Frank Sinatra sings…
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of razzmatazz
And it has all that jazz
And each time I leave, Chicago is
Tuggin’ my sleeve, Chicago is
The Wrigley Building, Chicago is
The Union Stockyard, Chicago is
One town that won’t let you down
It’s my kind of town!

I must say I agree, I absolutely love this city, the feel and the vibe and the architecture. Now I have seen some of the suburbs too and they are great. I was up quite early on Sunday morning. Did some ironing and packed my cases. Ant and I then headed to a local diner for a great breakfast. I had french toast with strawberries and banana and blue berries. Then we headed off to downtown Chicago.

As I said, he drives the Jaguar FS x – it is a spectacular machine. I was gobsmacked as it self paralleled parked! That wheel just spinning and adjusting. Ant then put the car through its pace around the bends and on the hiway. Unfortunately my motion sensitivity kicked in and he rapidly had to stop before I projectiled. But I can see what an amazing vehicle this is. Downtown we drove through his old  neighbourhood, along the lakeshore area. Traffic was a killer- with the incredible weather, everyone was one the waterfront. People were on the beaches, swimming in the lakes, walking, cycling, segwaying, jogging, sailing, swimming…you name it. We stopped for a superb gelati in one of the neighborhoods….these cones were works of art.

Then I went and checked into my hotel, the Chicago Athletics Association, right on Michigan avenue, opposite the bean. My first room was a bit of a cave dungeon and very noisy. Luckily for me the toilet seat was broken and I was then upgraded to a king room on the 18th floor. Windows all around and way roomier and lighter, I could just see the bean from the side window. A decent hotel, not complaining about anything, but a bit too dark and heavy for me.  I took a walk around in the afternoon, saw the bean, the park, the fountains. Just wandered through the city watching the train pass overhead, listening to the sounds and enjoying the city. I bought some snacks for the bus trip o Kalamazoo- pumpkin spice Philadelphia cheese. Tastes it last night, but I think that the jury is out on this one. Pumpkin spice is for sweet treats, not savoury things I think.

I then hopped on a local bus down to Navy Pier at around 7pm and did a night tour on the BigBus. I was fantastic- the weather was really conducive to an open top night time experience. And we all know that the city lights always create a magic! The tour lasted just over an hour and a half, with a stop near the aquarium to get a cityscape pic. I know that night time pics are not the best, but these are actually pretty good, so I will share them. I then caught the bus back to near my hotel and walked through the city, back to the bean. I finally got back to my hotel at 11pm. I was exaustipated, so a quick shower and off to bed – no blogging.

Diner view

Diner view

Breakfast pic

My french toast and fruit

Blake and I

Hreat brownstone townhouse

Ice cream art

Ice cream art

Ant’s choice

Special ice cream cone

My cup – caramel, banana and biscotti

Hotel rooftop view

Rooftop view

Michigan ave

My hotel

Flowers in the park

Flowers in the park

Self reflected in beanthe bean

Great reflected views

Millenium fountain

So pretty

WTF?…really?

Say whaaaaat?

Too pretty

State avenue

Sunset in the city

Sunset

Guess whereI am

Iconic

Skyline with plane

Simply spectacular

Dont know whoch to pic

Even like this one

Bean at night

Soapp for veggies…

Sunset