Quality Living Styles - Travel

Our trip to Chicago

Pictures of Chicago

We visited my son, who lives in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago and also took in some of the sites. We began as soon as we arrived, very early in the morning, with a visit to the Navy Pier.

Read about our Misadventure, to know why we were there so early. Normally this place is buzzing with people, but being early, we walked with ease and enjoyed the beautiful views of the skyline, Lake Michigan, and explored the Navy Pier.

Here is a link to view a collection of, Pictures of Chicago.

Chicago grew from a small trading post at the mouth of the Chicago River into a global city, a thriving center of international trade and commerce, and a place where people of every nationality come to pursue the American dream.

Distorted Images in Mirror on the Navy Pier

The Chicago River has always played a significant role in the growth of Chicago, with engineering over the years helping to improve and build up the flow of water, remove pollution and build structures that enhanced Chicago become an important city in the county.

The Fire of 1871, lasted 3 days, destroying most of the buildings in downtown. However, reconstruction began soon afterwards and Chicago has became a major city for economic development. All construction near the river has to comply with strict building codes that include, fitting in with the ethos of the present buildings, to ensure a harmonious flow.

Chicago's skyline has a range of tall buildings which includes, Willis Tower, the second tallest building in the world, formerly known as Sears Tower.

Chicago is in the Midwest of the USA, and is on the shores of Lake Michigan. It is also known as the Windy City. There are different theories about why this is so, one being, that Chicagoans highly exaggerate what they say.

Chicago, a city of world-class status has several of the tallest buildings in the USA. It's downtown has great shopping, including the, Miracle Mile Strip, with designer stores. Some of the higher-end shops include La Perla, Coach, Burberry and Louis Vuitton & jewelers include Tiffany Co. and Cartier.

More affordable shopping is catered for in stores likes, The Gap, Guess, Nike, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Levi’s, Express, North Face, and Saks 5th Avenue. Stores like Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, are also on the Magnificent Mile.

Chicago is home to world-championship sports teams, an internationally acclaimed symphony orchestra, renowned architecture, award-winning theater, and much more. These include art museums, parks such as Grant Park and Millenium Park, that offer entertainment for locals and tourists alike. Grant Park has a series of classical summer concerts. It was in this park, that Barack Obama delivered his Victory Acceptance Speech.

If you are going to Chicago, here is a link to, Explore Chicago, and,
A Selection of Audio Tours for both children and adults, where you can tour on your own and learn about the city.
Some places that I recommend include:

The Lincoln Park neighborhood, is very close to downtown Chicago. It has many interesting buildings as well as parks and trails. The area is always busy, with many stores, bars, boutiques, and something for everyone's taste. There are also Farmers Markets over the weekends. Public transport is very well organized and reliable. Both trains and buses are popular with residents.

In this city, parking is very expensive, so be aware of that, when you make travel arrangements. It is also very difficult to find parking spaces, taking up much of limited travel time.

Conclusion

Most of the pictures were taken by us. However I was fortunate to find excellent shots of landmarks on Wikipedia. I was able to include those photos from Wikipedia, as they are in the Creative Commons category, which allows use of the pictures, on condition that the photographers receive credit for their work.
Special thanks to Ania Shreeve, who kindly shared some of her pictures of Chicago.

It is a few months since we traveled to Chicago, and I have forgotten the names of a few buildings that you will see when you view, Pictures of Chicago. Please feel free to use the comments box, add the name of buildings you recognize, or any other comments you may have. If you would like your travel story to be published, you can reach Nirmala, via the Contact Form or email Nirmala at:
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