Chicago

View from the 'Yard'

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We were in Chicago for a grand total of 24 hours. This was long enough. Why on earth people would choose to live in such climates and how, under such circumstances, they managed to construct such a magnificently beautiful city is beyond me.

My girlfriend Amy and I stayed at a Hostel International north of the cities centre. Arriving in the early afternoon, we deposited our belongings then somehow managed to convince our frozen limbs to carry us to the train station, which took us to the loop (the elevated train tracks that form a circle around the cities centre). From here we walked down Madison Street beneath magnificent towering buildings, to what is endearingly titled the ‘front yard’ - Grant Park, a lawn that stretches between Lake Michigan and the towering skyscrapers of Lake Shore Drive - Downtown Chicago behind it.

Magic Kidney Bean

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I have never before been so impressed by a city skyline, both looking up at it from within and from its periphery – in the front yard. I knew that Chicago possessed the world’s tallest buildings. I also knew that the great Chicago fire of 1871 which destroyed much of the city had stimulated an innovation in architecture known as the Chicago School (which primarily involved the creation of attractive skyscrapers) but I never realised how truly beautiful those buildings individually and, on mass, could be. The Chicago skyscrapers of the late 1800’s and 1940’s (first and second generation of the Chicago school) and even the most recent have a dignity and aesthetic to them that skyscrapers the world over seem to lack. I never knew a city could look so good.

At Grant Park, much to our delight, we happened upon a massive steel kidney bean.

Looks pretty good to me...

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Viewed up close this magic massive bean reflected the city skyline in magnificent warped detail, introducing a universe subject to alternate laws of nature – the skyscrapers bending in on each other made even more surreal by the luminescent clear blue sky of dusk behind them.

While our eyes were very pleased with this spectacle there was no way that our bodies were going to continue to be subjected Chicago's climatic punishment. We took refuge in the museum of contemporary art before braving the cold again and heading out in search of the infamous jazz clubs of Chicago.

Three things were not in our favour. We were not dressed to impress, it was too early and the famous Greenmill speakeasy jazz bar was closed for a staff Christmas party. Of the jazz bars we sought out, in and around La Salle St and Chicago Ave, north of the loop, all were closed till 7pm.

Lake Shore Drive

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We spent an hour in a warm wholefood store, admiring its many delicacies, then emerged and sped our way to a little basement place called the Red Slipper to be turned away and advised that we were not suitably dressed to enter - I had forgotten my thermal tuxedo you see. After further refusals we came upon Andy’s Jazz Bar. Here our slapdash thermal ensembles were welcomed with warm smiles.

We were treated to an amazing ten piece jazz band, shared a massive meat nachos, some wine and relaxed the establishments warm climate.