I'm not going to let history repeat itself this time, so I'm gonna blog about my Chicago trip before the memories collect dust on my mind's mentalpiece. :) Okay sorry, excuse the lameness.
I was there from Wednesday until Saturday, but I'm going to divide this trip into 3 days and blog each day separately. There's too much to cover and I'd be squeezing out all the juicy details if I tried to cram the entire trip into one miserable blog post. :)
So, DAY 1 (WEDNESDAY):
Friends and I embarked on the roadtrip at 3am. I think it's really fun to drive late at night, or early in the morning when the roads are quiet and everything is just so tranquil. By 6am, we were out of Arkansas and had crossed over to Missouri, the state to our north.
We made a few stops along the way. I'm glad we drove through St. Louis, the capital of Missouri, and stopped for a quick 5 minutes or so to savor the majestic Arc.
So we continued on the long road to Chicago. I thought I'd catch some shut eye in the car, but I couldn't sleep. Anyway, it was a 12-hour journey but it didn't seem so bad. I've been on a plane for 14 hours straight, so 12 hours in a car wasn't bad at all.
We finally arrived in the big city around 2.30 p.m and I was DEAD TIRED. I felt like a walking zombie as we crossed the busy streets to get to our hotel.
Chicago reminded me of Melbourne in many ways. The buildings were classically old-fashioned, carriage-horses lined the sidewalks and the shops were located along the streets (street malls) instead of in shopping complexes. But Chicago was way busier, colder and noisier. There were sirens going off every minute.
Checked into our decent hotel, Allerton Hotel, which was located nicely on Michigan Avenue, the shopping strip. :) Yes, we were directly in the fashion central, surrounded by Zara, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Top Shop, Victoria's Secret and more.
Chicago is well-known for the pizzas. That night, we decided to go to Gino's East, one of the best pizza places in the city. We had to line up outside the restaurant for 25 minutes in the cold in order to get a table in the crowded restaurant.
We finally got in and Gino's East was nothing like I'd ever been to. This restaurant encouraged vandalism. Everywhere I turned, there were writings and sketchings on the walls, tables, chairs, pillars, everywhere.It made the restaurant unique.
Dana and I. Look at the background. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Doris and Sohji. Don't let this picture fool you, she's actually very sweet. :)
Our deep dish pizza took 45 minutes to arrive.
Deep dish pizzas originated in Chicago. We ordered a small 4-slice pizza, with no idea that each slice was equivalent to 2 large ordinary slices. I had trouble finishing my slice, because we had an appetizer and an entree while waiting for our pizza.
And we also had a round of drinks ;) My friends thought I was drunk, but I wasn't. I have a video to prove it. I'll put it up one day.
After dinner, we decided to stroll the city. It was really pretty at night with all the glittering lights sparkling up the streets. But it was so cold that we had to rush back to our hotel for warmth. It was like 3'C that night, plus it was really windy.
So, that wraps up Day One and there'll be more to come. :)
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