After nearly three days at the Land of Corn Fields, I left the rural cities for the city that's filled with skyscrapers - Chicago. I was quite excited to go to a city (finally!). I think I am afterall an urban dweller, and the thought of hitting down to GAP and H&M thrilled me. Haha...
The hostel (Hostelling International Chicago) was right in the Loop of Chicago downtown, which makes it easily accessible and good for sightseeing. I was glad that I shared a dorm with 5 other females, and was no longer the mixed dorm that I had in Vienna two years ago. Sharing with females means that the room is less stinky, the toilets less dirty, and the room less noisy. So it is a good thing. The only one thing that I need to complain was the darn magnetic card, which never seems to cooperate with me. Wireless internet connection also comes free in this hostel, so if you've got your laptop along with you, it's really a cheap place to stay in when visiting Chicago.
The subway is dirty and slow, but it's not packed at most times of the day. So it is a good mode of transport to shuttle around different parts of the city. They also have a lot of Blacks singing live at the metro station, and they sang the Blues or R&B really well.
On the first day, the weather was good, so I decided that I should do more outdoor activities on this day. I went up to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Observatory, and got to see the Lake Michigan and the endless horizons of skyscrapers. It's kind of cool to see the Lake Michigan up close, because everytime when I read the research papers, I read about it. I realised I was a bit foolish and should have went up there later, when the lights of most skyscrapers should be on...but oh well..
After that, I hit the shopping avenues off North Michigan and State Street. I found my fav GAP and H&M, and bought tonnes of things. I also found that the Normstrom is also a good place to shop for designer products at a very discounted price.
On the second day, it was raining and overcast for the whole day. I was lucky that I managed to reach the Shedd Aquarium before I got caught in the rain. The 4D theater was quite nice, and I watched the Planet Earth- The Shallow Sea in the theater. I think I am rather slow in this 4D term, but it seems that it is a combination of 3D and sensory effects. So when you are on your seat, they will spray water or have a stick poking at your back, or wind gushing at your feet (all according to the scenes on the screen)!
The Dolphin show was nothing compared to the one that I saw in HK Ocean Park. Maybe they don't want to ill-treat their dolphins too much, so that's good in some sense. The aquarium exhibits are pretty nice as well. I like the seahorse!
After spending nearly 2h at the aquarium, I walked out to the Grant Park. It was raining and windy, but I eventually made it to see the Buckingham Fountain. It's really a pity that the weather was crappy. My jeans were wet and I felt really shitty.
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