CHICAGO!!!

I spent the last few days in Chicago! yep, ooo getting on a plane, sooo good! even though it was not that comfortable. From Seattle to Chicago I asked for an emergency exit seat and.....they charge! can you imagine, $44 US (w/United). No wonder why airlines do so bad, crappy customer service and charging for breathing. Anyway, I got safe and sound to the windy city.

Ana Laura (my sis) was already waiting there. We went to get the car and got a mini-van, gross, they are truly ugly! but it was good to have some wheels. We stayed in a hotel close to the airport, very nice with awsome pillows (part of the Hilton), as it was late we just went to a nearby mall where everything was closed so we ended up going to a late night movie... V for Vendetta, amusing!


Next day we decided to go to Cereal City - the Kellog's plant to visit the frosted flake Tigre Tono. We saw the brochure in the hotel rack and the directions were: take I-90 and exit on #90 to a street, and it is 5 miles from there. OK, so there we go....the #$%^&* brochure didn't bother to say that it was something like 3 hours away and that you had to cross 3 states!!


Ana Laura called in the morning and they were opened until 5. On the map we found the highway and there we go, and then crossed to another state and then to another. We kept saying that we should go back, but as we didn't know how far it was we kept going. We arrived at 4:15 (left at 1:30) to find out that it was CLOSED!!! can you imagine!! we laughed (what else to do) but I sure gave the finger to the Tigre!






So we went back to town and got back at around 9 pm so we basically blew the whole day royally. We went for a nice steak dinner and as usual I had a date with the porcelain god, severe vomiting and feeling like dying the whole night. I don't know why my stomach is soooooo sensitive!

The next day we went for a good walk to half of the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave.)
and as it was a very nice day we went up the Sears Tower...103 floors!
it takes de elevator I think 50 seconds to go from the bottom to the top1. We had amazing views of Lake Michigan and you could see over 50 miles (we couldn't see the %^&^&* cereal city....hahaha). There is a very good, fun, informative and well designed exhibit about the history of Chicago, the famous people, their industry, arts, sports, architecture, etc. So it was a very educational and informative way to spend a couple of hours.

Then we went to walk around the Mile and I wanted to go to a Piano Bar called the Red Hair Girl but it was closed (lucky for AL!),. so instead we went for Mexican dinner...lots of mexican places, there is a big MX community there as well as latin americans.

On Tuesday we took an architectural tour of "old high rises". Architectura - the architects association has this great shop with awsome thingys and all the tours are provided by academics. OUr guide was Lee, an retired professor. She explained things in a very animated, fun, informative and well informed way so it was a very fun tour. At some point in time a high-rise had 9 stories!! imagine. Chicago is like Gothic City or Spiderman's city, I know it doesn't sound like a very cultured view of it but I just kept waiting to see Batman in his car or Spiderman hanging from some modern-gothic-art deco styled building! I love high rises and Chicago has plenty of them. The downtown core is very attractive but once you are out of there is nothing very nice. All the surrounding areas are FLAT...buildings are very short and everything is brown. Of course it is still wnter but I don't think the whole of Chicagoland gets much green! The "city" is modern, happening, gorgeous buildings, nice little bridges, the lake, people are very friendly and warm though not particularly good looking nor well dressed, it's pretty "average", which I found a little weird.


There are plenty of swanky restaurants and bars, coffee and chocolate shops, blues and jazz joints and of course Chicago's famous Giordianos deep dish pizza! We had a little one between the two of us and it was more than plenty! eating one of those guarantees a major cheese ball in the stomach!!! hahaha
After getting culturized we spend the rest of the day at Marshal Fields, a Chicago's icon of a department store. Chicagoans are upset as this store has been bought by Macy's and soon it will become one. Marshall Fields is to Chicago as The Bay is to Canada (mmmhhh, and The Bay was recently sold to JC Penny's - *&%^$# - if they are going to be selling national identity icons at least they should sell them to more upscale entities like Nordstrom, buy JC Penny? arggg. OK that is another blog entry). So apparently there is much discontent that they are going to change the name and look of the store!

OK I'll continue with this later, and I'll post pictures too!