Refections — 9 Years Later

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Afterword — My Thoughts On This Trip

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Sunday 6th — Arrival At Heathrow & The Journey Home

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Time to leave

Now it's time to go home after 2 weeks here. Our flight wasn't until 3.50 pm and it only takes about an hour to the airport so we didn't have to get up really early. This is always the worst part of the holiday, I hate travelling back more than going. It was particularly bad this time as they seem to make the trains to the airport with no room for anything and that includes people, so everybody is crammed on with cases, even the elevators in the airport were small with everybody packed in but on we fought. 

Half the battle is getting rid of the bags so after that was done we went and had a beer and used the free 30 minutes of WiFi that the tight buggers give you before you have to pay, all other airports I've been to its free but this time we didn't have to hang about as long because we had only just over the 3 hour check-in time to wait and with 3 different devices you can get 30 minutes on each.

17:00cdt

Now we were sat on the plane somewhere over Canada I think in an economy plus seat by the window, it's better to squash in with somebody you know and there is only 2 seats on each side of the plane and 3 in the middle so we seem to have lucked in on this flight. On the way here we were in the normal cattle class which when some bastard in front puts the seat back in front there isn't enough room to get passed the armrest. No wonder they give you a free beer on these flights still is better than flying with Virgin Atlantic but only just.

18:00cdt 

They brought food around if that's what you can call it, always something that involves rice so you wouldn't think that they couldn't screw it up but this a plane after all. Hopefully, they will turn the lights off soon so all the annoying bastards go to sleep.

9 am GMT

The plane landed on time and we got through customs in 15 minutes, the bags were first off the plane as well which helps, we had to wait for ages last time. The taxi we had ordered was waiting for us so it's about an hour or so to home.

It was bloody freezing here compared to Chicago but it's supposed to warm up in the next few days.

My thoughts on vacation.

Chicago is one of the more dangerous cities to visit in the USA, gun crime is particularly bad here with a staggering 31 people shot to death in the just the time we spent there. The vast majority of this is down to gang violence and retaliation attacks but more often than not innocence people get caught up in it and die. Also, street robbery is fairly high so you need to be careful where you go and at what time of day, even early morning in a good neighbourhood can land you in trouble it would seem.

On a positive note, it is a very clean city that spends a lot of money on plants and flowers along the sidewalks and has some fantastic museums, beaches and parks. Most places are well served by public transport that is affordable although like any city you still get traffic delays that create large gaps in bus services.

We both really enjoyed Chicago but we have seen everything we planned there now so don't see ourselves going back soon, yes it was a good time but I think we both left out hearts in San Francisco.

Thanks for reading, until next time, adios.

Con Burnes

Oak Street Beach

Today's photos

Today is our last day of sightseeing and the temperature has gone down like the humidity so it was time to hit Oak Street beach. It's only a short walk from the hotel to here and it's a fantastic beach that even had a bar on it although it was a bit early for that though. I must say it was nice just sit around for a while and do nothing. We're not really the type to sit on a beach all day and even though the lake is warm at this time of year I had absolutely no desire to go for a swim. I think they rake the sand here every morning, with this being a lake there is no tide to wash all the trash away that people leave behind but it looked so clean.

Now it was time to head onto the very top end of Michigan Avenue for a coffee. There's a couple of large shopping malls along here so had a look in them, one even had an all year round Christmas shop. 

Tucked away in amongst all this modern architecture it the Fourth Presbyterian Church, looking at it from across the street it doesn't seem very big when surrounded by tall buildings that are 50 floors high or more but it's vast inside. The detail in the stonework and wood carving are incredible.

As it is Labor Day weekend tomorrow it's starting to get a bit manic in most places so got the bus down the road a Mile or so to Michigan Avenue Bridge and the shop "Bye Bye Chicago". This is my favourite Nicknack shop, I'm not sure what the deal is in this city but all the souvenirs are the same price wherever you go, I'm sure it's something to do with the city and their tax grabbing ways. Just up the road, they had a pop-up market going on so got a free tote bag that they printed up while you waited. I know it's tacky but it's free and unique, I like that.

After more strolling around we jumped on the bus and got something to eat then went back to the hotel as I was done in. After a nap we had one last wander around the neighbourhood and dropped into Walgreen's and found something we had been looking for, little American flags so bought 2 of them for 99 cents each.

The 606

Today's photos

It's time to start winding down now as we only have a couple of full days left so the only thing we were going to do today take a walk along the 606 which is an old elevated rail track that runs for 3 miles just north of the city and has been turned into a linear park. It's a bit of a pain to get to on two buses and don't think it's the nicest of neighbourhoods where you change buses but it was something we had planned on doing.

We didn't set off until about 12.30 because I'm starting to feel it now going out every day, as soon as we got out of the hotel the heat met you, so it was time to get a big bottle of water to take with us. It was a relief to get on the bus as the air-conditioning seems to work on all the buses here the downside was when we got off as the temperature was now around 34c with a real feel of about 36 or 37c. We started off walking but after about 20 minutes or so realized this was not going to be the best idea I've I have had lately even though there are plenty of water fountains to get a drink from the heat and humidity were just too much not to mention the blazing sunshine with very little shade as this trail has only just opened in the last few weeks the trees haven't grown yet. It was time to call it in on this one before we ended up getting heat stroke or something so walked back the way we came, at least it was a nice flat surface to roll on. The odd thing about this track is that it's an elevated railway but there is also the Blue Line that crosses above this one so that is about 40 or 50 feet in the air and runs for about 15 miles like that.

It's also the train we got on to and from the airport but I wouldn't want to live in the apartments that are right next to it because it's incredibly noisy.

By now we were starting to wilt in the heat but as luck would have it there was an Aldi shop on the road near the bus stop so went in there to get out of the sun and cool off. I would have killed for a pork pie or scotch egg but they don't have them in this country so we got a big bottle lemonade and a giant pack of sliced ham and eaten that in the car park all for 6 bucks.

Now it was time to head across the road and catch the first of two buses back, that was a long wait for the first one, I think there were people waiting for it even before we went up onto the 606, at least the next one turned up quicker thankfully but after a couple of stops somebody got on who literally smelled like he had been dead for a while, it was really that bad. We only had to suffer that for about 10 minutes or so and this bus dropped us off outside the hotel so we were back in the cool air of our room by 4.30 and a cold beer. 

After cooling off a couple hours we went out to the Target superstore a short bus ride up the road to see if there were any bargains.

When you see how big the store is inside they should run a bus service from one side to the other. 

In here we found what I had been searching for, a baseball glove that didn't cost the earth. 

So with that complete it was a ride back on the bus 4 stops and into Plum Market which is a bit like Waitrose but cheaper and everything is perfectly lined up on every shelf all time even the fruit and veg is the same, there are lots of people buying stuff but they are constantly making it all look nice. It was across the road then to China Doll for a takeaway to eat back at the hotel after I had got some booze, it would be rude not to.

Baseball & Buckingham Fountain at night

Today was shaping up to be a bit of a lazy sort of day, mainly because the big plan for the afternoon was heading to Wrigley Field to go and watch a baseball game. The Chicago Cubs were playing the Cincinnati Reds, with the game starting at one o'clock.

Wrigley Field Game Day

I think we ended up getting up at about 9 and then just walked around the corner to Dunkin's for breakfast. There's a really amazing variety of breakfasts you can get in there for less than a fiver, and that even includes a large coffee as well, which is pretty good value. It was nice just to chill out in there for a bit, and honestly, you couldn't ask for better weather than we had that morning.

So, at about 11:15, we crossed the road to catch the Red Line train north. This line drops you right at Addison Station, which is conveniently located just at the back of Wrigley Field. Although you start the journey underground, the line then comes out onto the surface and eventually onto the elevated railway tracks, hence the name 'L' trains. I had thought the train would be absolutely packed heading towards the stadium, but it actually wasn't too bad at all, and it's only about a twenty-minute ride anyway.

When we exited the station, that's when you really started to grasp just how many people were here for the game! There was a sort of makeshift market-cum-shanty town vibe going on outside, with loads of market stalls selling hats and all sorts of Cubs-related bits and bobs. They even close off some of the surrounding roads to stop people from getting flattened by the cars, the sheer volume of foot traffic is hard to believe! By now, it was nearly midday, so we decided we might as well head in and find our seats.

As luck would have it, there were staff members who worked there wandering about outside, offering help and pointing people towards the correct gate to go in. When the chap looked at our tickets, he said the gate we needed was actually on the other side of the stadium. However, seeing as Jane was on her sticks, he very kindly sorted it out for us to go in on the side we were already at and then got someone to come over and push her around to the other side in a proper wheelchair.

Once you get inside and underneath the stadium, it's sort of like being in a massive indoor market, absolutely crammed with all sorts of stalls selling Cubs merchandise and more food stalls than I've ever seen in one place! There are also about ten different places just selling beer as well, which gives you an idea of peoples priorities. Mind you, at $9 (£5.50) a pint, you definitely know you're not going to be having too many!

Game On

A Good Turn For An Afternnon

So, by about 12:45, we were settled in our seats on the lower terrace. Jane had a bit of a struggle getting up to the row we were sitting in, as the steps are quite steep and there weren't any handrails, but she managed it in the end, thankfully. This was actually the first time I'd ever been inside a big sports stadium like this before, and I honestly didn't think it would be quite this big inside, or go so incredibly high up! The view looking down is really steep, too. If you're sitting right at the back on the very top level, I'm not sure how you even see what's going on down on the pitch, but I suppose that's why those tickets only cost about six dollars! At least we weren't too far from the front, sat off to one side, and more importantly, we were in the shade.

Exspensive beer

As seems to be the case with all big sporting events in the US, they started off with the national anthem, so we stood up for that, which is more patriotism than I've ever shown back home, I reckon! Then the game itself started. These games do go on for quite some time; the average seems to be about three and a half hours, so you certainly get your money's worth. There were plenty of people moving about in the stands selling beer and food if you couldn't be bothered to get up and go and get your own, and it didn't even cost much more to buy it from them. I think I only ended up having a couple of beers in the end, though. It's not just the price that stops you from drinking too much; it's also the thought of having to walk miles to the toilet and then trying to find where I'd left Jane afterwards!

You Would'nt Want To Get Hit By The Ball

About two-thirds of the way through the game, in the seventh inning out of nine, they take a short break. That's when they usually put up the attendance figure on the scoreboard for everyone to see how many people are there today. Considering this was a Wednesday lunchtime, right in the middle of the afternoon, there were a staggering 31,165 people there! Most of them seemed to be local too. It really would appear that on game days, nobody in Chicago goes to work – and this was only the second of four afternoon games they were playing that week!

The game itself finished about 4 pm. A lot of people had already started to leave at the start of the ninth inning, as it was looking increasingly unlikely that today was going to be a win for the Cubs. But we decided to stick it out right to the end, as they still had a mathematical chance of winning if they could just pick up the four runs that were needed. Sadly, they couldn't manage it, and they ended up losing. This was the only game they lost out of that set of four afternoon games they played that week, though, so I suppose it wasn't too bad a result for them overall.

So Many People

I think we got out of the stadium at about 4:20 pm, but we took one look at the train station and the sheer amount of people waiting and immediately decided it would be much better to wait a bit before trying to catch one. They had plenty of buses lined up outside as well, but the train was still our preferred option for getting back.

One thing I did learn is how incredibly well they manage the crowds and traffic around the stadium after a game. There are loads of transit staff, police, and city workers all over the place. They stop the traffic completely so the pedestrians can cross the roads safely, and then they stop the people so the traffic can move again. The police essentially control the main junction, so you just ignore the traffic lights and follow their directions. Meanwhile, the CTA staff at the station make sure that not too many people get crowded onto the platform at any one time by temporarily stopping people from even entering the station area.

They also manage to queue the trains up on the line really efficiently, so as soon as one pulls away from the platform, the next one is pulling straight in. With each train being ten coaches long, they manage to move a massive number of people in a really short space of time. I'd say that after about an hour, there were hardly any people left around the stadium area at all, apart from the cleaning crews. Considering there were over 31,000 people in attendance, it's genuinely amazing how fast they all dispersed.

We decided to give it almost an hour before heading to the station, so we popped into the sports shop just across the road for a browse. While we were in there, I managed to get myself a Cubs hat that I hadn't seen the other day, – result! Then, it was time to head to the station, which was indeed really quite quiet by then.

We were back at the hotel by about 5 pm, so it was definitely time for a beer and, more importantly, a nap! I must say, I do like my naps in the afternoon – this heat really takes it out of you. We had plans for an evening out later, so a bit of rest was definitely needed.

Nighttime In The Park

As we'd only been to the baseball game today, tonight we'd planned to head back to Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park after dark, as it's all lit up at night, which sounds great. We caught the train down into The Loop, then got on the number 6 bus from outside the Chicago Theatre, which takes you right across the park, followed by a short walk to the fountain itself.

It's a very busy place here at night, and you can totally see why once the fountain is all lit up. It pulses along to music and a light show, shooting water up to a stunning 150 feet into the air! That water comes from the 193 jets located in the bottom pool, which is absolutely massive, some 280 feet in diameter. This really is a truly spectacular sight at night-time.

After enjoying the display for a bit, it was time for a beer in one of the two bars they have nearby on what was a lovely warm evening. This is exactly what holidays are made for! The added bonus for tonight was finding out that Navy Pier has a massive firework display every Wednesday and Saturday night at 9:30 throughout the summer months. So, we decided to hang around for that. Even though the pier is about a mile away, you're actually the perfect distance to properly appreciate the display.

By about 10 pm, it was time to start thinking about heading back into The Loop – ideally before the gunfire started! We had a feeling this wasn't the safest place to be at night, and by golly, we were right. It had a distinctly sketchy feel about it after dark. The only place that was even open was a Subway sandwich shop, so we just grabbed a drink from there quickly. We had originally planned on getting the bus back to the hotel, but it seemed a lot safer to use the subway train instead, plus it saved walking an extra block in that particular area. It felt just a bit too far to walk north up to the top of the park where the south end of the Mag Mile is; that's a much better neighbourhood entirely. In short, at that time of night, the train felt like the best option out of bandit country.

So, after dropping into a shop near the station to stock up on some (essentials!) beer, we were back at the hotel for about 10:45 pm and settled in for some TV. It's not often that we're out and about that late, and there was absolutely no chill in the air at all; even at this time of night, it was still around 35°. At least it wasn't as humid in the evening, though, which was a small mercy. So, that was the end of another day. The time seems to be flying past now, but we've enjoyed it immensely so far, and you really couldn't have wished for better weather than we were having, even if it was a bit on the humid side most days.

Reflections On The Day: Baseball, Big Crowds & a Blast of Night‑Time Magic

Wednesday had a completely different energy to the rest of the trip — slower, more relaxed, but still packed with those little moments that make a holiday day feel special. The whole morning had that “saving our energy for later” vibe, and Dunkin’ for breakfast set the tone perfectly: cheap, cheerful, and reliably caffeinated. With the sun out and the heat already building, it felt like the ideal day for a ballgame.

The journey up to Wrigley Field was surprisingly smooth. You expect the train to be bursting at the seams on game day, but it was almost civilised. It wasn’t until you stepped off at Addison that the scale of it all hit you — the crowds, the stalls, the closed roads, the sea of blue shirts and baseball caps. It felt like walking into a festival dedicated entirely to one team. The staff were brilliant too, going out of their way to help Jane get to the right entrance without trekking around the entire stadium.

Inside, Wrigley Field was a revelation. You see it on TV and think you know what to expect, but the sheer size of the place takes you by surprise. The steepness of the stands, the wall of noise, the endless food stalls, the beer vendors weaving through the aisles — it’s a whole world of its own. Settling into your shaded seats felt like winning the lottery. And then came the anthem, the crowd rising as one — more patriotism in thirty seconds than you’d normally show in a decade back home.

The game itself was classic baseball: long, leisurely, and strangely hypnotic. Three and a half hours of sunshine, cheering, people‑watching, and the occasional beer. The seventh‑inning stretch revealed the astonishing attendance — over 31,000 people on a Wednesday lunchtime. Clearly, Chicagoans take their baseball far more seriously than their office jobs. Even though the Cubs lost, sticking it out to the final pitch felt like the right thing to do. You’d come all this way — might as well see it through.

Leaving the stadium was a masterclass in crowd control. Police, transit staff, barriers, whistles, hand signals — it was like watching a well‑rehearsed ballet performed by people in hi‑vis jackets. The trains rolled in one after another, swallowing thousands at a time. By the time you wandered back an hour later, the place was almost deserted. A quick browse in the sports shop and a new Cubs hat later, and you were on your way back to the hotel for that all‑important afternoon nap.

The evening was the perfect contrast to the daytime chaos. Buckingham Fountain at night is pure magic — lights, music, water shooting 150 feet into the air, all against the backdrop of a warm Chicago night. Add a cold beer and a surprise fireworks display from Navy Pier, and you’ve got one of those holiday moments that sticks with you long after you’re home.

Of course, Chicago being Chicago, the walk back reminded you that not every corner of the city is postcard‑perfect after dark. A quick drink from Subway, a tactical retreat to the safety of the train, and a dash through “bandit country” later, you were back in the comfort of the hotel with a bag of essential supplies (beer) and the air‑conditioning blasting.

It was still 35°C at nearly 11 p.m., but without the humidity it felt almost pleasant. Another full, memorable day — baseball, fireworks, fountains, and a little bit of urban adventure thrown in for good measure. The holiday was flying by now, but days like this were exactly why you came.

Agora & Union Station

So, another day dawns, so to speak, even though we didn't exactly set off at the crack of dawn! But what a beautiful day it was shaping up to be. For today, we decided to take the Red Line train from near the hotel straight down into The Loop. From there, the plan was to cut through Macy's and grab an early lunch at Popeye's Chicken shop.

Lunch In The Loop

I'd heard some good things about the Popeye's chain, but it seems they're run on a franchise model, so I figured they could vary quite a bit. Still, we thought, 'What the heck!' Trying to find this particular place took a little bit of doing, though. For starters, none of the shops seem to have numbers, and this place is located almost right on the edge between North and South State Street, which didn't exactly help matters.

L Train In The Loop

A couple more things that made it tricky were the construction work for a new L train station nearby, which meant you couldn't just cross the road where you normally would, and the fact that it's actually just a food court located in the lobby of a building that looks like it's straight out of the 1950s, with absolutely no signs outside pointing you in the right direction.

Inside wasn't exactly the most inviting place either. There were multiple different vendors selling all sorts of food, and you just had to grab a seat somewhere in the middle of the general eating area once you had your food. It was also absolutely boiling hot inside, as there seemed to be no air-conditioning, just big fans blowing the warm air around. You did get used to the heat fairly quickly though, I suppose. 

Not The Best popeye's we've had

We both got chicken dinners, and while they were perfectly nice, we'd probably only rate them as average overall. The thing that really got me the most was how incredibly red-hot the food was; it must have taken a good twenty minutes or so for it to cool down enough that you could actually eat it without burning your mouth! You also got what they call a 'biscuit' with it, but I think we Brits would definitely call it a scone. I'm honestly still not sure what the idea behind serving that was, but you just go with the flow, I suppose. These 'biscuits' were actually very nice, though.

To tell you the truth, this was genuinely the only building we came out of during our whole trip where it felt significantly cooler outside than it did inside! By the time we left, the outside temperature was a staggering 37°C with 81% humidity. God knows what it must have been like inside that food court later in the day, or how the people working there could possibly stand that heat all day long. 

Icons And Art

The Start Of Route 66

After we’d had something to eat, it was only a short walk down the road to one of those really iconic places you see in American road movies: the start of Route 66. It's actually amazingly underwhelming in person, just a sign at the side of the road! Still, it was the first proper long-distance road in the US and is apparently still travelled by thousands of people every year starting from here, even though a lot of the modern road no longer follows the original route on its roughly 3,000-mile journey all the way across the country to Los Angeles. Fun fact: it originally started a block or two away, but they moved the starting point because the traffic flow changed due to one-way streets.

Creepy Legs Surround Me

From there, we headed out onto South Michigan Avenue and caught the number 4 bus down to the very bottom of Grant and Millennium Park. We were heading for a place called Agora. Judging by the distinct lack of people down there, I get the feeling it's perhaps not one of the most visited spots in Chicago, but honestly, how can you resist going to see a place where 106 pairs of nine-foot-tall bronze legs are just randomly stood close together on the corner of the park?

Show Some Leg!

Apparently, this is what counts as modern art these days, but I just found it a bit freaky, to be honest. It sort of gives you the feeling from one of those old 50s B-movies where alien things just suddenly appear, come to life, and then start chasing you!

Couple that with the big head statue nearby – the one apparently called 'Look into my Dreams, Awilda', although I reckon 'big creepy head statue' captures the initial impression a whole lot better! It really does look like it's going to open its eyes and start talking any minute, and honestly, between that and the legs, you feel like this part of the park is probably going to give you nightmares for weeks. Despite the slight creepiness, though, it's still a really fantastic, unique thing to see and walk around.

TV Locations

Next, we headed across the junction onto East Roosevelt Street and popped into Trader Joe's to get an ice-cold bottle of drink. We then found a spot in the shade under a tree to stand while we waited for the number 130 bus. This was due to take us around the corner and up North State Street to a place we'd seen featured on TV.

That TV place was the Royal Pawn Shop. It sells all sorts of second-hand goods, just like you'd expect in a pawnbroker's. However, we pretty quickly realised that this wasn't exactly the best of neighbourhoods in Chicago, so we decided it would be a good idea to move on fairly quickly.

Union Station Lobby

We caught the number 7 bus north from there, heading towards Union Station. This station has appeared in loads of films over the years, with the most famous one probably being the pram scene from The Untouchables movie. Unfortunately, the actual stairway where they filmed that iconic part was closed off for restoration work, which was a bit of a shame. Still, it really is an exceptional place inside; just a genuinely grand building to walk through.

Willis Tower

From Union Station, we exited from the far side, which brings you out onto the opposite bank of the Chicago River, right across from the Willis Tower. You get a really good view from here, and it gives you a great perspective on just how high up we were the other day when we went to the top! After that, we grabbed an ice cream from McDonald's before starting a walk along Wacker Drive.

L Train Crossing The Chicago River

Walking this route gives you a fantastic view of the really old, grand buildings and the different bridges that cross the river. Plus, you get to watch the L trains running right up the centre of the road on their elevated tracks. What really surprised me, though, was just how much noise these things make when they go past! And when you think about it, they run in both directions every two or three minutes, constantly throughout the day – it's non-stop rumbling.

By now, we were definitely starting to flag a bit, and the heat and humidity were really starting to feel oppressive again. Every time you moved, everything seemed to stick to you, so we decided it was definitely time to head back to the comfort of the air conditioning of the hotel. It had been a really good day, and we had managed to do everything that we had planned, so there didn't seem much point in trying to keep going and just suffering in that heat.

To Hot To Handle

I would have quite liked to have gone for a nice cold beer down on the riverbank at Lizzy McGuire's, but honestly, I really couldn't be bothered to walk the ten minutes or so from the bus stop we were waiting at. Anyway, after the train was so ridiculously packed the other day, I figured the bus would be a better bet this time for getting back. So, we hopped on the number 151, which takes you up towards Oak Street Beach, and from there, it's just a short walk through the side streets to the hotel.

The traffic, however, was mostly at a complete standstill the whole way, so you could sort of see why people cram onto the train like sardines as they do! But for us, with the wheelchair, the bus was definitely the better option; at least you know you can actually get off at the stop you need without having to fight your way through a crowd. It was absolutely lovely to get back into the cool of the room and immediately have a shower after that sticky heat.

Pizza Time

By about 7 pm, we were both starting to feel peckish again after having a nap. The other day, we'd passed a Domino's Pizza place near the station, and this week they seemed to be doing various offers, so we thought we'd give that a go. I'm not usually a huge fan of the big pizza chains, but when you're in a city as renowned for its pizza as Chicago is, you figure even a chain is probably going to be pretty decent. I'm not even sure what size it was supposed to be, but for just $8, it was absolutely massive! I'd guess it was around fourteen inches, and there was just no way we were going to manage to eat all of it between us, although we gave it a jolly good try!

The one thing I found quite funny was that there seemed to be a bulletproof screen up, just like you'd see in a bank, presumably to stop them from being robbed. But then again, you do sometimes feel that pizza places tend to attract the worst sort of clientele, especially late at night!

So, there we were, back in the hotel, sitting on the 12th floor, absolutely stuffing ourselves with pizza. After that, it was just a case of watching some TV for a bit before completely crashing out. What a day it had been!

Reflections On The Day: Heatwaves, Headless Legs & Hidden TV Landmarks

Tuesday was one of those days that felt wonderfully varied — a mix of classic sightseeing, oddball art, TV nostalgia, and the kind of oppressive heat that makes you question every life choice involving outdoor movement. Even though you didn’t set off early, the day still managed to feel full from the moment you stepped onto the Red Line.

Lunch at Popeye’s was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Between the 1950s‑looking lobby, the lack of signage, the construction chaos outside, and the interior temperature that could have slow‑roasted a turkey, it was an experience in itself. The food was fine — not terrible, not amazing — but the fact that it was cooler outside in 37°C heat says everything. Still, the biscuits‑that‑are‑actually‑scones were a pleasant surprise.

Route 66 was a fun little stop, even if the “iconic starting point” turned out to be just a sign on a pole. But that’s part of the charm — America loves its symbols, even when they’re understated. From there, the day took a turn into the surreal with Agora: 106 pairs of giant bronze legs standing in a field like they’d wandered off from a sci‑fi film set. Add in the giant head statue nearby, and the whole area felt like a cross between modern art and a fever dream. Creepy? A bit. Fascinating? Absolutely.

The TV‑themed stops added a fun twist. The Royal Pawn Shop was interesting to see in person, even if the neighbourhood made you want to keep your wallet firmly zipped away. Union Station, on the other hand, was every bit as grand as it looks on screen — even if the famous Untouchables staircase was closed for restoration. Walking out onto the riverbank afterwards gave you one of those classic Chicago views: the Willis Tower looming overhead, the river glinting in the sun, and the L trains rattling past with enough noise to wake the dead.

By mid‑afternoon, the heat and humidity were back with a vengeance. Everything sticking to you the moment you moved is never a good sign, and heading back to the hotel was definitely the right call. The bus may have crawled through traffic, but at least you weren’t trapped in another sardine‑can train.

The evening rounded things off perfectly: a massive Domino’s pizza deal, eaten in the comfort of your air‑conditioned 12th‑floor room, complete with a bulletproof screen at the counter that made you wonder what kind of late‑night pizza drama Chicago usually sees. A bit of TV, a lot of pizza, and then crashing out — the ideal end to a hot, busy, slightly bizarre, thoroughly enjoyable day.

Tuesday had everything: iconic signs, creepy art, film locations, overheated food courts, and the simple joy of returning to a cool room after battling the Chicago sun. A day full of character, quirks, and stories you’ll be laughing about for years.

Science & Industry Museum

Today we only had one thing planned, which was to head down to the Museum of Science and Industry. It's located around ten miles from the hotel, but honestly, it felt a lot further somehow! The first part of getting there involved taking the Red Line train downtown to the Chicago & State Street station, which only takes about ten minutes.

Hold Your Breath

Then, we had to take a ride up to street level in a lift that absolutely reeked of pee – definitely not the most pleasant start! It was a real relief to get out onto the street after that, even into the hot and humid weather of the day. From there, it was just a short walk of about half a block to catch the J10 bus. I've since found out that this bus only actually runs at certain times of the year, but the great thing about it is that it stops right outside the entrance to the museum, saving our legs a good ten-minute walk from the main road.

The interesting thing about this bus route is that after just a few stops, it runs express straight down the aptly named Lake Shore Motorway. It's basically like an eight-lane motorway, but apparently, it's not technically a freeway because freeways have even more lanes! There were plenty of automated announcements telling you clearly that this bus was about to go express and that there would be no more stops for the best part of twenty minutes. But, as always seems to happen, there was somebody on board who clearly had no idea what they were doing or where they were going.

The first thing that happened as soon as the bus got onto the motorway was, somebody frantically rang the bell – way too late! The next stop was a solid six miles away at that point. Honestly, that sort of thing always makes me smile; you just wonder what's going through their head.

Museum of Science and Industry

A Museum With Hidden Depths

It's actually very deceptive just how big this museum is. When you get off the bus, you see this very grand, traditional-looking building standing about 400 feet away, with impressive steps leading up to the front. However, over the years, the museum has been expanded, and pretty much all of that new work has taken place underground! The actual entrance you use is just a small room with a couple of large lifts that take you down to this incredibly vast underground chamber. This is where you'll find the car park, the ticket office, and even a real train – the Burlington Zephyr – that they have permanently located underground in the lobby, and you can actually go inside it!

A Train In The Lobby Underground

It's certainly not one of the cheapest places to get into; it was $18 each for basic admission. If you wanted to add on things like the submarine tour or the 3D cinema, it would have cost somewhere around $35 each, I think. Anyway, once we were inside and had our tickets from the office down in the chamber, we headed to the lifts on the far side. These ones take you up into the part of the building you could see from the bus stop. It's only when you get up into this main, visible part that you really get a proper idea of just how enormous this place is, even before they added all the underground extensions. We grabbed a map and decided to visit a couple of the nearby halls before we looked for somewhere to have lunch.

I have to say, the cafe here is really very good. There's a wide variety of food available from different retailers dotted around, so you figure what they sell has to be decent, otherwise people would just go and buy food from elsewhere. They had everything from Mexican to Thai food, so there was absolutely loads to choose from. I think in the end, we just opted for a good old burger. For a museum cafe, the food was actually really nice, and they definitely didn't overcharge you like in some other places we've been, so it felt well worth the money, especially as you can't easily just pop out anywhere else nearby to eat.

Tractor Boy

After lunch, we headed into the first hall, which was all about agriculture. I even got Jane to take a photo of me sitting in a massive tractor – standard tourist behaviour, I know! Then there's the fantastic transportation hall, featuring quite possibly the largest model railway you've ever seen. It includes a brilliant replica of the city with the local trains running above the streets, just like they do in the Loop. It also has displays that chart how the railways cross the entire US, all the way to the west coast.

We even ended up buying a small plastic train made right there in a machine after putting in a couple of dollars. I've since found out these specific machines are actually quite rare, with only about 250 of them ever made, and each one apparently produces a unique model! We had seen a couple in other places during our trip but never thought to actually get anything from one before. It's quite fun to watch the whole process: you see the mould close, then it injects hot melted plastic resin before squeezing it a bit more. Then, it opens the mould and pushes the finished little train out to you. It's still quite warm when it pops out!

Indoor Submarine

Hard To Believe How Big This U Boat Is

Without a doubt, the most spectacular exhibit has to be the German submarine. When I first caught sight of it, I honestly thought it must be a replica, but being in the USA, they naturally just do everything bigger! It is, in fact, a real captured German U-boat from the war. I believe it sat in a dock somewhere for many years just rusting away until they finally made it watertight enough to tow it here. It's only when you see the time-lapse video on the way out that you truly get your head around the sheer scale of the task involved in bringing this thing all the way to Chicago.

It basically travelled right through the Great Lakes until it reached a spot just south of the city. From there, they had to load it onto a massive trailer that had about a hundred wheels! It only had to travel a quarter of a mile to reach the museum building itself, but even that short distance apparently took two full days to complete! It's only then, seeing how it arrived, that you properly appreciate the enormous hole they had to dig for it.

As I mentioned earlier, there's a significant distance between the original museum building and where you enter now via the lifts, and that's precisely because this huge submarine occupies that entire underground area. The hole they dug for it was truly vast – over 1,000 feet long, 150 feet wide, and 100 feet deep. They then carefully moved the submarine over the hole and slowly lowered it in using massive hydraulic jacks, before putting a roof over it and even laying a lawn on top. Looking at this area from the outside, you would honestly never in a million years know what was hidden underneath.

Jane Put A Torpedo Through My Head

Apparently, they found the periscope a few months later; it wasn't inside the submarine anymore, as they thought it had been melted down years ago because it was made of brass. Unfortunately, by the time they found it, they were too far along with the building work to put it back in the submarine before they added the roof to the hall. Otherwise, you would have been able to look out through the periscope onto the lawn way up above, which would have been amazing. It's now laid out alongside the submarine instead, and just seeing that on its own gives you a real sense of how big these things truly are.

You can take a tour inside the boat, but there was an extra charge for that. Since the tours only started every forty minutes, and we were a bit pressed for time, not to mention the accessibility issues with getting inside a submarine, we decided not to pay the extra for that bit.

Galleries Galore

Working Modle Of How The Railroads Work

From the submarine level, we headed back up in the lift to the upstairs part. This area runs like a gallery around the top of the transportation hall, giving you a great vantage point. Up here, you can get a much better look at the various planes hanging from the ceiling, and you can even go inside an old United Airlines jet from the sixties, which was pretty cool. It makes you think about how planes are so much bigger these days, but ironically have way less legroom so they can cram people on even tighter! Because this is the top floor, it wraps all the way around the level below, offering views looking down onto the exhibitions downstairs as well.

They also have some really cool exhibits up on this floor. One that sticks in your mind is the one that looks a bit like a phone box, but when you close the glass door, it blows an 80 mph wind all around you – it's supposed to simulate what it's like to be inside a tornado. There were honestly many other things up there, probably too numerous to list everything, but a couple that immediately come to mind are a recreation of an entire old street, complete with the very first Walgreen's store from when they started out in Chicago, and also a whole coal mine you can explore. But I suppose those specific things are probably best left for the photo album!

Rush Hour Crush Hour

By about 4:30, we figured it was time to start heading back. After using the free Wi-Fi inside the museum to check things, we found there was plenty of time to grab a cup of coffee before walking out to the bus stop just out front for the thirty-minute ride back towards The Loop. Once we got there, we crossed a couple of blocks to catch the Red Line train back towards the hotel. In hindsight though, this really wasn't the best idea.

I'd thought getting the train would be a better option because of the traffic we might hit on the bus, but when we got onto the train, it was already absolutely packed, and with every single stop, more and more people just kept cramming on. It was frustrating enough, but to make it worse, the next train was just sitting behind us in the tunnel, along with several others further back. If we could have possibly got off that train at any point, we absolutely would have, but there was simply no room to get past anyone at all.

When we finally arrived at our stop, you literally had to force your way past people just to get towards the doors, and then I had to hold them open so Jane had time to get off with the wheelchair as well. By this point, the train driver was actually shouting at people, telling them that if some didn't get off, then the train wasn't going to move any further. Thank Christ we didn't have to go any further on it!

Once we were safely off the train, we just hung around on the platform for a few minutes to see how many people were on the next train coming through, which was only about a minute behind ours. That one was busy too, but it had noticeably more space. We watched another two trains go through within about five minutes, and the last one was almost completely empty, just six minutes after we had squeezed off our packed 'sardine can' of a train.

Once we were finally out of the underground station, the heat of the late afternoon hit you again, so it was a real relief to get back to the cool, air-conditioned room of the hotel by about 5:45 pm. Time for a well-earned nap, then! I think we ended up getting something from Jimmy John's later, I seem to remember having tuna that night.

Reflections On The Day: Trains, Tornadoes & Too Many People

Monday was one of those days where you set out with a simple plan — “Let’s just go to one museum” — and somehow end up experiencing half a city’s worth of chaos, engineering marvels, and human behaviour that defies logic. The journey alone set the tone: a lift that smelled like it had been used as a public toilet for the last decade, followed by a bus ride where someone inevitably rang the bell six miles too late. Chicago really does know how to keep things interesting.

The Museum of Science and Industry was absolutely worth the trek, though. It’s one of those places that looks big from the outside but turns out to be colossal once you realise half of it is underground. The Burlington Zephyr sitting casually in the lobby like it’s waiting for its next departure was a brilliant touch, and the café was surprisingly good — a rare win for museum dining.

The exhibits were a perfect mix of nostalgia, engineering, and “only in America” spectacle. Sitting in a giant tractor, watching the enormous model railway city, and buying a freshly moulded plastic train that was still warm from the machine — all classic holiday moments. But nothing topped the submarine. Seeing a real German U‑boat sitting in a cavern the size of a small town was

 jaw‑dropping. The sheer effort it took to get it there — towing it across the Great Lakes, hauling it on a hundred‑wheeled trailer, lowering it into a hole big enough to bury a skyscraper on its side — was mind‑boggling. Only Chicago would casually build a lawn on top of a submarine and call it a day.

The upstairs galleries added even more variety: planes hanging from the ceiling, a tornado simulator that tried to blow your eyebrows off, an old street recreated brick by brick, and even the first ever Walgreen’s. It was the sort of museum where you could easily lose an entire day without realising it.

The journey back, however, was a different story. What should have been a simple train ride turned into a full‑blown sardine‑can experience. Being wedged into a carriage with half of Chicago, unable to move an inch, while more people forced their way on at every stop, was enough to make anyone question their life choices. The train driver shouting at passengers was the final touch — peak rush‑hour madness. Watching the next few trains glide by almost empty just minutes later was both hilarious and infuriating.

By the time we finally escaped and staggered back into the blessed air‑conditioning of the hotel, it felt like we’d survived some kind of urban endurance trial. A nap, a Jimmy John’s tuna sub, and the quiet of the evening were exactly what we needed.

Monday was a day of contrasts: awe‑inspiring engineering, fascinating history, good food, and a train journey that felt like a social experiment gone wrong. But it was memorable, full of character, and very, very Chicago.

Lake Michigan Waterfront walk

We started the day by catching the Red Line train downtown to the lower part of The Loop, and then we hopped on the same bus we'd used before that heads towards the aquarium area. This time, instead of turning into Grant Park, we decided to take a walk along the shore of Lake Michigan. It turned out there was a triathlon underway, so there were hundreds of runners filling up the usual upper pathways.

Lake Michigan Wander

Lake Michigan & The City

The paths right along the lake are actually sloped. This is a clever design so that when water splashes up onto them on windy days, it just flows back into the lake. However, it's not so great when you're trying to push a wheelchair, as you're constantly being pulled downhill towards the water's edge! Trying to counteract that pull made it really difficult to push in a straight line, which was exactly why I'd planned on sticking to the upper pathways in the first place. Although this spot is normally quite peaceful and open, having the triathlon on definitely made the area noticeably much busier.

Jihn Hancock Building In The Clouds

Despite the unexpected challenges with the path, it was still lovely just to stroll along by the lake. You get a fantastic view of the city buildings from down there, and it was quite cool watching the clouds drift between the tall buildings in the city – one minute you'd see them clearly, and the next they'd disappeared right into a cloud! The sun was out though, and it had become another hot day. After walking for about an hour and a half, we came across a kiosk selling hot pies and coffee. We stopped there and had a couple of chicken pies and a drink whilst watching the various boats out on Lake Michigan.

Millennium Park Meander

After grabbing something to eat, we headed across towards the very north end of Millennium Park. That involved crossing a pretty daunting ten-lane road, which is definitely not the easiest thing to get across in the short amount of time you're given at the crossing, but thankfully, we made it without getting squashed! This particular part of the park is quite new, only having been completed in the last few years.

The Hot Curly BP Bridge

One of the main features here is the BP Bridge, which impressively spans over another eight-lane road. This bridge is entirely made out of stainless steel, and it shines incredibly brightly on a sunny day like today – though it does mean it gets pretty hot to the touch as well! It's not a straight bridge at all; it sort of curls around and doubles back on itself before actually crossing the road, and then does the same wiggly bit on the other side to bring you back into another section of the park.

The Harris Theatre

From the bridge area, you come across the Harris Theatre, which is a large outdoor auditorium. I initially guessed it must hold around 1,000 seats, but I later found out it actually holds 1,500 people. Given how harsh the winters are here, you can just imagine that it doesn't get a whole lot of use during certain times of the year, although they do have an indoor part on the opposite side of the building, I think. Just a short walk further on from there, and you're essentially right there on Michigan Avenue, with all those glorious shops!

Before hitting the shops or anything though, we stopped to look at an open-air photography display that was set up on the edge of the park. They had enlarged people's photos to a massive size and put them on these big billboards that you could walk all around. All the pictures had been taken within the park itself by either locals or visitors, and it was nice to see that none of them had been damaged despite being out in the open for a few months.

Chicago River Walk

Right then, it was back onto the Mag Mile we went, heading north once more. We stopped off at CVS for a couple of cold drinks, as the temperature was really starting to climb again now. It was actually quite nice sitting in this small plaza we found nearby, even though it was right next to a busy road, just chilling out in the warm weather for a bit. Just up the road from here, you come back onto the Chicago River. We decided to drop down onto the opposite side of the river to the other day and seek out the McCormick Bridgehouse Museum. Handily, it's free on a Sunday, plus I hadn't been able to find it the other day because I'd been on the wrong side of the road!

Bridge Lifting Gear

It's only a small museum, as you'd expect, but it's built inside one of the actual bridge lifting houses, in one of the bridges that they still raise once or twice a week. You can even go right through to see where the huge lifting gears are that raises the bridge and peer at all the massive cogs that make it work. They even sell special tickets to come down here specifically to see them all turning while the bridge is being lifted, but today wasn't one of those days for a bridge lift, unfortunately. Some of these lifting bridges also carry trains, so you can just imagine the amount of chaos it causes with both the road traffic and the trains whenever they do lift them!

The museum is spread over five floors, and each floor is only tiny, but it gives you a fascinating history of how the Chicago River came to be and how they famously raised the entire city more than thirty feet above it back in the day. It's quite strange seeing roads that are completely underneath buildings – it's like a whole underground city down there! Most of it seems to be used for deliveries and loading for the shops and offices above, and it doesn't look like the sort of place you'd particularly want to be at night, to be honest.

Michigan Av Lifting Bridge

One of the most amazing things they explained is how they managed to reverse the flow of the river. It used to flow into Lake Michigan, but they reversed it using a lock system in a huge effort to clean up the lake, which is actually where all the drinking water for the city comes from. When you reach the very top floor, you're about twenty-five feet above street level and get a cracking view looking along the river and Michigan Avenue. Unfortunately, Jane couldn't manage the stairs all the way up, so she stayed down at the bottom. They do have computers down there that give you a virtual tour of all the upper floors though, which is a really good idea, as it's not like they could possibly squeeze a lift into that tiny space anywhere!

Sadly Not An Accessible Museum

I think we spent about an hour in there altogether, and then we had a walk along the south side of the river. Sadly, there don't seem to be any pubs on that side, which was a bit of a disappointment! You could, however, hire these four-wheeled pedal bikes, but we decided to give that a miss when we saw how much they were charging for just four hours. So, we ended up backtracking the way we had come and climbing back up to the main road.

Lots Of buses On The Mag Mile

By now, we were both really starting to suffer in the heat again, and it was getting on for about 5 pm, so we decided to call it a day and head back. Not that the shops shut here on a Sunday evening or any other day for that matter, they seem to be open constantly! We hopped onto one of the many buses that would take us back up towards the very top of the Mag Mile and then it was just a short walk through the side streets back to the hotel. In hindsight, it probably would have been a better idea to get the train, as the traffic was an absolute nightmare on the bus route, but that would have meant having to walk about four blocks from the station, and that was definitely not something we wanted to do in the city in that heat.

It was honestly lovely to get back into the hotel room with the air conditioning blasting and immediately have a shower, because everything seemed to have well and truly stuck to me by then!

Dinner Plans

By about 7:30 pm, we were both absolutely starving, so we decided to walk round to Mr. Gyro's, a place that apparently does a fantastic range of burgers at really low prices. It looks a bit of a dump from the outside, I have to say, but with so many takeaways crowded around here, you figure it must be good to survive. And I must say, this turned out to be one of the best burgers I'd had in a long time! They had a deal on for two burger meals for the low price of only $12, which was definitely well worth it.

Just before we went there, we'd actually nipped into Plum Market on the way past to grab some bananas. We honestly couldn't believe it when we found out they tax you 3 cents on fruit, but not on the takeaway junk food we were about to buy! So much for trying to encourage people to eat healthily, eh? Nobody seems to be able to work out how the tax system works here at all; I reckon the mayor just makes it up as he goes along, depending on how skint they are that week.

Anyway, back to the food – thankfully, we made sure we got two sets of knives and forks this time so we could both properly dig in! Not sure how we only ended up with one set last time, but they literally hand them out at the checkout with almost anything you buy, even if it's just a yoghurt, if they don't see you've already got some, you'll have them now. Most of the time now, we just wash and save them, as they're normally good quality disposable stuff they give you.

At least we had a desk to eat from back in the hotel room, although we only had one chair. The solution? I used Jane's wheelchair to sit in while she took the proper chair. Very comfy indeed it was, actually!

Evening Stroll

So, by now, I was starting to run low on beer again and figured it was a good time to pop out to the shop. Plus, I really wanted to check if the Ventra card had actually worked properly when we topped it up earlier with another seven days of travel. 

Just before we went to Mr. Gyro's for dinner, I'd ducked into a subway station nearby to add more credit to the Ventra cards. You're meant to do it by simply tapping the card on the machine and then selecting what you want on the screen. As soon as you put the $28 on, I thought it should work instantly, right? What I didn't realise is, unlike Oyster cards back home that store the credit directly onto the card straight away after you top up, here you have to wait a few minutes for the payment to spread out to the terminals and become valid. Naturally, that completely confused me, and I honestly thought I'd messed it up.

Anyhow, as I was out on my own anyway, I decided I'd just go one stop on the subway and then come straight back again just to test it out. Apart from having to touch the card on twice at first (which made me panic briefly!), it all worked fine. So, after that successful five-minute ride on the subway, I decided I'd walk up towards the Oak Street Beach area for a bit, even though it was dark by now.

Careful Where You Walk

This is the area where the famous Drake Hotel is all lit up at night, which looks great. But you soon realise that this is definitely not one of the safest areas to be walking around in after dark. There were just far too many shifty-looking people hanging about. Because of that, there was absolutely no chance I was going to risk using the underpass to get across to the beach side of the road. It really did feel quite unsettling, like there were eyes watching you that you couldn't quite see, or maybe even somebody waiting to pounce.

Because of how it felt, I quickly decided that discretion was definitely the better part of valour, and I shot off round some side streets to get back to where there were more people who, crucially, didn't look like they wanted to rob me! Thankfully, getting back to a more populated and safer-feeling area was only about a five-minute walk, or perhaps even a bit of a trot, from where I was.

By the time I'd navigated my way back and headed over to CVS for my beer for the evening, it was almost 9 pm, I think. I was back at the hotel for about 10 pm. Just enough time left to quickly write up the blog for the day and then head to bed. It had definitely been a long day, with a lot of walking in that hot weather, but looking back, it was worth every step.

Reflections On The Day: Slopes, Steel & Shifty Streets

Sunday was one of those days that looked simple on paper but turned out to be full of surprises — some lovely, some sweaty, and one or two that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. The walk along Lake Michigan was beautiful, even if the sloped paths tried their best to drag Jane straight into the water. Between the triathlon crowds, the heat, and the constant sideways pull of the wheelchair, it felt like we were doing some sort of endurance challenge of our own. Still, the views of the skyline, the drifting clouds, and the boats on the lake made it worth every awkward shove.

Crossing a ten‑lane road to reach Millennium Park felt like a real-life game of Frogger, but once we made it across, the BP Bridge and the newer parts of the park were a joy to wander through. The stainless-steel curves of the bridge gleaming in the sun, the outdoor theatre, the photography displays — it all had that classic Chicago mix of art, architecture, and a bit of showmanship.

The McCormick Bridgehouse Museum was a brilliant little find. There’s something oddly satisfying about seeing the guts of a working bridge — all those gears, cogs, and mechanisms that quietly keep the city moving. Learning how Chicago raised itself thirty feet and even reversed the flow of its river was one of those “only in Chicago” moments. It’s a city that doesn’t just solve problems; it rewrites the rules entirely.

By late afternoon, though, the heat was becoming unbearable. The bus ride back was slow, sticky, and full of people who looked just as melted as we felt. Getting back to the hotel and stepping into the air‑conditioning felt like entering heaven.

Dinner at Mr. Gyro’s was a revelation — proof that the best food often comes from places that look like they should have been condemned in the 90s. Two burger meals for $12 and absolutely delicious. Meanwhile, Plum Market taxed the bananas but not the junk food, which summed up American logic perfectly.

The evening stroll was… memorable. Testing the Ventra card was fine, but the walk near Oak Street Beach after dark was a reminder that even the nicest cities have corners you don’t linger in. The Drake Hotel looked gorgeous lit up, but the atmosphere around it was decidedly less charming. Trusting your instincts and making a tactical retreat was definitely the right call.

Back at the hotel, beer in hand and blog written, the day felt full and satisfying. It had been hot, busy, and occasionally tense, but also scenic, interesting, and full of those little moments that make a trip feel real. Sunday was Chicago in a nutshell: beautiful, unpredictable, and always keeping you on your toes.