as other Presidents and historical figures.  The cemetery itself spreads out as far as the eye can see and is built on what was once a colonial plantation.  The JFK memorial has an eternal flame burning in his memory and a fantastic view of the Washington Monument.

And we saw Robert Kennedy’s memorial too…

We didn’t spend a terribly long time at the cemetery, for obvious reasons, and we were soon headed back in the direction of downtown.

That afternoon we decided to explore Georgetown, an historical area where the stunning Georgetown university, dating back to 1789, is located.  The streets of Georgetown are lined with beautiful old houses, shops, and restaurants giving us plenty to see and do.  After strolling through the downtown area we walked to the university and admired the old buildings there – sadly we did not think to capture this on camera.

To reward ourselves for all our walking we decided to have a nice lunch out at a local pub.  I chose to have a very American burger and chips whereas Jords opted for the more ‘English’ plate of fish & chips!  Both washed down with a pint and thoroughly enjoyable.  After our pub lunch we decided to walk to Washington National Cathedral. 

It was a truly stunning building and we were both shocked by the clean outside appearance of this Cathedral, both being used to rather weather worn and much much older specemins in England, not to mention the brightness of the stained glass windows.

Thid was a particularly beautiful example that I loved…

The photo doesn’t do it justice somehow.  After the Cathedral we headed back to our old favourite place – the fountain in the sculpture garden where we could cool our weary feet and relax with a book.  It was a great end to an exhausting day! 

Officially 24!  Woke up very early on my birthday and Jords hurried me downstairs to give me my presents.  I had a lovely card, a bar of dark Ghirardelli Chocolate with citrus pieces and a New York City Encounter travel book!  We then checked our emails and I had an email confirmation from Jords advising that we were going to see the Lion King on Broadway in NYC on the 3rd August!  I was amazed!  It is a show I have wanted to see for many years as I’ve heard great things about it…and now I’m finally going to see it!

Off on very much the right foot for the day we set off downtown in the beautiful sunshine.  It was at this point I advised Jords that, as my Mum always reminds me, I’ve very rarely had bad weather on my birthday.  We popped into a coffee shop for a deluxe breakfast before setting off towards the zoo.  Within 10 minutes the sky had become very grey and we felt pretty certain that the heavens were shortly to open.  So we changed our plans and headed for the National Archives.  Thinking that it wouldn’t be very busy this early in the morning, we were shocked to see a queue, and even more shocked when it started to pour with rain!  We got pretty drenched but it was all good fun!

I promise it’s not sweat!!!

The National Archives houses some very important documents.  First they have one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta, and once we were inside we were able to view it before getting in line for the next 3 documents.  These consisted of the most important documents to many Americans.  The Declaration of Independence, The American Constitution (below), and The Bill of Rights. 

The declaration had faded so much you could barely read it, the Constitution was in impeccable condition – especially the signatures, and the Bill of Rights was also pretty faded.  It was a surprisingly good way to spend my birthday morning!  We didn’t get out until 2pm and when we finally emerged it was to beautiful blue skies and intense heat!

We decided to follow through with our original plan of paying the zoo a visit as it was another free one!  Although all the animal shows were done in the morning it was a lot quieter in the afternoon, making walking around more of a joy!  The most exciting animals by far were the Hippos and the Giant Pandas.  They were just adorable!

After exhausting ourselves at the zoo, we made a beeline (or should that be beerline) for a pub we had read about with over 1000 beers to choose from!  We arrived and were instantly in heaven – if only we were any good at making decisions!  Jords took over and chose some great beers for us to sample. 

Look how many options there were on that one page…there were at least 10 pages!

A couple of bottles later and our appetite was huge.  We therefore did only what was right on my birthday and went back to Georgetown, to a restaurant called Pizzeria Uno (a Chicago pizza place) and gorged ourselves on pizza yet again!  It was amazing!  A fantastic birthday – my first away from home – and Jords certainly made it special!

Finally the day had arrived for us to check out of hostel hell and into hotel heaven!  We checked out as late as possible from the hostel and by 12pm we were at the Sofitel Hotel just one block away from the Whitehouse!  We were made even happier when we were informed we could check in straight away – we had expected to be turned away until 3pm.  The room that Jords had booked was just beautiful…

Flat LCD wide screen?!  We were spoilt!

We wasted no time in abusing the facilities on offer to us in the hotel and after changing into our gym gear we headed to the basement!  The gym had individual TV monitors on each machine, free oranges and bananas, free towels – the works!  Being poor travellers we abused the free fruit on more than one occassion!  We spent the best part of an hour in the gym before showering and setting off towards the supermarket to buy our treats for the night.  And the result of our shop was…

Pretty healthy hey?!  That doesn’t quite show the full picture – in hiding were 2 bags of kettle chips and a whole apple pie!  We settled down in our lovely room, with our flatscreen TV, and watched Atonement.  5 minutes before the end of the film there was a power cut due to the huge thunderstorm overhead and we were in darkness for about 10 minutes.  Luckily I had my handy head torch so we didn’t have to sit in the dark, but Jords did think he needed to take a pic of me with it on!

This photo was taken in the almost pitch black!!!  However, once we had power, we finished the end of our film, and went to sleep in one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever been in…

A Presidential Post

Our stay in Philadelphia has been short and (mostly) sweet.  As I mentioned at the bottom of the last post, we again found ourselves staying miles from downtown .  On a positive note, our isolation was in a more pleasant setting on this occasion.  If it hadn’t been for the two bottoms rising and falling in a parked car as we walked the mile between bus stop and hostel (in BROAD daylight, I hasten to add), it could almost be described as quaint.

The hostel itself was quirky – a retired mansion now serving as the city’s Hostelling International base.  It’s been a while since we stayed in dorms (Mission Beach, Australia, being the last – a lifetime ago, it seems) and though we weren’t overly enthused at the prospect it was ok.

We only had the one full day in Philadelphia so it was quite a busy one.  Philadelphia is where the US, as we know it, was born – the Declaration of Independence was drafted, presented, ratified and, finally, signed here in the summer of 1776.  July 4th, or Independence Day, celebrates the day on which the Declaration was ratified – it was not actually signed for another two months (I have no idea why it took them so long?!), on August 2nd.  History lesson over (for now …), it was the opportunity to visit the birthplace of this compelling nation that lured us here.  Thus, our morning was spent taking a tour of Independence Hall (where the Declaration was signed – who’d have guessed!) and the surrounding area.  And as you can probably detect from the above, it was a very informative tour.  The building itself, although the original, was a bit plasticy (is this a word?) inside and slightly underwhelming, somehow.  That said, it’s difficult not be a little in awe of such a historical spot.

While we were in the area, we also visited the (apparently) famous Liberty Bell.  A symbol of American values – and a treasured one, at that – the bell is only linked to the Declaration of Independence through circumstance – it had long stood in the bell tower of Indepence Hall (formerly the Pennsylvania State House) before the Declaration was written.  Also, it wasn’t until the abolitionist movement of the 1830s that the bell became known as such, though it does carry the following prophetic inscription:

Proclaim liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof

It is likely considered rude to visit this part of the world with out tipping your hat to the Founding Fathers but it would even more likely be considered sacrilegious to have visited and not indulged in a Philly Cheesesteak.  We duly obliged.

The rest of our afternoon was spent perusing the downtown area.  Parts of which are bit gritty but others superbly maintained and very pleasant. 

In one such area (ironically, perhaps) there is a statue of Rocky (yes, that Rocky!) to commemorate the famous scene in the first film were he runs up the steps of the city’s Museum of Art.  And I kid you not, even from quite a distance we could see numerous idiots actually reenacting the scene, even doing the little jumping jig once they’d got to the top.  I’m not even a particularly big fan of Rocky but what the hell!

The following morning we took the short bus ride to Washington to D.C., delighted to find that we’d booked a hostel that, although requiring a short bus ride to the city’s many attractions, can reasonably be said to be in the downtown area.  By the time we’d checked in, got ourselves sorted, etc., we didn’t really have time to do anything of note, just heading into town for some dinner at a rather delicious Burmese restaurant.

Next day, we got down to business.  By 8, we were queuing outside Capitol Hill for tickets (free – everything here is, it’s brilliant!) to be taken on a tour inside.  As most of you will know, Capitol Hill is the home of the Congress – very much at the centre (or, should I say center) of American and, by proxy, world politics.  Unlike Independence Hall, Capitol Hill is still very much alive and kicking and, as a consequence, a more moving experience. 

Besides the Gallery (see below), the highlight of the building is the rotunda – a fantastically ornate room where, a bit morbidly perhaps, elected officials who die whilst still serving lie in state, including Presidents Kennedy and Lincoln.  Below is the rotunda’s ceiling.

The tour itself did not extend to the Gallery – the US equivalent of the House of Commons – but we were able to claim further tickets to visit.  Unfortunately the Congress is not currently in session so we were unable to see it in action but it was still very cool.  It is in this room that the President delivers his annual State of the Union address.  Unfortunately, cameras were prohibited in this part of the building.

In the afternoon, we visited the the Air and Space Museum.  One of the many Smithsonian museums, it may seem like an odd choice as a first port of call, our logic being that we didn’t want to cram all the ‘best’ stuff in the first couple of days – we have a full week here.  And besides, it was a thoroughly excellent museum.  A couple of highlights for you.  First, the museum housed the actual Spirit of St Louis.  This was the aircraft that Charles Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris in 1927.  I can’t say that I’m particulalry enthralled by aviation in general, but I’d read a Lindbergh biography earlier in the trip so was unusually interested on this occasion.

Second, and this is more (or so we thought!) a crazy fact discovered, that we wish to share: Pluto is no longer considered a legitimate planet in our solar system!  There are only eight!!  I was looking at the display and thinking I’m sure there’s one missing and, low and behold, in 2006 Pluto was reclassified as a ‘dwarf’ planet.  Being no scientist, I can’t really go into too much detail as to why to this change has occurred but textbook publishers must have had a field day!!

Less crazy, and more a sign of my general ignorance I fear, I had no idea that 6 Apollo missions had succesfully landed on the moon.  I’d assumed that Apollo 11 wasn’t the only occasion but I was surprised at the number of successful landings.

Brains sufficiently boggled for the day, be grabbed some chow at Capital Q Texas BBQ (apparently popular with the Texas members of Congress) before heading in the direction of the White House.

We walked past the back of the compund first.  We didn’t spot the President but it was surprising how close the House is to the perimeter fence.  Which, is not that close but enough that you can clearly identify the famous West-Wing, albeit only the top half of it.  There was a small party hovering around but I’m pretty sure Dubya wasn’t among them.

The front of the house was more as we’d expected, set far back from the public viewing area.  As a result, not quite so exciting.  It is around the back that you almost expect to see something, irrational as that is. 

From the White House, we walked in the direction of the Mall and the Washington Monument.  The sun was beginning to set so it was a perfect time to pay a first visit.  On this occasion we were flagging so we didn’t stay long.

Our third day (and if, as you read on you are beginning to flag, the last of this entry!!) began with a near death experience: the American breakfast buffet.  It was carnage – I’ll spare you the grizzly details.  Thereafter, it was a rather Presidential day …

First off, we visited the White House Visitor’s Center.  Not quite a museum (certainly not in the Washingtonian sense), it nonetheless offered displays on both the house and its numerous inhabitants, some more interesting than others.  It was revealed that President Nixon ordered the removal of the White House’s indoor swimming pool to make way for the press room, a decision he surely came to regret.  Silly man.

Our next port of call was the National Portrait Gallery.  Surprisingly, they had a portrait of each and every President (apart from Dubya’s – I guess his will follow shortly).  I have to confess to never having heard of a couple – Millard Filmore anyone?  Each portrait was accompanied by a short biography – the most notable (and tragic) of which depicted the Presidency of William Henry Harrison.  His inauguration address was so long that he contracted pneumonia during the course of its delivery and never recovered.  He passed away within the month.

Needing a restbite from the heat (which, at times, is suffocating) we spent a pleasant hour in a sculpture garden, cooling our toes in its fountain.

Suitably refreshed, we embarked on a tour of the The Mall.  Having already visited the Washington Monument, our focus was on the various presidential memorials, namely those belonging to Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Rooselvelt and Abraham Lincoln (in that order).

Credit where credit is due – American’s know how to do a good memorial.  Both in terms of architecture and scale.  The Thomas Jefferson memorial is set on Tidal Basin Lake.  In the distance you can just make out the White House – there is a clear line of sight between the two.

The FDR Memorial is a behemoth!  Different in style to the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials (where a statue of each effectively stands/sits in a grand structure), you walk through the FDR Memorial as it charts the four terms of his Presidency.  It takes four of five minutes to walk form one end to the other, with the route dominated by water features of different shapes and sizes.

And finally on to the Lincoln Memorial, probably the most famous.  This sits across from Capitol Hill, at the head of the reflecting lake – immortalised in the minds of many by Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech or, failing that, Forrest Gump.  The light was fading fast by this point, so we were able to enjoy the memorial both at dusk and in darkness.  The memorial is lit from within so it is an impressive sight.

From here we made our way to our bus stop via the Washington Monument and yet another memorial, this one commemorating WWII.  Both impressively illuminated.

So there you have it.  I hope you’ve made it this far and, if not, have at least enjoyed the pictures.   We still have four days here, one of which is Scuttlebutt’s brithday.  Older and wiser, she will fill you in on the remainder of our stay.  

Just remember, if ever you get into a debate or discussion about American Presidents, Dubya is not the stupidest: Nixon was!

Pavements

You may recall a few months a go that I left my wallet in the back of a taxi cab.  No, of course I didn’t do so again. But I did leave my rucksack on a subway platform …

Cue a similar dash for recovery. Sadly, there was no moto to jump on this time around, so off i trotted. In sweltering heat, I should add. As I panted (and sweated) through downtown Pittsburgh (a particularly tired transport system had prevented me from hopping back on in the opposite direction) I feared the worst and, as you do, contemplated the contents of my bag, satisfying myself that in the worst instance I stood to lose a couple of books and my factor 50 ‘nose’ cream (which would have been catastrophic, now I come to think of it …). It was only once the bag was safely returned to my, by now sopping, back that I remembered my passport …

Still, all’s well that ends well – a cliche that could readily be applied to our entire stay in Pittsburgh.  Not an obvious stop you might think and you’d probably be right.  Geographically, however, it was here or Detroit.  Plus, our trusted guide book had given Pittsburgh a glowing reference and I’m pleased to say that it wasn’t too far off the mark (how far exactly, would depend on your disposition – Anna, I suspect, would be bringing the Lonely Planet’s good reputation into disrepute at this moment).  All very well and good if you’re staying in Pittsburgh.  Clearly not used to entertaining backpackers, we had to make our way to the township of Robinson – a misleading name for it was in fact a series of highways coming together around a hodge-podge of giant superstores and not very appealing restaurants (one of which we visited, tragically – microwaved mexican anyybody??).  And not a pavement in sight.  The walk to our hotel was interesting … (check out some of the names of the aforementioned dodgy restaurants!)

Pittsburgh itself is a mixed bag.  The downtown area itself – relatively small in comparison to the cities visited thus far – was fairly nondescript (but with the obligatory fountain and football stadium, below).  However, the various areas surrounding downtown (or, at least those that we managed to visit) were far nicer and more engaging.

We spent much of our first full day in the Southside, which culminated in a trip up Mount Washington.  Nowhere near as exciting as it sounds, it did offer up some good views of the downtown area.  Even better, we found an excellent little pub.

On our second day, we headed to Oakland – home to the University of Pittsburgh.  The university has a very cool campus, including the exceptional Cathedral of Learning – the second tallest educational building in the world, apparently.  And once we’d figured out how to get to the top (not as easy as you would think – the building’s elevator system made that of Chicago’s transit look straightforward) we were afforded further good views.

The inside of the building was pretty neat too.

And that was all we really had time for – thankfully, Anna has just muttered over my shoulder.  I disagree but hey – come find out for yourselves.

We spent most of yesterday on the Greyhound which, happily, has been on best behaviour since the Seattle debacle.  Our destination was Philadelphia.  We only arrived last night so we’ll fill you in on our adventures shortly (we’re only here for a day, so expect them to be short) but just to say that we are once again staying in the middle of bloody nowhere.  Or as the Americans love to say, in the “boonies.”  We do have pavements though – hurrah!!

An Inspired Choice

When deciding which cities we would visit in the United States (all those months ago!) we knew we definitely wanted to hit a few key cities on the West and East coast but the thought of travelling inland had not really occurred to us.  However, when flicking through our USA travel book, Jordan struck gold and suggested we pay a long visit to Chicago.  I know he has already filled you in on our fantastic room and our first full day, but I thought I’d catch you up with what else we have seen and done in this wonderful city.

Chicago is a city with many things to see and explore (some free and others sadly not) and quite simply it is a joy to stroll around – believe me we have done plenty of this!  The weather has been perfect (almost), the sun is almost always shining and the architecture combined with many parks make for some awesome sights, not to mention the 18 miles of walking track to enjoy along the water front of Lake Michigan.

On our first full day we had already sampled some of what the city had to offer but there was much more that Chicago offered.  On our second full day (but 3rd day overall) we made our way North to Andersonville and visited the home of the Chicago Cubs – one of 2 Chicago baseball teams - who play at the famous Wrigley Field.  Unfortunately any potential seats for us (under $50 and not behind a huge post) were all taken so we were unable to see the Cubs play, but we’ve luckily booked ourselves some tickets to see the New York…..Mets in August!  Sadly the Yankees were sold out as were the Boston Red Sox.

Continuing on our quest to eat our way around the States we had heard that Chicago was especially famous for two meals in particular.  The first is one of our favourite foods – Pizza, and the second is a Chicago Hot Dog.  On our 3rd night we made it a priority to visit the legendary Giordanos, where the speciality is stuffed pizza.  The pizza consists of a base, a huge layer of mozzerella cheese (and prawn in our case) topped with another ‘base’ and finished off with a delicious tomato sauce. 

We had to wait for 45 minutes for a table, and even though we’d pre-ordered our meal, it took a further 15 minutes to reach us – a testament to how good the pizza was trust me!  It was SO worth the wait.

After successfully polishing off the whole pizza we waddled back to our hotel room and relaxed with a film.

The next day we decided that we would walk North along the lake front and en route we would visit Lincoln park where there was a free zoo. 

We saw a whole range of animals, but our favourites by far were the polar bears.  We spent quite a while watching these beautiful creatures swimming underwater, diving into the water from up high, and generally posing for the cameras - it was brilliant.

 On our fifth day we explored more of the cities parks; Grant and Millenium in particular.  In Grant Park we saw the impressive Buckingham Fountain which displays a huge ‘erruption’ every hour although sadly it had stopped by the time we took the picture!

We also admired the architecture of the city and parks – the bridge below was the most unusual bridge I have ever seen!

Not to mention the giant ‘Cloudgate’ (known also as the Chicago Bean) which reflects the city’s skyline on it’s shell – quite an impressive sight and we had lots of fun taking pictures with it!

And there were plenty of views of the downtown area – you can see the Sears Tower behind Jords.

In a nearby mall Jords made a new friend and although she wasn’t very talkative she did let us take a picture with her.

Near where we were staying was the Old Water Tower – one of the few buildings that survived the fire of 1871.

After enjoying the peace of the parks we jumped feet first into the chaos of Navy Pier – Chicago’s answer to Fisherman’s Wharf!  Its a complete tourist spot (as you can imagine) and had stalls galore – food, arts, tack…you name it they had it!  Hard to imagine why we only circled the pier once before getting out of there!

After walking around all morning (and afternoon) we had worked up quite an appetite, so we decided to complete our Chicago culinary education and headed for a little hot dog shop Jords had spied a couple of days earlier.  It was called Downtown Dogs and was possibly the best hot dog I have eaten – Jords looks a little intimidated here but it is his own fault as he had opted for the ‘double dog’ and cheese.  Truly delicious!

We spent the rest of the afternoon plodding around the shops and finding some free internet at the public library.  Our dinner was at a Thai restaurant that we had seen on our very first walk into Chicago from the tube station – it was reasonably priced and some of the best food we have eaten for a while and that’s saying something!

We completed our day of walking by heading all the way back to the water fountain in order to view it at night.  It has a ‘light show’ within the fountain which changes according to the music that is also played.  This was all the more stunning due to the lights of the city in the background. 

We also revisited the ‘Bean’ to see the city’s evening reflection – equally as impressive I’m sure you’ll agree.

We also stumbled across the mesmerising ’Crown Fountain’ which consisted of two towers, each 50ft high, facing one another.  On the inside of each tower there was a huge LED screen displaying a different face on each – they smile, stare, blink, and eventually, spout water from their mouths, much to the delight of the children playing in the water.  It looked like great fun and we even got to watch a bit of a fashion shoot that was taking place there that evening.  There seemed to be no end to the delights that Chicago had to offer.

Our final full day was spent shopping for the best part of the morning (well…mostly me shopping, Jords killing time in Borders!) but once that was done we headed to the more unusual ‘Greektown’.  Our initial thought was that we’d grab some lunch there but everything was totally out of our budget.  Luckily we stumbled across another Giordanos and indulged ourselves with another stuffed pizza.  I worry we’re going to come home looking like pizzas at this rate!

We walked back to the city centre via the dizzying Sears Tower – I believe it is the tallest building in North America currently.  Managed to squeeze it into a picture though!

On our final evening the heavens decided to open so we decided to hibernate in the comfort of our room.  We picked up some chips, dips and veggies, and a bottle of wine, and retired to our room to sit out the thunderstorm.  We finished our day off by watching a film and crashing out for the last night in our luxury suite.

Our final day began by scaling the massive John Hancock building rather than the Sears tower as it was cheaper – how tight are we?!  Well…one of us is anyway….ahem!  We went all the way up to the 94th floor, in the world’s fastest elevator taking just 20 seconds, and the views from the top were just stunning.

After that we enjoyed our final few hours in Chicago before heading to the Greyhound station to wait for our night bus.  We both absolutely loved  Chicago and I personally cannot wait to return there one day.