USA : Chicago – Woke and Awake Travel

To & From :

Chicago has great connectivity with Ireland so plenty of flight options, either one stop or direct, if as we have visited for long weekends including this featured visit over St Patricks day, direct is the best options.

Flight times a little over 8 hours out and 7 back work well, Aer Lingus have a great schedule leaving around midday and with the benefit of – 6 Hours GMT landing early afternoon and with pre-clearance you sail through Chicago O’Hare International Airport ( ORD ).

Chicago has a cold climate, with reasonably hot summers and rain all year round, sat on the bottom edge of Lake Michigan, it has ever present on shore breezes and aptly named the Windy City, no exception in March when night time temperatures can dip below freezing, November into February can see seriously cold temperatures.

O’Hare is a busy transit hub, but as all airports in the US easy to navigate and relatively close to down town on the CTA Blue line, takes under an hour to Clark/Lake station, from there walk towards the Chicago river, turn to your right and follow Wacker Drive. Cross the river at either State Street or Wabash and you cannot miss Trump International Hotel, somewhere we chose to stay before the owner was a failed politician.

Despite the ownership this is a magnificent hotel, the website suggests it is the fourth tallest building in the United States, and served as the inspiration for Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, –fake news — Probably!

See Useful Link 1

Location is great overlooking the Chicago River and only a couple of blocks from the Magnificent mile, surrounded by posh eateries and glitzy nightlife. As you would expect from any five star hotel, check-in a breeze and you will be ready to explore the local nightlife in no time.

We went to Mother Hubbard’s sports bar, five minutes from the hotel, there is no better way to immerse yourself into the USA than a sports bar, wall to wall TV, dozen different sporting events and always American Football showcased. The food drowned in hydrogenated vegetable oil and dosed with cheese always hits the spot first night.

Awake Tip: Carry ID otherwise they may not serve you alcohol even if your children are of drinking age!

See Useful Link 2

Day 1.

There is plenty to do and see in this City, but we decided on a quick sightseeing tour to get out bearings, at the intersection of Clark and Ohio Streets, you catch the bus for the Untouchables tour, the guides are actors and take on the persona of a 1920’s gangster. They say they present an accurate account of the crimes and activities that were going on in Chicago during the 1920s and ’30s (Prohibition Era), in fairness it is fascinating step back in time.

See Useful Link 3

The tour lasts a couple of hours, so after a quick lunch, we decided to continue to explore North Side, an area that after the great fire of 1871 rose from the ashes and today is made more famous by the Magnificent Mile an upscale residential and shopping district. At its Northern end it is dominated by the John Hancock Centre offering spectacular views from its open-air skywalk on the 94th floor. At its foot a ground level plaza leading to Water Tower Place, a shopping mecca. Heading back towards the hotel you come across the Wrigley Building sat in a quiet courtyard.

Day 2.

We had gone to celebrate St Patrick’s day and like many things in the USA there are plenty of celebrants, turning the river green is all part of the spectacle.

The parade itself centres around the river and leads you towards the Downtown Core, the historic and financial centre its nucleus is the Loop and its elevated train tracks encircling it.

Probably the most famous landmark in this district is Willis Tower, once the tallest building in the world, now relegated to the second tallest in the USA, it has a glass enclosed observation deck on the 103rd floor with stunning views.

The other place not to miss is the Art Institute of Chicago sandwiched between Buckingham and Millennium Parks it is full of works than span the world as well as centuries. In fact on our visit we found a chair from Adare Manor Hotel, Ireland !

Its a fair walk back to the North side of the Chicago river from Queen’s landing, so we jumped on the metro at Adams/Wabash up to State/Lake, back to the hotel to get ready to go out

We had decided to go to a very authentic Italian restaurant made famous by its dodgy clientele over the years and then onto a jazz club.

Club lucky, may not have been that lucky for some, but it is great authentic Italian restaurant, easiest way is to go by cab. Lucky dates back to 1937, when the Bucktown bar was attached to a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. Now the hall has become a dining room serving up big helpings of chicken vesuvio, homemade pastas and other Italian dishes. But the 1940s-style remains, with the lounge area featuring the original bar, tin ceiling and aluminium and glass light fixtures mirrored after the ones in the Empire State Building. The bar is best known for its martinis, served with olives hand-stuffed with blue cheese, anchovies or pimento.

See Useful Link 4

Following that we headed to another famous venue a couple of blocks from the hotel on W. Hubbard Street, Andy’s Jazz club.

See Useful Link 5

Day 3.

Taking things easy after a long night we set out for the relative calm of the Museum of Contemporary Art, a brisk walk up Michigan Avenue onto E. Chicago Ave, the museum sits close to Lake shore park so for a view of the lake head over to the park after and stroll down lakefront Trail which takes you down to the southernmost tip of the Lake and Ohio Street Beach, and Milton Lee Olive park.

Our leisurely day finished at the excellent McCormick & Schmick’s seafood restaurant 5 minutes from the hotel over Irv Kupcinet Bridge.

Day 4.

Our last day is often put aside for shopping in all the great stores in US cities, no exception here in Chicago, and as the flight return is late afternoon, the opportunity to fill the cases cannot be missed.