Sep 03, 2013

Where yesterday was hot and humid (31c) today after a brief wild thunderstorm last night is less humid (27c). Another good night’s sleep was followed by exploring more of the ‘Windy City’ on foot firstly and I decided again I love Chicago. The architecture is incredibly varied in style height and surface treatment and no matter which direction you look the vista is different but complimentary. Another feature is that there are many layers of road underneath the city floor so there are wide pathways for foot traffic in the CBD area and the gardens and plantings throughout this area (not just in the Magic Mile) are lush, varied and picturesque. A great look.



An interesting collection of buildings. The tall cylindrical glass one in the background with the telecom tower on top is the Trump Tower. We heard yesterday that the Trump Penthouse has been reduced to 31.5 million dollars to buy, a .5million dollar reduction….any takers?



We think this may have been a deterrent to jay walking and crossing the intersection on red. I asked if I could take their photo and was told ‘yeah that’s fine….so long as you’re not from some down-under type country’ to which I replied ‘I wouldn’t think so!’ Needless to see no one believed that.

We followed our morning stroll with an ‘Architecture River Tour’ (supposed to be the most popular city tour) which was both an opportunity to view the city from the water as well as another perspective from that height and ended up with way too many photos to choose from so have picked this one of some of the skyline.



A skyline view from the river. The tall black tower with two white telecom ariel's is the Sears / Willis Tower.

We closed our day with cocktails in the former Sears Tower now the Willis Tower but had our drink and walk around to take photos from the Hancock observatory on the 96th level for a spectacular view across four states. After the various tours I am totally confused about which is the tallest building in the city so you’d better Google that yourself. We returned to our hotel for dinner and finished organising our gear for tomorrow when we collect our bikes…..both excited and nervous about that.



A view to the north from the tower along the shore of lake Michigan.

Bits and Bobs:

We learnt yesterday that the Architect Burley Griffin who designed Canberra was the second trainee Architect taken on by Frank Lloyd Wright which didn’t really surprise us given the hint of Prairie House look of some of the original buildings in Canberra. Liked the connection!



A handy neighbour to have beside our Hotel if a fire breaks out!