The Windy City Part I

Today wraps up my whirlwind getaway to Chicago. With four full days in the city (and two traveling days), I think I did pretty well for myself in getting a feel for the city. I also owe it to my friend Dan who kindly hosted me during my stay, made recommendations, and took me around.

The first thing I did when I got to Chicago was obviously have pizza! We went to Pizza Capri in Hyde Park near where I was staying. Unfortunately the server mixed up our order so we didn't have deep dish, but the pizza was still fantastically cheesy. The tiramisu is also pretty authentic there, but the cheesecake leaves much to be desired. (Probably from being spoiled by the Cheesecake Factory)
After dinner Dan showed me the U of Chicago film society cinema, Doc Films, where he volunteers. Each night you can catch a movie for $5, following a different theme for each day of the week. Later on around 9pm, their annual Blues 'n Ribs night began - live music and free ribs! And beer! I can't remember the last time I was even at a school event, but this one felt like something out of the movies. The building was so grand. There were two huge halls where two bands were doing their own thing, lots of tables set up, and a dance floor. It was neat also because I hadn't really been dancing in a setting other than a club.

Saturday was my day for roaming around downtown on my own. Naturally my stop was Barnes & Noble so I could peruse their travel books for ideas on what to do. Local hotels are also a great resource for brochures and maps of the area. I ended up going to the Chicago Cultural Center
for a tour of the building. The docent was a really sweet and knowledgeable old lady, and it was a great way to get a bit of Chicago history.
After that I of course went to take some pictures of Cloud Gate (the big bean) at Millennium Park, and walked the Magnificent Mile until I reached North Bridge Shops. There I did some shopping and waited for Dan to meet me for dinner, and we ate at an Irish restaurant. I had skipped lunch earlier because I didn't want to miss the tour, and after the tour it was too late, so I devoured my angus burger with gouda, onion and avocado like there was no tomorrow.
After dinner, Dan and I wandered some more. We took a stroll by the Chicago River and headed towards Navy Pier for a fireworks show. Navy Pier was very CNE-esque, with its boardwalks and the midway. It was a beautiful night out and the fireworks were fantastic! Afterward we also walked through the stained glass exhibits featuring works by Louis Comfort Tiffany before heading home.

On Sunday we decided to do a walking tour with the Chicago Architectural Foundation. We got our tickets for the Modern Skyscrapers tour first to make sure it wouldn't be sold out, and then went to Gold Coast Dogs for my Chicago hot dog experience. I was a little nervous at first (a hot dog without ketchup? What's up with that?), but it felt like something I had to just try. At the last second, and when presented the opportunity, I chickened out of having the relish on my hot dog, but otherwise I went the whole nine yards - pickles, onions, mustard and all. And surprisingly, it wasn't bad. It was a very interesting combination and interaction of tastes and textures.
The walking tour was two hours long but it went by surprisingly quickly. It was a fun way just to see the city and learn little tidbits about the buildings. People always talked about the beautiful architecture in Chicago and I thought it was just something for artsy people, but it doesn't take an art major to realize it's a gorgeous city. You literally never get tired at looking at the buildings. I found out there's a penitentiary/correctional facility right in downtown Chicago.
Afterward we took in a movie at the Chicago International Film Festival. The movie we watched, Problema, was only okay, but just being there was cool first for me. The director was there for a Q&A session after the screening, and we were given cards to rate the movie. Definitely makes me pumped for going to the Toronto film festival next year.
By that time, the day was long enough. We went home to make shrimp risotto for dinner, rest our achy feet, and take it easy!