An introduction to Chicago
OK, since I'm so bored this morning, I shall just summarise what I've gathered so far about this beautiful city.
Chicago, also known as The Windy City, is one of the four cities that border the gigantic Lake Michigan (I think the lake's the size of Singapore. I can't see the other shore, and people actually drive power boats on it in summer). It has 2 airports located at the suburbs, O'Hare where I landed, and the other is Midway airport. Where I live is called Downtown Chicago, which is the heart of the city where all the magnificent skyscrapers are.
Public transportation is pretty good actually! The CTA (Chicago Tranport Authority) manages a train system with 4 lines that all converge in Downtown, and is very cheap. $1.75 per ride regardless of distance, but trains are a shame compared to the MRT. The same applies for the bus service - it's easy to take, and also $1.75 regardless of distance. The buses are usually very frequent, they come within 5 minutes each except for certain ones (the bloody Bus 126 to Shedd Aquarium took a whole 25 minutes on Friday ...) What amazed me was how handicap-friendly the buses were. There are 2 rows of seats allocated for the handicaps, and people actually DO NOT sit on them, unlike in Singapore! And for the wheelchair-bound, the buses actually have a motorised ramp so that the wheelchairs can be rolled up into the bus, and there are clamps around the bottom of the seats so that the wheelchairs don't roll around. Cabs are everywhere! I think there are more than 6 separate companies running the service, and are pretty expensive actually. $1.90 flagging charge, $0.50 per extra person, and $1.60 per mile. What I do is a lot of walking actually, since I'm only 8 blocks away from Magnificent Mile and a few blocks away from most other pubs and stores like pharmacies, convenience stores and bookstores.
As with most American cities, the buildings here are grouped in "blocks", which are bordered by 4 roads. The roads here are actually funny - they run in a grid-like pattern throuout the city, making it very easy to navigate around. There are 3 main districts here - the business district, the theatre district, and the shopping district. I'm staying in the theatre district, where famous broadway theatres like the Chicago Theatre and Oriental Theatre are. The shopping district is at North Michigan Avenue, an absolutely long road, but fondly called "Magnificent Mile" by the locals. It's a little like orchard road with a lot more interesting sights. People busking on the streets, outdoor cafe's everywhere and a lot of shops. Many are stuff we get in Singapore like Tiffany, Burberry and the Body Shop, but then you get real American stuff like GAP and Banana Republic too! Oh .. point of interest. Giordano is NOT a cheap clothing shop here. It's actually a reknowned chain of pizza restaurants who were the first inventors of the stuffed pizza.
It's scary - they have 18 universities in this tiny place!! I've visited University of Chicago, and there's also Northwestern U, DePaul U, Columbia U at Chicago and a lot more. In winter the school buildings are pretty scary at night. Shadows of bare trees on the walls, and scary stone gargoyles on the gates. But the architechture inside is amazing and really warm. Intricate carvings, beautiful paintings and has this almost-vintage feel to it.
The main tourist attractions in Chicago:
Shedd Aquarium - the largest indoor aquarium in the world
Licoln Park Zoo - a free zoo with tonnes of animals!
Adler Planetarium - I dunno what it is, but supposedly you see stars from here?
Navy Pier - somewhat like Sentosa and has a famous gigantic Ferris wheel there
A LOT of museums and art institutes! I have no interest in these, hence no visit.
Sears Tower and Hancock Observatory - 2 of the tallest buildings here, popular for taking spectacular sunset shots of Chicago.
Buckingham Foutain - at Grant Park
Lake Michigan - gigantic lake!!
Of course, there are also the famous Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears (the football team) here when it's sports season. There's a basketball meet taking place in the city this weekend, so there are loads of banners about the Chicago bulls everywhere.
And of course there are all the fantastic nightspots - there's at least one every 2 blocks! Good live music, friendly crowds (no horrid drunk people like in Singapore pubs and no ridiculous rave/disco dance) and good food too. We actually bought 4 Buffalo Wings at a pub for just $3! Buffalo Wings are roasted chicken wings with a tomato and vinegar sauce, with a blue cheese dip. Yes, real big pieces of blue cheese inside! =D
Streets are usually quite safe at night, although I try to avoid blacks loitering around and I think they ask for money. They aren't pushy though - as long as you ignore them and walk right past them, they don't come walking after you asking for money as I imagined. Some of them busk, but honestly ... the music is terrible. There's this old black gentleman just 5 blocks down who plays the saxaphone so horribly I think people donate to him just to shut him up.
About theatres - many good broadway masterpieces actually pass here for tours. Les Miserables is actually showing 2 days after I leave Chicago (DAMN!), and they have others like Sweet Charity, Wicked and The Little Shop of Horrors.
Chicago, also known as The Windy City, is one of the four cities that border the gigantic Lake Michigan (I think the lake's the size of Singapore. I can't see the other shore, and people actually drive power boats on it in summer). It has 2 airports located at the suburbs, O'Hare where I landed, and the other is Midway airport. Where I live is called Downtown Chicago, which is the heart of the city where all the magnificent skyscrapers are.
Public transportation is pretty good actually! The CTA (Chicago Tranport Authority) manages a train system with 4 lines that all converge in Downtown, and is very cheap. $1.75 per ride regardless of distance, but trains are a shame compared to the MRT. The same applies for the bus service - it's easy to take, and also $1.75 regardless of distance. The buses are usually very frequent, they come within 5 minutes each except for certain ones (the bloody Bus 126 to Shedd Aquarium took a whole 25 minutes on Friday ...) What amazed me was how handicap-friendly the buses were. There are 2 rows of seats allocated for the handicaps, and people actually DO NOT sit on them, unlike in Singapore! And for the wheelchair-bound, the buses actually have a motorised ramp so that the wheelchairs can be rolled up into the bus, and there are clamps around the bottom of the seats so that the wheelchairs don't roll around. Cabs are everywhere! I think there are more than 6 separate companies running the service, and are pretty expensive actually. $1.90 flagging charge, $0.50 per extra person, and $1.60 per mile. What I do is a lot of walking actually, since I'm only 8 blocks away from Magnificent Mile and a few blocks away from most other pubs and stores like pharmacies, convenience stores and bookstores.
As with most American cities, the buildings here are grouped in "blocks", which are bordered by 4 roads. The roads here are actually funny - they run in a grid-like pattern throuout the city, making it very easy to navigate around. There are 3 main districts here - the business district, the theatre district, and the shopping district. I'm staying in the theatre district, where famous broadway theatres like the Chicago Theatre and Oriental Theatre are. The shopping district is at North Michigan Avenue, an absolutely long road, but fondly called "Magnificent Mile" by the locals. It's a little like orchard road with a lot more interesting sights. People busking on the streets, outdoor cafe's everywhere and a lot of shops. Many are stuff we get in Singapore like Tiffany, Burberry and the Body Shop, but then you get real American stuff like GAP and Banana Republic too! Oh .. point of interest. Giordano is NOT a cheap clothing shop here. It's actually a reknowned chain of pizza restaurants who were the first inventors of the stuffed pizza.
It's scary - they have 18 universities in this tiny place!! I've visited University of Chicago, and there's also Northwestern U, DePaul U, Columbia U at Chicago and a lot more. In winter the school buildings are pretty scary at night. Shadows of bare trees on the walls, and scary stone gargoyles on the gates. But the architechture inside is amazing and really warm. Intricate carvings, beautiful paintings and has this almost-vintage feel to it.
The main tourist attractions in Chicago:
Shedd Aquarium - the largest indoor aquarium in the world
Licoln Park Zoo - a free zoo with tonnes of animals!
Adler Planetarium - I dunno what it is, but supposedly you see stars from here?
Navy Pier - somewhat like Sentosa and has a famous gigantic Ferris wheel there
A LOT of museums and art institutes! I have no interest in these, hence no visit.
Sears Tower and Hancock Observatory - 2 of the tallest buildings here, popular for taking spectacular sunset shots of Chicago.
Buckingham Foutain - at Grant Park
Lake Michigan - gigantic lake!!
Of course, there are also the famous Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears (the football team) here when it's sports season. There's a basketball meet taking place in the city this weekend, so there are loads of banners about the Chicago bulls everywhere.
And of course there are all the fantastic nightspots - there's at least one every 2 blocks! Good live music, friendly crowds (no horrid drunk people like in Singapore pubs and no ridiculous rave/disco dance) and good food too. We actually bought 4 Buffalo Wings at a pub for just $3! Buffalo Wings are roasted chicken wings with a tomato and vinegar sauce, with a blue cheese dip. Yes, real big pieces of blue cheese inside! =D
Streets are usually quite safe at night, although I try to avoid blacks loitering around and I think they ask for money. They aren't pushy though - as long as you ignore them and walk right past them, they don't come walking after you asking for money as I imagined. Some of them busk, but honestly ... the music is terrible. There's this old black gentleman just 5 blocks down who plays the saxaphone so horribly I think people donate to him just to shut him up.
About theatres - many good broadway masterpieces actually pass here for tours. Les Miserables is actually showing 2 days after I leave Chicago (DAMN!), and they have others like Sweet Charity, Wicked and The Little Shop of Horrors.
posted by R. @ 3:01 AM
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