Chicago

My sister is headed to Chicago in a few weeks so I thought I'd put up a few pictures. I really loved Chicago both times I've been. Come to think about it, I did spend 2 days there in college as well, but that doesn't really count. I'll go back again in November, but my favorite trip was last August. It was so green and vibrant.

The city has a great history of art and architecture. I've been able to hit both the Art Institute and the Field Museum of Natural History, but would love to spend more time at both.

The outdoor artwork is amazing as well. Millennium Park (the two middle pics) is very cool and just put me in a happy mood wandering around it. Seriously, if you can stand in front of an enormous reflective bean without smiling you have no soul.

I like going to tall buildings in big cities. I chose the Hancock Building over the Sears Tower here after reading some reviews. It was still overpriced (as all tourist attractions are) but offers a nice perspective of the city and the lake. In the summers there are fireworks over Lake Michigan, so I trekked down to Navy Pier to get a good view. Navy Pier reminds me of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Very touristy and reminded me of the fair. I think they were actually selling funnel cakes. I wouldn't recommend it and actually ended up leaving before the fireworks started.

I'm working on eating at unique and tasty restaurants when I travel instead of giving into the laziness of ordering a $30 crappy burger from room service. Last year I went to a fancy-ish work dinner at Blackbird. I got to pick out the restaurant and was really happy. It had great food in a relaxed setting.