Windy City, Smoky Mountains ~ Day 3 - John Hancock Obs. +

[wickesy]

Having got used to the time difference all ready I didn’t wake up until 6:30 today and we were up at 7:40. First stop of the day was the John Hancock Observatory, which was just across the road from the hotel and didn’t open until 9:00 so we weren’t out until 8:45.

We were soon at the top of the tower and the views are much better by day.









This little unit was for the audio tour that gave information (voiced by David Schwimmer) about what we were looking at.






Continued

[wickesy]

After looking around again we stopped off in the café at the top for a cappuccino each which we drank whilst enjoying the view. We then made our way back down and strolled down Michigan Avenue, which is the main shopping street in Chicago, making our way towards Navy Pier. Have you ever been going somewhere and can see where you need to get to but can’t see how to get there from where you are? Well that’s what happened to us. Somehow I missed the side street I had intended to go down and just taking a side-street at random wasn’t such a good idea because we ended up going down roads that were dead ends. In the end we found our way to Navy Pier but walked about twice the distance we needed to.




First stop was the food court where we grabbed a Chicago style hot dog and root beer each. Chicago hot dogs don’t have mustard or ketchup but they do have mustard pickles and celery salt and they are absolutely delicious.

After our hot dogs we had a wander along the pier which was a strange experience. With the sound of the seagulls, the breeze from the water and water as far as the eye can see all of your senses are telling you that you are at the seaside when in fact you are just on the edge of a very large lake - Lake Michigan. We walked to the end of the pier and then made our way back, this time going through the Museum of Stained Glass Windows, which had some very nice pieces.





It wasn’t a museum in the traditional sense but more of a gallery that you walked through on your way to somewhere else. When we came out of the other end we stopped off at a stall where we bought a couple of 1lb bags of mixed cinnamon roasted nuts (almonds, pecan and cashew).

By now it was after 1:00 so we started making our way back along the lake shore and returned to the hotel around 1:40 (this time without getting lost) to have a rest before going out for a Chicago style pizza later in the evening.

After a couple of hours break we went out for another wander and had a look around Borders and Williams-Sonoma where we bought a couple of jars of mixed peppercorns before going back to the suite. At 5:00 we went back out and made our way round to Ginos East, a couple of blocks from the hotel and one of the original Chicago style pizza restaurants. Although it was still relatively early the queue was out the door and it was 10 minutes before we got into the building and another 10 before we had a table. We were told that a small deep dish would do for the two of us to share so we ordered a meaty legend (Pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon and bacon) with added jalapenos and a beer each. The deep dish pizzas take 45 minutes to cook so it’s not the sort of thing to order if you are in a hurry but it was well worth the wait and we were completely full after eating. Ginos is probably one of the only restaurants that positively encourages you to write on the walls which are covered with the names of people that have eaten there in the past.


Not my picture, just a random one I found on the net.

We were back in the suite just after 7:00 where we spent the evening watching TV before going to bed at 10:00 ready for check-out in the morning.

Today’s Disney reference:


At the John Hancock Observatory you can buy ‘Fastpass Admission’ which gives you access to this lift to avoid the queues (although there weren’t any when we were there)

Day 4

[TrueBlue]

Another great day David with more fabby pics Thanks for sharing, looking forward to reading more

[castanea1985]

Another great report, David.
The views of Chicago were fantastic! Its strange looking at a sandy beach!
When we were kids we used to go to Lake Erie and have a day on the beach! Very odd, when you know its a 'Great Lake'!

Looking forward to you going south!

Tracy x

[Strommie]

Brilliant photos! We got lost trying to find Navy Pier too

[Sarah84]

Fantastic photos, Chicago looks great. Sounds like a great trip so far

[Guest]

Fab views from the top. By the way who is John Hancock as we went to Boston 15 years ago and there is a John Hancock Observatory there too.

[wickesy]

Originally Posted by SusieK

Fab views from the top. By the way who is John Hancock as we went to Boston 15 years ago and there is a John Hancock Observatory there too.

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John Hancock was a major politician and was the first person to sign the American Declaration of Independence. The buildings are apparently named after the John Hancock Insurance Company, which are named after him.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by wickesy

John Hancock was a major politician and was the first person to sign the American Declaration of Independence. The buildings are apparently named after the John Hancock Insurance Company, which are named after him.

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Thanks for enlightening me. I'm sure I should have known that

[wickesy]

I had a rough idea who he was from watching QI but I had to Google to find out exactly who he was and what he did.