We had a business trip in USA and one of our stops was the city of Chicago in Illinois. It is one of America's largest cities and is known for its financial and commercial hubs, museums, and architectural tours.
We arrived at Chicago from the Philippines at around 7 in the evening, which gave us just enough time to travel to our hotel, check in to our room, and explore the city afterwards. We had the night to ourselves, but we were expected to wake up early the next day to work, and head to our company's headquarters in Wisconsin right after lunch.
That's a very limited time to tour Chicago, if you ask me. Google suggested a million things to do in this city, but we were only able to experience 3.
And we're not complaining. These 3 highlights are what Chicago is known for, and we want to share it so you, too, can best experience the city even with a very limited time.
1. Deep Dish Pizza at Giordano's
The deep dish pizza, which originated in Chicago, is a must-try! For those who don't know, deep dish pizza is basically stuffed pizza, so expect it to be really filling. It more of resembles a pie than a flat bread, and it tastes heavenly good.
After checking in to our hotel, we immediately headed to Giordano's along Michigan Avenue to try this famous pizza. The recipe of Giordano's deep dish pizza has evolved over the last 200 years. It was born in a small Italian town, from the kitchen of Mama Giordano. Her sons then immigrated to Chicago, brought this well-loved family recipe with them, and opened the first Giordano's restaurant in 1974.
Aside from the deep dish pizza, we also ordered their Original Chicago Chicken Chopped Salad, which is A-OK!!! Of course, a bottle of beer came in handy too.
2. Michigan Avenue
It was past 9 PM when we finished dinner, and we were feeling really heavy and tired by then. We haven't slept well due to the long flight we had from Manila.
Hence, we just toured along the dark and quiet Michigan Avenue on the way back to our hotel while admiring the stunning architecture surrounding us. The street lights served as our guiding light; they also gave the buildings their dramatic glow.
It was just past 9 PM and all establishments were closed, so we couldn't really do anything else. Even Millenium Park, which was just a stone's throw away, looked very dark.
If you happen to be here during the day, hop on to Millenium Park as well, a famous landmark in Chicago.
3. Chicago Riverwalk
Our hotel was located in front of the Chicago River, which is a big plus! We woke up extra early the next day to give us time to tour the Chicago Riverwalk.
Chicago Riverwalk is a clean, scenic walkway along the Chicago River. It's a real breather as everything looked so perfectly crisp, clean, and green. The walkway is lavished with trees and pocket gardens on your left and a clean, placid, blue-green river on your right. Add to that the beautiful towering structures and the bright blue skies above you.
Locals usually jog here, or simply relax. Tourists usually avail of the Chicago Rivertour or the Chicago Architectural Tour to best experience the Chicago River, and at the same time, learn more about the history of architecture and design in the city.
Chicago was definitely short, but magnificent, for us. The key here was the strategic location of our hotel, which allowed us to experience some of the must-sees and must-dos in Chicago given a limited period of time.
Though we do believe that wherever it is you're staying, and no matter how much time you're having in this city, as long as you equip yourself with knowledge about Chicago through prior research, you will go far.
Have fun on your upcoming journeys, and we hope you'll enjoy Chicago as much as we did!
No comments:
Post a Comment