City of winds. Blue skies. Azure blue river. City of glass. Less obvious and overwhelming than New York City, but still. City of always looking up and never down. City of a silver doughnut (Cloud Gate) that I still don't get (I'm too lazy to google it).
City I fell in love with.
How on earth do I dare to say those words living in New York? Because I can. Here. I said it. I love Chicago. It's energy and people and skyscrapers that are not taking your breath away, actually totally opposite. They make you breath again. All thanks to a tiny space kept in between the buildings. Such a small thing and how much it changes. It makes you see the sky and clouds again. Makes sun shine touch your skin even on the business sidewalks. I know streets in The City that never got touched by the sun light. There's something romantic about it. It's like the City is giving its personal permission for an existence of all night creatures (rats, dirty dogs eaten after whole night of drinking and humiliated girls and their walks of shame kept away from the public eye).
I was only two days in Chicago but still I got a chance to experience its whole beauty. First thing I did was walking down Michigan Avenue trying to understand where I am and where I'm going (sounds deeper than I intended) realizing that I'm on the very way to get to the Millennium Park where I can possibly see a very famous silver doughnut (Cloud Gate). I got there very early but it didn't stop a huge group of tourists from making this place almost unfriendly. Once I looked at this amazing piece of art I realized that I found myself in the middle of Jazz Festival (what would explain the crowds at 7 am in the park). It made me more happy than I expected. Absolutely exhausted, I took a nap in the middle of the park, making myself comfortable with a bottle of water as my pillow. Classy. What was even more classy was my red face (classy sunburn) and my wake up call, that was a random toddler standing right above me, asking a parent if I'm homeless ( what a classy nap).
Just a tiny bit humiliated I walked (a bad idea - it was a bloody long walk) to Navy Pier to catch a Chicago Architecture Cruise (a highlight of the day) that was simply amazing. In less than two hours I learned a history of the city and saw most of it. I loved it and I would do it again the next day if it wasn't for the money I'm currently trying to save for my future trips. Those two things I highly recommend! Awesome views and atmosphere for a good price.
Half asleep I checked in my hostel (Hosteling International Chicago) just 5 mins away from Millennium Park, bumping straight into my new roommates that turned out to be absolutely lovely and willing to spend an evening with me (still thinking about homeless thing that happened). Even more exhausted I forced myself to have a last walk of the day, hoping to find some polish food for a dinner (Chicago is a city famous for Polish immigrants). Hungry I walked the Magnificent Mile looking desperately for dumplings (pierogi) that I didn't find. At the end of the evening I got caught by the horrible storm. Wet and disappointed (still hungry) I've decided to join my new friends and get myself drunk with a cider I bought after flirting with a random guy by the counter, two blocks from a hostel.
And here I have a little thought to share. Do you remember those moments where you really didn't want to do something but at the end you forced yourself to, just because you knew that you avoid something out of fear or your fear of crossing your comfort zone? It was a moment in which in stead of going straight into my bed I turned around, soaking wet on the street, and I ran into a liquor store. This one second changed my whole evening and gave me a chance to meet incredible people I would never have met if I let myself be lazy. I spent whole night talking about life and love and travels. About giving yourself chances and starting all over. About climbing volcanoes and sleeping in the igloo. And I got inspired. Just like that thinking that if it wasn't for my will to do things I didn't want to in the first place, I wouldn't be there. I wouldn't be anywhere. Definitely not here. Not in the US.
So here is my small advice. For all of you who are scared, it doesn't matter what's the reason: a big step forward, buying this flight ticket you always wanted, meeting new people, going on a date, going out this one night, moving on and letting things happen. You can always go back to the point where you started. You can say that's impossible sometimes, but for me personally it's just another excuse. You can always come back home (meaning absolutely everything you want) if everything will just go wrong. You can always sneak out of this terrible date and never see a guy/girl again. You can always leave the party and find your way back to your place. Always. There's nothing worse that wondering what if.
And that happened to me. I found myself a thousand excuses not to join those girls that night. All I needed was a simple thought: what if, to go. And I had fun. And I loved it.
The next day I had a nice breakfast and dumplings for lunch and jazz music and polish sweets for dessert. My way back home was easy. And my memories about Chicago will always be sweet.
So here you go:
My Top FIVE things to do in Chicago:
1. Do the Architecture Boat Cruise and visit Navy Pier that's just around the corner.
2. Have a walk down Magnificent Mile with some extra money for shopping.
3. Get yourself some amazing polish food (Pierogi Heaven - amazing dumplings place) and sit down in Millennium Park. Look at the Cloud Gate and enjoy it.
4. Have a walk in the evening along the river bank. Start at the beginning of Magnificent Mile. Find yourself a bar there and have a beer/drink.
5. Visit The Fields Museum, Adler Planetarium and Skydeck. It's smart to buy a city pass! (for 5 passes you pay 100$ instead of buying separate tickets that would cost you easily around 200$).
You're welcome. I'm waiting to hear your stories about Chicago.
All the love! M.