Friday, July 1, 2016

Disappointed, Fearless and Cultured in Chicago

I'm sorry for the LONG delay in writing this post. I'd been procrastinating it for two reasons: 1. I needed time to sift through the bad and the ugly of the week in order to bring you guys a fair post 2. I was going through some things in my personal life which I'll share another time.

Chi-town; most commonly known in our generation as the city origin of Yeezy (Kanye West) and let me tell you the city is just as unwelcoming as his persona. Thinking we were saving ourselves some money we booked a hotel in the suburbs- a bad idea if you don't have a rental car and all the rental places are closed until Monday morning. So for breakfast we walked down construction streets to a hole-in-the-wall Mexican spot and through shady Bosnian plazas before catching a Lyft back. To kick off our Chicago experience we decided to order in and go for a deep-dish Chicago pizza. I'm glad we had the experience but wouldn't be trying this particular place again.

We were in town for the Xotics Barber Battle Hair Expo, which was hyped to be one of the largest expos in the nation. We were so excited for all the new skills and information we had been waiting months to acquire. I'll be nice and call the event nothing short of a disappointment. I was so proud of my handsome Hubs was a star because of his fashion cut (which he did himself!) Putting aside the bad customer service and unorganized event I'll focus on the one good day of our 5 day trip- attraction day!
The Art Institute of Chicago was our first stop in the city. With three floors of everything from Japanese, Indian and American art. I would recommend the museum as it has something for everyone and is a great way to kill a few hours if you've got something planned for later in the afternoon. While I could stay in the textiles floor for hours Zombie couldn't get enough of the mini houses.
Willis Tower (Now named Sears Tower) was the highlight of my trip! 180 stories and four feet out in a transparent box of death- what's not to love?! After reading the reviews online I prepared myself for a 30 minute wait followed by an hour and a half line to get to the box. As I walked backwards into the booth I tried to remain calm as Zombie jumped from one end to another, looking down and putting her face against the glass- how could she be so fearless?!
We hung out at the top of the world for an hour or two before catching an Uber back. Here are some tips for those of you traveling to Chicago in the near or distant future:

1- pack in layers ... Chicago is "The Windy City" so be prepared to layer your outfits and pack light to moderate sweaters

2- Stay in the CITY.... while initially we thought we were saving ourselves $200- we in fact ended up spending it all on transportation. Save yourself the hassle and just stay in the city where all the tourist attractions are anyway.

3- buy tickets online!... you save so much more. If you are traveling to the Art Institute and are a student you receive a discount! so be sure to bring your school i.d.

4- BE AWARE- I won't go too into this one- just use basic safety precautions. We live in dangerous times and Chicago has its reputation.

5- JUST HAVE FUN