Holiday time, Chicago style

I’ve just returned home to Scotland after a lovely week away in Chicago. I am feeling relaxed and well-rested, but also high on the excitement of Chicago’s architecture, art, and atmosphere! The trip came at the end of the teaching term, so it was a much-needed break from work. (Although I did spend some time marking student assessments. It’s a task that can’t be avoided at times.)

Once again, my holiday was spent with my friend Ernie. We decided to meet in Chicago for this holiday because the flight schedules suited both of us. And after we booked our flights and accommodation, I was pleased to learn that the new Pope is a Chicago native, which led me to the misguided belief that there might be some cool Pope Leo souvenirs to be had. (More on that later.)

The trip was purely recreational; just a good excuse to get away from everyday life for a bit. Had I known, it could have also been a family reunion of sorts since my cousin happened to be in town at the same time – but we realised this too late to arrange a meet-up. (So, we’ll have to do that in our home state of Washington sometime instead.)

Excitingly (no, not really exciting at all), this marked my first time travelling as a dual citizen, which meant my first time using both my American and British passports for travel. The process was straightforward, although a little nerve-wracking as I wasn’t quite sure how it would work for passport checks with the airline. But I figured it out and made it there and back without any drama.

Day 1 (arrival): I arrived early afternoon and made my way to the hotel near Grant Park. I was exhausted from my travels, but I rarely nap on arrival, so instead I took a quick, refreshing shower to wake me up a bit. Once refreshed, I met with Ernie for some tourist-ing time!

We started with a lovely dinner at Sofi, where we shared a couple of nice pasta dishes and some wine. Then we walked around the city a bit, admiring the architecture – including a little self-guided tour the Harold Washington Library Centre, where we enjoyed more beautiful architecture and details of the design.

It was definitely a good way to get into holiday mode!

Day 2: On our first full day, we enjoyed an architecture tour focusing on the late 1880s to 1930. It was a guided walking tour through the Chicago Architecture Center and was a nice way to orient ourselves around the city a little more. The level of detail shared about the buildings, their architects, their inhabitants, and their wider context in Chicago’s history was wonderful (if you like that kind of thing, which I do). And, of course, there was a lot of looking up in awe at the built beauty all around the city.

Once we finished the tour, we made our way to Millennium Park to look at the garden and the art, including the famous Cloud Gate installation (also called The Bean). Ernie is really good at composing interesting photos, so I got several good ones of myself for my collection.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the park to explore more artwork and seek out some geocaches (I managed 7). We also enjoyed an obligatory holiday ice cream before heading back to the hotel to play some life-sized chess before heading out for some deep-dish pizza.

Day 3: We spent the day at the Chicago Art Institute, where I learned three things about my travel companion: (1) He’d never heard of Frida Kahlo, (2) he doesn’t like Surrealism, and (3) he was unimpressed with Frida Kahlo. Despite these things, we had a lovely visit to the museum – indeed, we spent several hours there taking in as much of the beautiful artwork as we could. https://www.artic.edu/

One of the unexpected joys at the museum was an exhibition of the Torlonia Collection. It’s a private collection of 620 statues and works of art from ancient Greek and Roman times, and several pieces were on display. Unlike museums and many (modern) collectors, the Torlonia family collected pieces that weren’t necessarily perfect, many of which were repaired and restored hundreds of years before they required it. I felt it added something to the collection, and it was fun to note where the repairs were done (often, we couldn’t tell without the accompanying signage).

I was on my own for dinner this evening, as Ernie was meeting a friend. So, I found the nearest place that sold Reubens and treated myself. It was a decent sandwich, and I would have it again if offered. But it didn’t top the best restaurant-made Reuben I’ve had to date!

Day 4: Today was a long, fun-filled day! We started the day with a walk to The Field Museum, enjoying several statues, geocaches, and inlaid words along the way. We spent about five hours exploring the museum and only just scratched the surface of all the wonderful things there were to see. The museum had so many different displays, and I think we could have spent the entire week there and never get bored! (It helps that Ernie and I have similar tastes and are equally silly and childish.)

After a little nap time for my travel companion, we made our way out for more architecture admiration – including a bit of pure tourist predictability at the Sears Tower (Willis Tower). I admit that the Sky Deck was not on my wish list, in part because it seemed like such a tacky tourist trap with a $42 price tag. But it was on Ernie’s wish list, and I admit that I am so pleased we went. It was so much fun doing a little photo shoot in the viewing pods! It was a little whimsical and silly, and I do love whimsy and silly things!

By the time we exited the tower at the end of the tour, the winds had picked up and were blowing quite fiercely. We made our way to dinner, fighting against the gales, then sat enjoying our meal as the weather got windier and heavy rain and hail began. The storm was beautiful from the safety of the restaurant, and it lifted just in time for us to walk back to the hotel. And only once we were safely back inside did the winds and rains start again. Yes, we were very lucky!

Day 5: Our last full day was another architectural tour. This time, we opted for a boat tour along the river. Rather than focusing on earlier buildings, it focused on a wide range of buildings. The guide wove in stories of the changing landscape and skyline along with the changes in industry and society. It was such a nice way to tie the city together a little more and to provide more context to some of the engineering marvels that we’d been enjoying as we walked around the city in the days before.

When the boat tour ended, we made our way to the Holy Name Cathedral, where I finally saw some “Pope stuff” by way of banners honouring Pope Leo. And I admit, I was surprised that there were no entrepreneurial spirits on the streets elsewhere in Chicago selling Pope Leo souvenirs. I was looking forward to finding a magnet or something! Oh, well. We also explored the Chicago Water Tower and enjoyed a tour of the Driehaus Museum – an amazing blend of architecture and art if ever there was one!

After a long day of exploring, we rested up a bit before heading out for a Chicago dog dinner and some ice cream. And, of course, a stop at the local grocery store so that I could get some much-wanted junk foods to take home to Scotland.

Day 6 (departure): Our last day was a short one as we needed to get a taxi to the airport around 11 am. But we enjoyed a full breakfast at the hotel, followed by a final walk around the city and the gardens before we said goodbye to Chicago. And then, we said “see you next time” to each other before parting ways.

My flights were unremarkable, and my luggage all made it through without issues, including the lovely American goodies I brought home.

It was a wonderful little holiday filled with much fun and frivolity, and many, many happy memories. And we’ve already started to think about when we might be able to enjoy an adventure together again. I can’t wait!

As always, photos from my adventures are in the gallery below. I have created a second gallery post for just architectural and art photos because there were too many to share in one place. You can see those photos here.