The architecture boat tour was great. I highly recommend it.
Posted by
CovingtonCat
Sep 5 '11, 05:32
|
The weather was perfect, after 2 very hot, muggy & hazy days. I suggest going on an early tour. We went at 9:30. I think later there will be more activity on the river. A Sunday is also good because bridge work is halted and noise levels are lower. Sit on the lower level on the bow. You won't see the docent but you'll hear him/her just fine. All the seats are good there. Something I learned: there's a chocolate factory that makes part of the loop smell delicious. It's been less than 5 years since my last trip here but so many new buildings have gone up.
Afterwared, we went back to N Milwaukee Ave to our favorite Polish bakery for babka. They didn't save our order for us! They had just 2 babkas left and only 1 of the kind my friend likes. But we got some cheesecake, rye bread, and other goodies. Went across the street to the Polish market to get frozen pierogis (meat, mushroom & sauerkraut, and blueberry) as well as some really good-smelling smoked kielbasa. Then off to the Taste of Polonia.
I wasn't expecting much so I was pleasantly surprised. They had 3 stages with music. While we were there we heard a polka band (of course), a really good classic rock cover band, and a Polish pop group, who were also very good. I don't speak Polish but I was humming one tune for a couple hours. Polish disco can be very catchy. Had some fabulously delicious potato pancakes made fresh by some serious-looking Polish ladies. They had a casino with poker and blackjack (I did not partake). And there were lots of booths selling t-shirts in Polish. Got some gifts for a Polish friend in Boston.
We stayed longer than planned so didn't have time for the Chicago History Museum. We took our goodies back to the hotel then headed to Old Town. We wandered around a bit then settled on Mexican food for dinner. It was OK. Many of the other places we saw were filled to the brim with young hipsterish people. Then off to Second City. My friend scored free tickets and we got a "Good Table". Basically, this meant we didn't have to share a table and we had pretty much unobstructed views. I'll give the show a B. Some bits were very funny, some didn't work so well. Kind of like a good Saturday Night Live show without most of the props. I expect to see at least 3 or 4 of the performers go on to bigger shows.
Slept later than planned this morning and am very tired. Probably will head toward home after breakfast.
The plan to stay outside downtown worked fairly well. Saved a lot of money even after paying for parking each day downtown. The downside was the drive to the hotel. Each day we hit heavy traffic going west (mostly on I-90). Getting to downtown early in the morning was fast, but it *is* a holiday weekend.
And after 2 different stays (here and in Cleveland) I also highly recommend Hyatt Place. Large rooms (actually a suite-lite), free parking, great price, decent breakfast, very large screen TV, super fast internet, and very friendly & eager-to-please staff. In Cleveland I think I paid $80 for a night. Here, with AAA, I'm paying $71.
Next stop: Indiana Live Casino. Then home.
|
Responses:
|
