Chicago, part deux

A trip to Chicago would not be complete without a visit to one of its ethnic neighborhoods, so we went to check out Pilsen, a well-known Hispanic neighborhood despite its not-so-Spanish name (interestingly, Pilsen is the Czech town where Pilsner Urquell was born, where I went for a brewery tour). The subway stop had lots of artistic murals, providing an interesting backdrop to an otherwise weathered subway stop.







And then we had lunch at this wonderful hole in the wall Mexian place called Gloria's. Gloria, the owner herself, really welcomed us and made us felt at home. Barrie chatted up the super friendly owner with ease in Spanish (sigh, I'm so jealous. She speaks Italian and Spanish), while I got to embarrass myself with my crap-tastic gringo (or would that be amarillo?) espanol.

Me: uh, um, para mi, uno taco asada por favor? (por? para? damn I can never
remember)
Gloria: un taco asada? y una coca cola?
Me: [nods head vigorously]

Despite my mighty linguistic struggles, the food was awesome. Simple but hearty and refreshing.


After an unsuccessful attempt to Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise since it wasn't really worth it, we made it out to the Navy Pier for a nice night walk.



What does this remind you of?


While officially called "Cloud Nine", it is known as "The Bean" to everyone else. Anish Kapoor's gigantic metallic sculpture in Millennium Park is an endless source of amusement to people, especially kids (and yours truly). Its curved and reflective surface creates all sorts of cool photo opportunities. On a sunny day, as when we were there, you can see an endless stream of people underneath the giant bean looking at their own reflections. It's also just a great public space for people to gather and spend time outdoors with friends and families. A Chicago paper I read proudly proclaimed that Chicagoans are the people who best know how to enjoy summer. During the fleeting month or two of comfortable, warm weather, everyone just comes out en masse to enjoy the weather, not unlik Seattlelites. Though we don't really have much to complain about when comparing weather with our Midwestern neighbors.





There's also Crown Fountain, two opposing 50 ft structures composed of glass cubes, forming mosaics of various citizens. They smile, they frown, and every once in a while, they blow!

And the adventure begins

My (hopefully epic) travels for this year has officially begun yesterday, after I quit my job, packed my things, and hit the road for good. It still feels kind of surreal that my life in Seattle is over and I'm now moving into unknown territory, but it also feels good too. Sometimes you need a little catalyst to jolt you out of the mundane and remind yourself what living life, not just merely coasting along, is like. I just can't describe how electrifyingly alive it is to be on the road again.



So, I set out for the Windy City with Portos and Athos...ahem, I mean Alex and Barrie.






And first impressions so far? Wow, what a majestic city. Everything about it is grand, spacious, and open. It is probably the most architecturally aesthetic American city I have ever been to, truly living up to its heritage of Frank Lloyd Wright and other amazing architects. Downtown is filled with well-preserved Beaux Arts and Art Deco buildings, and walking around often feels like traversing a man-made Grand Canyon of steel and glass. We're staying at a fabulous location, in the middle of downtown CHI, where everything is within walking or L distance.



Knowing me and food, one of the first things we did was to go to Pizzeria Uno, the purported birthplace of the deep-dish pizza. The pizza was damn good I have to say. Not quite as good as I had hoped it to be, the crust was a little flaky for my liking, but the toppings were flavorful and servings generous.



Secretly, I think Zachary's in Berkeley is a bit better, but it's probably difficult to live up to everyone's expectations as well. Funny thing is, there's a Pizzeria Due down the street if the line ever became too long, though fortunately we didn't need to go there.



Next we walked down the Magnificent Mile, which is this stretch along Michigan Ave. with tons of luxury shops and buildings, kind of like Chicago's version of 5th Ave. We dutifully played our part of wide-eyed tourists by going up the John Hancock building to get a panoramic view of the city. I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint; to see Lake Michigan stretch to horizon with no land in sight is truly magnificent, and makes you wonder if the early explorers ever mistook the Great Lakes for an actual sea.



After coming down, I have to admit I succumbed to my impulses and bought some stuff at H&M ;) But they were good bargains (when is H&M ever not cheap?), or at least that's what I keep telling myself. For dinner, we ventured out of the touristy downtown into Lincoln Park, one of Chicago's old neighborhoods. It was gorgeous, to walk along in the warm summer night breeze, sunset in the background, and rows upon rows of old, charming apartments and houses lining the streets. There were little boutiques on the 1st floor and beautifully restored housing on top, reminding me a lot of parts of Boston and SF.

And for dinner (yes, you know it was going to come back to food, don't you?), we went to this awesome place called Cafe Ba Ba Reeba, which served up some finger-licking-good Spanish tapas with some good-looking clientele :) Umm yeah, doubly delicious. I guess there must be some sort of reason among the karma gods, as Seattle's imbalanced ratio is obviously balanced out elsewhere in the universe - like here.

I'd love to write more but sadly my internet connection is running out and I must go...to be continued!