Day 5 St Louis

 We were up early to pack as today we were going to St Louis for the weekend. We left our luggage at the hotel and just took overnight stuff in a rucksack. We were travelling by Amtrak, a first for me.  The journey was a 5.5hr trip and we hoped St Louis would be worth the time spent on the train. The train was very comfortable with plenty of leg room. Before boarding we picked up a roast veggie pasta salad and a fresh fruit salad from one of the food stalls at the station  and I have to say they were both delicious.

We stopped at a number of small towns on the way which looked like interesting places to stop for a short visit. But no time for that as we sped on through the countryside.

We did reach St Louis on time although there were a few stops on the way waiting for other trains to move out of stations etc. As we left the train the heat hit us like a blanket. So much warmer here than Chicago. The hotel was walking distance from the station so it didn't take long to check in and unpack and then we went out to find our bearings and hopefully find somewhere to eat. It seemed a long walk but that was probably because we didn't really know where we were going. We were making for the Arch, probably the most famous land mark in St Louis now.

The arch was completed in 1968 and overlooks not just the city but the mighty Mississippi River.

 St Louis and the Gateway Arch are referred to as the 'Gateway to the West'. Information refers to the  arch 'as a symbol of Thomas Jefferson's vision of building a unified continental nation'.

Down by the Mississippi we tried to get on a boat which served dinner but they were all full. We had expected there to be loads of places to eat by the river but we were wrong.

Not too far away was the Busch stadium which had the ballpark village next door. Looked like we might end up with hot dogs! However, one of the restaurants that looked closed invited us to come inside and eat for free. They weren't opening until next week and were doing a trial run by inviting passers by to be their customers for the evening. We were delighted to take them up on the offer. We were given mocktails, dips and tacos. All delicious and fresh. We couldn't believe our luck. The service was terrific and everyone was very friendly. Maybe the 11 hour round trip to St Louis wouldn't be wasted after all.

Chicago Day 4

  It was a beautiful warm day so we walked to the Willis Tower (Sear's Tower) where we had booked to go up to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor, as part of the Citypass deal.  It wasn't that busy so we got up there very quickly.

 As well as looking out through the windows there was an enclosed glass ledge which you could go out onto. It didn't cost anymore so I thought I would give it a try to see if I had the nerve. I just about managed it as I only looked down very briefly which did freak me out a bit.

It was a hazy day so the views weren't that great.

These elevated train tracks encircle the Loop, the centre of Chicago's business district.  This was our fourth day in the city and we still hadn't travelled on the 'loop'. So off we went to try and find someone to explain what tickets we would need and which line to travel on so as to go around the Loop and not out of the city. We climbed the iron staircase up to a platform where an extremely helpful and patient railway worker helps us buy the tickets and put us on a train going in the right direction. It was a great view travelling on the 'L'.

We also discovered that a day pass for the subway, 'L' line and the buses cost just $5 a day. After that we used  public transport all over the city.

 We went round on the Loop and then changed to the red line to go out to the Museum Campus.

It was our first really warm, sunny day so we decided to buy a sandwich and eat it by the lake. As part of the CityPass deal we booked a ticket for the aquarium. It was impressive with lots to see. There was more variety on show than most aquariums have with river, lake as well as ocean fish.

It was just too nice a day to go back to the hotel so we walked round the lake to the marina. We found a cafe by the lake and enjoyed sitting out and having a drink. I had a couple of G and T's and felt as though I had drunk half a bottle of gin. Definitely needed some chicken tenders and chips to soak up the drink. 

It really felt like we were on holiday sitting out in the sunshine.

We  walked back to the hotel via the Riverwalk listening to some country music on the way.

Day 3 Chicago

 Our first visit this morning was to the Rookery, an 11 story building built in 1888. We decided to have a guided tour of the public areas of this building as its stunning light court was redesigned in 1907 by Frank Lloyd Wright. There were just four of us on the tour, myself and M plus two others, one of whom lived two miles away from me in London! Quite a coincidence.  The Rookery was one of the first buildings to use metal framing with masonry walls on such a large scale. Today it is the oldest standing high rise in Chicago.

 

You can see the rooks as part of the doorway's decoration.

  

This is the light court.

 Above the glass ceiling is a central atrium ringed by offices.

 

Wright added the lights in 1907.

Around the light court are the offices.

This is the oriel staircase that connects all the floors.

Afterwards we went on to the Chicago Art Institute and decided we would split up as M wanted to see the American art  and I wanted to see what they had in the impressionist galleries.

However, there were some pieces of art that I couldn't miss. This is 'American Gothic' 1930 by Grant Wood. I have seen the image many times but it was much smaller than I had imagined.

The vast majority of our art galleries just have paintings, drawings and occasionally photographs but here they had a mixture of other art forms including furniture and jewellery. I loved this Tiffany Lamp.

Marc Chagall's stained glass windows were another favourite of mine.

In the evening M fancied fish and chips so we went to the 'Elephant and Castle' pub. I should have known better. It was the worse meal ever in the worst sports bar ever. We didn't hang around and moved on to a cocktail bar for much needed civilised refreshment.

We wandered around looking at Chicago at night which we enjoyed especially down by the river.

Chicago Day 2

 We decided to have breakfast in our room before going out today so I went out early to pick up some croissants and fruit. Found a couple of great bakeries but they wouldn't accept cash. This turned out to be a costly mistake on our part. Having taken a lot of dollars with us, we will take a hit on  exchanging them back at home as well as having to pay exchange rates etc when using my cards abroad. If I had realised using cash was so scarce here I would have arranged to bring a much cheaper method of payment instead of a rather expensive credit card! Ended up at Starbucks. Not a favourite but at least they took cash.

Our first visit today was to the Harold Washington Library which was just round the corner from the hotel. The building is named after the city's first African American mayor. It is the largest public library in the US. The architects incorporated elements of several Chicago landmarks.

The library takes up a whole block.

Good to know guns aren't allowed!

This is the 9th floor winter garden atrium apparently hired out for various functions.

After the library visit we made our way up State Street to the river. We just couldn't avoid looking at the name on the building as much as we tried.

The reason it is in the photograph was because I was determined to photograph the bridge as it was raised.

This was the reason for the bridges opening. A fleet of yachts were making their way along the Chicago river to Michigan Lake.

As the yachts sailed down the river we could see each of the bridges opening to let them through.

Today we took an architectural tour of the river. It was a great way to have a closer look at  some of the skyscrapers.

The 'corn cob' buildings also known as the Marina City. Built in the 1960s it is a mixed use residential and commercial building with the first 20 floors used for parking . It was built as a city within a city and originally included a theatre, restaurants, swimming pool, bowling alley, skating rink and a marina with boat storage capacity. 

This tall building stood out because of its small base. It reminded me of a tree being felled and just about to go over.

Wanting to stand out amongst this jungle of skyscrapers, this building has displayed a huge perspex  map of the river on one of its sides. The red mark on it shows where we are on the river. 

The one in the centre is the highest building in Chicago. It is the Willis Tower at 110 storeys high. Formally known as the Sears Tower. When built in 1973 it was the tallest building in the world.

It was a great tour and I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary but, as usual, now I am home I can't remember anything the tour guide mentioned.

In the afternoon we visited 360 Chicago on top of the former John Hancock Centre. From here we had a bird's eye view of Chicago and the shores of Lake Michigan from 1000 feet up.  

You could see that a number of the buildings had roof top swimming pools.

It gave us a good idea of the number of beaches there are in the city. We had hoped to visit one later in the week but the weather had other ideas.

The observation deck is home of TILT. When you lean forward onto the windows they tilt forward. I didn't have the nerve to do this one.

We finished off the day with a meal in Miller's pub which was far more enjoyable and tasty than expected with home made pure beef burgers.