Day 27 - Bright Lights, Big City

You will be familiar now with our morning routine. We stepped outside of the hotel, and I immediately set off in the wrong direction to find a recommended coffee shop. Good thing we had an engineer on board, and before too long we found a coffee and pastry. Not as good as the one we had in Louisville, but you can't have everything. The sun was shining, and we were ready to explore the city. Our strategy is to find the white man (walk signal) or get to the sunny side of the street. Almost immediately we realized we were in a big city. The streets are vibrant, there is traffic, you hear a multitude of spoken languages, and the buildings are impressive. We reminisced about the big cities we have explored, San Francisco, Vancouver, Sidney, Australia, London, Paris, Lisbon. They all have this vibrant feel. 

Our first discovery was the River Walk on the Chicago River. Since it was early morning, many of the eating establishments were still closed, but lots of people were sitting in cafes or walking around with a coffee in their hand. We had decided to join an architectural tour from a river boat. The day was perfect, and so after having a Chicago hot dog, we set off on the First Lady of Chicago for a pleasant afternoon, necks braced, staring up at the buildings scraping the sky. 

To get noticed in the birthplace of the skyscraper, Chicago architects have had to stretch their imaginations and their engineers' capabilities. The effect is breathtaking, especially on a sunny day. The docent who led the tour was great, describing the founding of the city, the explosive growth, the devastation of the fire, and the even more explosive growth (including the first skyscraper) afterward. It was a great first look at the thankfully not-so-windy city.

Betsy gave a well-deserved nod to the Palmer House Hotel. After the architectural tour, we needed a bite and a nosh, and the gorgeous lobby of the hotel was the perfect setting to recharge and reflect on the sites. Bellmen in tails, waiters in waistcoats and high wing-back chairs made us feel like we were living large in the 30s.

Dinner was unplanned, so we took the highly refined approach of digging out our phones and looking for "Food near here". With something light in mind, we aimed for Vietnamese fair at Le Colonial. What a treat! With no reservation, we could only sit in the bar area, which was full of "beautiful people". The service was impeccable and the food - the yellow curry especially - was wonderful, which enticed us to eat more than we should have. This low-key spot should be on the must-do list for a Chicago visit.

The perfect book for this perfect day. Building Chicago: the Architectural Masterworks by John Zukowsky. A stellar book about the crown jewels of the city.

Of course, we can't let you go without a rendition of Sweet Home Chicago. There are so many to choose from, but we decided to go with the new and the old - John Mayer and B.B. King. 

Sweet Home Chicago - BB King & John Mayer Live - 2006 - YouTube