A Whistle Stop Tour Of Chicago
I spent most of last week in Chicago attending a conference for one of my clients. That was partly the inspiration behind my post on O’Hare International. So did the airport and the trip in general live up to expectations?
Heading In
I found the airport pretty well organized and on my way in, it was easy to find my way to the luggage carousels, the exit and the airport parking lots, outside which my bus was waiting. From there it was a short ride to Hilton Indian Lakes in Bloomingdale. While not as fancy as the Cancun Hilton, this hotel was more than adequate, with good food, a nice pool and a great jacuzzi. The conference wasn’t half bad either.
At the end of it, I had one more day before it was time to fly home, so I headed downtown. Driven by a cabbie who, in his own words ‘used to have a problem with road rage’, we sat on the highway for more than two hours to make what should have been a half hour drive. Memorial Day weekend is a bad time to travel and although we thought we’d left early enough – we hadn’t. Eventually we got there.
Whistle
Our host took us on a quick tour of the surroundings, including Wrigley Field, known as the Friendly Confines. As there was no game on, the area was pretty quiet. We also drove past something that looked like the Old Curiosity Shop, decorated with old fashioned comic style graffiti, as well as Guthrie’s Tavern, a famous board game bar. I would have loved to go in, but there just wasn’t time.
Stop
Dinner that night was at Socca, where I enjoyed a sopprasata pizzete with mozzarella and shredded caesar salad, pan roasted salmon with chickpea puree and the best bread pudding I have ever tasted, bar none. If you like Mediterranean style cuisine, you will love the food and atmosphere here.
Heading Out
The next morning, it was time to head back to O’Hare. The trip was uneventful and check in was so smooth that I found myself with a couple of hours to kill. O’Hare has a good range of shops, so I was able to pick up a couple of presents and even found some great vegetarian food. All in all, it was a good trip.
Tags: airport, chicago, Destinations, ord airport, travel
July 9th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
[...] 26: A Whistle Stop Tour Of Chicago [...]
September 24th, 2009 at 4:01 am
[...] blog has also tracked my travel this year, with posts on Cancun, Chicago, and Florida. Look out for posts on trips to New Jersey and Bahrain. It’s been a great first [...]