My World - Shedd Aquarium

After a few days of sickness, I am returning to our Chicago vacation last June for 'My World' this week. One of the sights we really enjoyed was the John G. Shedd Aquarium, housed in this wonderful building on the edge of Lake Michigan.

It is full of wonderful and at times large specimens!

But there are just as many delicate ocean wonders

The coral displays are vibrant with colour and life

Even the killers (Piranha) of the ocean look pretty!

The views across Lake Michigan are endless

The Jellyfish are mesmerising in their UV light

And just over your shoulder is Chicago

There were many more fascinating displays in this world class Aquarium, and these combined with it's spectacular location and views, make it a must see when in the Windy City.

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My World - great memories

The Hancock Tower, so good we went up twice!

The view along the beach of Lake Michigan

Looking towards Navy Pier on a hazy day

The same view during the Wednesday night fireworks

Looking to the Willis Tower, we preferred the Hancock

At night, the bright lights of the windy city are stunning

This was My World in June last year, during our wonderful summer vacation to Chicago, a city we absolutely loved.

To see some great sights around the globe or join in the fun, go to My World Tuesday

Skywatch Friday - Navy Pier

'Ferris Fun in the Sun'

A shot I took on our last full day in Chicago in June. I loved the contrast of the sedate Ferris Wheel, next to the high speed swing ride, with arms and legs flailing against the deep blue sky.

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Scenic Sunday

Spotted near Navy Pier in Chicago, they just seemed so relaxed in each others company soaking up the sun!

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Skywatch Friday

'Curvaceous Reflections'

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Chicago - the final day & our tips

After our morning spent downtown and at the Sears Tower, we headed out to Navy Pier and for a final boat trip.

Navy Pier is always crowded it seems and it's not somewhere we'd choose to spend alot of time, but there's alot to see and do.

So here are a few travellers tips for Chi-town. You absolutely do not need a car if you are anywhere near the downtown area. Parking is extortionate, there's alot of traffic and Chicago is not a big city to walk or CTA around.

CTA = Chicago Transportation Authority and they run buses and trains everywhere in all directions. Buy a CTA Pass online or on arrival, we got a 7-day one and saved a fortune on cab fares or parking. The buses are clean, excellently routed, easy to navigate and constant, covering the whole city.

Whilst on Navy Pier we visited the free Stained Glass museum, and saw some gorgeous examples, including Tiffany of which we are both big fans.

Our next tip would be to buy a 'Go Chicago' card for all the attractions. We got a 5-day one that cost us $260 but saved us about $200 in entry fees, but you can get them for any number of days. It includes all the major attractions, 6 different boat tours, many bus tours, store discounts and an excellent 'skip the line' feature for the top 5 attractions. This last feature especially was great at the Sears, Hancock and Aquarium, where the lines were long and it was hot.

There is a very nice botanical greenhouse on Navy Pier, that we found to be a real oasis of quiet from the crowds and noise.

Then we headed off on our final boat trip, the Skyline tour, a perfect way to end our holiday and catch the breeze on a hot day.

Here's the 'Tall Ship Windy' pirate tour which we had included, but never made it to this time, but a very picturesque sight.

Plan where you want to go ahead of time, but be prepared to be flexible dependant on weather and weariness. There's just so much to see, that you really need to have a hit list and then go with the flow of what's best each day dependant on the above.

Things we would recommend you do: take the Architectural River Cruise first as it really helps you get your bearings; Millenium Park is a must see; get out on Lake Michigan in a boat for stunning views; get to the Shedd Aquarium; go up the Hancock Tower day and night which we much preferred to the Sears.

Walk as much as you can everywhere, it's the best way to see the city and soak up the atmosphere. Chicago is exceptionally clean around all the sights, you feel safe and the locals are friendly and proud of their city. We got chatting to many of them on the bus (another reason to use it) and they were always keen to give us tips or advice.

The options for eating out are numerous, but we also found it very helpful having a hotel room with a fridge and microwave, as sometimes you're just too tired to eat out. But you can find any type of food you fancy in this town and it's all pretty good.

We ended our Navy Pier tour with a round of minature golf under the Ferris wheel, and some great views across the lake.

One of the things 'the city' does in Chicago, is keep it spotlessly clean and have planted areas in many places. On the Magnifient Mile there are minature gardens laid into the sidewalk!

We ate at one of the cities most popular restaurants on our final night, the Grand Lux Cafe, which happened to be right opposite our hotel. Our concierge gave us his card and not only did we jump the line, but it also got a table overlooking the Magnificent Mile in their rotunda.

It's a wonderful restaurant, with great food and some lovely decor and features. But it was still reasonably priced for an entree and a dessert, which were delicious, we paid $70 including tips.

Now you know where I got the idea for Red Velvet Cake on his birthday, this man never eats dessert, but he just couldn't resist!

We were staying in a very 'nice' neighbourhood, Cartier on the one corner and Burberry on the opposite one. Needless to say, we shopped elsewhere!

And finally choose a well positioned hotel, this was ours, just one block off the centre of the Magnificent Mile. It was surrounded by the really high dollar hotels, but shared their excellent location, if not their nightly rate. We booked it as a flight/hotel package through Expedia.com and it cost us $150 a night, as opposed to the advertised room rate of $470 a night!

The service we received whilst staying there was first class and very friendly, they just couldn't do enough to help. It was spotlessly clean, our room was large, had a microwave and fridge, complimentary bottled water daily, a very comfortable bed and a nice pool area. We would highly recommend this hotel and will stay again if we return.

So that was it, our wonderful holiday to Chicago lived up to all our expectations and exceeded them daily. It is a fabulous city to visit, there's so much to see and do, and we never even made it to a show or jazz club as we were too tired at night. We both loved it's combination of a big bustling city full of culture, with it's beachside location and Lake Michigan really feels like the sea.

We definitely hope to get back there sometime to see the Cubbies and return to some, or catch a few more sights.

My World - Sears Tower

The morning of our last day in Chi-town was spent in part up the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the US.

It was a beautiful day and the views were spectacular. This was looking out to the north, Lincoln Park and Wrigley Field.

Looking south down the shoreline of Lake Michigan, along the Chicago River and across the industrial area.

The Museum Campus to the south east is out on the peninsula. In the foreground the Shedd Aquarium and in the distance the Adler Planetarium and harbour area.

To the East is the lake, Magnificent Mile and the green area just before the lake is Millenium Park.

To the north east on the right is the Trump Tower and on the right is the Hancock Tower, which we preferred to the Sears as it was less crowded.

And how high up were we? Well here's the Hubster holding his GPS to show our altitude above sea level was 1776 feet!

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Chicago Thursday

Thursday morning was one of the Hubsters highlights of our holiday, as he got to tour Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. For those of you not in the know, the Cubbies are like a less successful version of Man Utd back home. They have a similar history to the club and a legion of lifelong fans, but they have not won their championship for 100 years.

I don't pretend to know the first thing about Baseball and to be perfectly honest, I find it pretty boring. But even I enjoyed this tour and found it interesting. The Hubster is one of their loyal fans and so he was enthralled. One of the things the Cubs are best known for, is the often celebrity led sing-a-long of 'take me out to the ballpark' during the 7th innings stretch.

When we first knew they were going to be out of town the week we were there, he was not sure about doing the tour. But I convinced him it would be very worthwhile, having done a similar tour of Old Trafford and been thrilled myself. It was however hotter than haides the morning we did it, with crazy humidity and the first part was almost like a torture as we sat in the bleachers for a talk!

The humidity under the stadium was unbearable, as they had spent the morning hosing the walkways down! So it was a major relief to get up into the Press Box (despite the climb!) and finally find some kind of breeze. The view from here was great and I advised the Hubster that if we ever come to a game, we need to be either in there or a cheap seat in the shade!

He got to visit the team locker room, where alot of their personal stuff is on display in their lockers. Even I was impressed by how much was shared on the tour and the personal aspects.

Here he is in the home team dugout, waiting to be called into bat!

The last remaining manually operated scoreboard in the league. Apparently on game day, they will have 16 staff inside it making sure everything runs smoothly. The only air-conditioning is the open vents on either end!!

Our tour ended with a few piccies outside, including this one next to the statue of the famous Cubs commentator Harry Carey, he of those glasses!

After the Hubster squeezed in a quick geocache find back at the Museum Campus, we headed to the Chicago Art Institute.

We had a quick look around the new 'Modern' wing, but to be honest we're neither of us big fans of modern art.

So we headed off into the more traditional galleries to see some of the wonders of the art world. Here is Van Gogh's self portrait, it seemed like his eyes followed you wherever you moved!

A fabulous piece of Sevres pottery, of which I have always been a big fan and this vase was huge and so vibrant.

And then we had a gallery of Monet paintings, I could have put in a dozen pictures here, but 'Water Lillies' is my personal favourite. But seeing them close-up we were enthralled by the tiny brushstrokes and luminosity of his colours - just stunning.

This magnificant Indian Chief headress was from the Cheyenne tribe and originated from our neck of the woods.

And finally a beautifully designed English silver art deco rose bowl caught my eye.

We only managed a short visit to the Art Institute after our very energy sapping visit to Wrigley Field. We headed back to our room to finish the pizza pie and have an early night in preparation for our final day.