In the morning, I left Six Flags Great America and headed toward Chicago. I parked the car at the Cumberland Park & Ride and took the Blue Line into downtown. Much easier than dealing with traffic in the city center and paying the rather painful parking rates.
My Total Loop Tour with Free Chicago Walking Tours started at the former Sears Tower, now the Willis Tower. It turned out to be a great way to see quite a bit of downtown Chicago in a relatively short amount of time.
From the Willis Tower, we first headed to the Rookery Building with its impressive interior court, later redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright. From there, the tour continued to Federal Plaza with Alexander Calder’s red Flamingo sculpture and then to Daley Plaza with its large Picasso sculpture.
Next came the Chicago Theatre and the former Marshall Field’s, now Macy’s on State Street. The huge Tiffany glass ceiling alone is worth looking up for. The Palmer House with its beautifully decorated lobby was also part of the route before we passed the Art Institute and eventually reached Millennium Park.
Of course, I had to stop at Cloud Gate, better known as “The Bean.” I also wanted to see Buckingham Fountain, which I mainly knew from the opening credits of Married… with Children.
After all that walking, it was time for food. I had wanted to try a proper Chicago deep-dish pizza anyway, and Jared from themeparkcoastercrazy had recommended Giordano’s. My first deep dish was definitely not a light meal, but it was really good.
I stayed at the ACME Hotel Company, a very nice modern hotel with a cool vibe and a stylish bar. That was also where I had an excellent Old Fashioned. Ever since, that cocktail has become my benchmark for bars. If a place cannot make a decent Old Fashioned, I usually do not order much else there.
The hotel’s location was also very convenient. The Hard Rock Cafe was practically around the corner, there was a casino across the street, and the Riverwalk was not far away either. That made it easy to spend the evening in the city without having to walk too far.
Pictures Chicago
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