This past weekend I was in Chicago, Illinois!
Do you know what ‘Chicago’ means?!
When the first French Canadian settlers came to the area, many Native Americans still occupied the land. It was swamp land, and did not smell too good. In their language, ‘Chicago’ meant ‘Smelly Onion!’
One of my first stops was at Millennium Park!
Here I am with the ‘Bean.’
Look at my reflection!
Underneath the ‘Bean.’
Here is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Also in Millennium Park, this stage is an outdoor arena that can have up to 11,000 people.
Next, I visited the John Hancock Building.
This was the first high rise built in Chicago. It is now the 4th tallest building in the city. It is famous for its cris-cross beams on the outside, which support the weight of the building.
The view from the 95th floor was breathtaking.
The next day I took a trolly ride around the city.
On the trolly, I was able to see the second oldest baseball stadium in the country. Wrigley Field is home to the Cubs.
After my trolly, I stopped at Lou Malnati’s for their famous deep dish pizza.
YUM!!!
The next building I went to is now the tallest in the city! I was able to go to the 103rd floor.
It is a big tourist attraction because of the ‘Sky Deck,’ where you can actually step out onto clear glass.
View from the Willis Tower. This building used to be called the Sears Tower.
On the ‘Sky Deck!’
Over 1,000 feet above ground!
My next stop was at the Art Insitute of Chicago. Here are some famous works of art:
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte – Georges Seurat
Bedroom in Arles – Vincent Van Gough
Buddha from Tamil Nadu, India
American Gothic – Grant Wood
After the Institute, I went to watch the Penn State vs. Ohio State game at a Chicago Alum Bar.
They had a costume contest and my favorite was a man in an Amish costume!
Those are my photos! I hope you enjoyed it like I did. Here are some other fun facts about Chicago that I learned during my trip:
-The Magnificent Mile, on Michigan Ave., is the 6th biggest grossing district in the Americas! That include North and South America.
-There are 106 miles of tracks for the Subway over the streets in the city.
-4 out of the top 10 hospitals in the nation are in Chicago. Insulin was first harvested at one of them!
-It is called the ‘Windy City,’ not because it is windy, but because politicians were ‘Wind Bags’ during the cities exhibition in 1893. A ‘Wind Bag’ means they were boastful about Chicago.
Haha I miss Penny! You must be taking good care of her, she doesn't look worn out at all since Paris 🙂
BTW I was in Chicago three weeks ago too! I saw your comment on my profile pic, what brings you to Chicago?
Hey Deb! I’m still learning this comment thing, but so glad you checked up on Penny. I went to Chicago with my dad for a racquet ball tournament. I loved it there… it reminded me of Paris so much!
And yes… this is Penny 2.0 🙂
Hope all is well,