Eric's Trip to Chicago

Monday, Sept 3
I found a breakfast place near the hotel called The Corner Bakery Café...what an original name. Well, it had great food and is cheap…a lot cheaper than the $20 American breakfast at the Hotel Monaco. The key to finding cheap breakfasts is to either get the breakfast as part of a package…or find a café near the hotel…just DON’T eat at the hotel…unless you are on business when the company is paying for it.

After a quick bite, we took the boat tour through the Chicago waterways put on by the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

I highly recommend doing the river cruise tour…and recommend even more highly taking the tour put on by the Architecture Foundation. Chicago has a great architectural history because of the rebuilding that happened after the city was burnt to the ground in 1870 in the Great Chicago Fire. The city was rebuilt by money from the big Industrialists (Rockerfeller, Wrigley) and built by the top architects of the day. The view from the water was spectacular. Check out the tour overview for more detail.

The Navy Pier was once an active pier that has turned into a tourist destination. We took the free city trolley down from the hotel to the pier…hey, it’s FREE. So why not? The Navy Pier is a lot like Pier 39 in San Francisco with amusement park rides like an old-school carousel and Ferris wheel. It’s worth a quick visit to push through the crowds to have lunch somewhere around the pier and relax. The big attraction for adults is actually a stained glass museum at the end of the pier. Believe it or not, this museum is really cool. On display are several stained glass windows that were part of buildings built during Chicago’s big building campaign. The “star” is Tiffany, the artist who developed several glass techniques, created amazing windows and started Tiffany & Co. Check it out…it’s cool.

After lunch, I insisted that we go to the top of the Hancock Building on Michigan Ave. The Hancock is not the tallest building, but has a great observation deck that is worth the money to get there. We spent an hour on the 98th floor with a 360 degree view of the city and Lake Michigan. There is a great Chicago timeline there that gives an overview of the major events of the city…which is cool. This is a must go to destination in Chicago in my opinion.

Just across the street from Hancock is the old Water Tower and the 4th Presbyterian Church (these two sites are within feet of each other). The church is done in the Gothic style so it looks very similar to the cathedrals in Europe. It’s worth a brief visit. Mom, Dad and I stopped in the courtyard and did a brief sketch of the Tudor buildings that house the church school and offices. Across the street from the Water Tower park area is Ghiradelli Chocolate store and a Hershey’s Chocolate store…strange. I guess it’s like having a Starbuck’s and Peete’s on opposite corners. Hershey’s is a candy shop…where Ghiradelli is more like a chocolate café…which is similar to Ghiradelli in San Francisco. We ended up having dinner at a nearby café. This is a great place and a real find. French food is served in a European setting. We found a 3 course fixed menu for $20 on a Monday night. And it was good! The other items on the menu where reasonably priced as well.

After dinner I convinced Mom and Dad to go to a blues club called Blue Chicago. The club was one of few open on Monday night…which is typically a dark night. Going to see Blues music in Chicago is a must…and Blue Chicago is a great, small club to see Blues at. Check out who is playing..and just go. Get there by 8:30 pm to get a seat for the 9:00pm set. This is a famous club..and Blues fans come early. You will like the music and the flavor. The musicians and singers who play at this club are the real deal. Frequently the Blues band is accompanied by a female singer…which is the signature for Blue Chicago. GO HERE. IT’S GREAT!