Wow, been here almost a week and still have $20 left 👏🏻 That should buy a roll of Mentos if I stinge on the tip .
Once again soft lumpy beds, 37 soft pillows and an all in one doona make for a rough nights sleep. Seriously , in cities where they say “Now wear layers Sonny “ you can’t give a sheet at least . It’s either be cold or be warm but don’t you dare be comfortable. So, maybe 4 hrs sleep total . I swallowed a very large pill and put a few items in the laundry bag and hung on door . Also noted my blood type because if you want starch apparently they may need a kidney. FMS
This meant I was raring to go at 6 am and start the Hobblin because Halloween was approaching and had to practice . Or as they call it here, night time😏 Area is not dodgy of course but still some odd bods around and this is where cane comes in handy . Did my research and Cafe Umbria served Cortado and was about a 20 min walk and opened at 630 am. Left at 620 am to be safe and stopped in to a church to pray for good coffee. It worked ! Excellent
Close to the river now and it’s 27 bridges and sun was almost considering getting up so made a beeline for Millenium Park. Along the way again some glorious shots of architecture if I do say so myself
A bit further along and came across some well known landmarks so of course had to stop and shoot eh , not a term to use loosely in Chicago of course.
The sun was peeking through now and it was nice and quiet this early so had the Bean mostly to myself. As suspected the Fall leaves are glorious and it was an amazing time of day. Old Whiskers is knocking out some pretty handy work of late
Two things always approach with trepidation on holidays are hookers …..oops wrong holiday …… first use of washing machines ( not an issue yet !) and first use of public transport. Got my Ventra card and loaded a 3 day pass and all easy peasy. Caught the red line to Chicago stop which is a 3 min walk from Sofitel. Had to stand because many seats were taken up with men sleeping on them , as in laying down, at 8 am in the morning so even the cane didn’t work. Dropped in to Seven Eleven for some supplies and then back to room for breather and planning now I have the train thing down . Having said that plan to walk to Navy Pier later but of course nothing opens here until 11 am . At least now I have some milk and tea bags, time to ring down for an actual kettle and maybe a cup ! Mind you as bad as the ankle is now I know it’s going to be worse when I start again. Have to say hard to see how I will make it to New York but just have to suck it up I guess 😢. Oh, and the laundry gone so hope it was picked up and not just stolen by a passer by my size😏 Actually looking around this last week not sure many of these folk would squeeze into my clothes. 😳
Ok, maybe we try some more strapping this time.
Time to catch a bus which only leaves the horse and carriage in the Transport Trifecta Bingo. Route 66 took me to Navy Pier and not Santa Monica but it was a good trip and not crowded. Would say 30% people here wear masks and 95% of them would be elderly . Today is a simply a glorious day and also good time to get around with weekend coming up and we all know what that means – bloody tourists .
Halloween is starting to kick in around this place. Two faves are Margaritaville and Harry Carey’s Tavern. Had a mango margarita first up but you wouldn’t know it by the colour. I force myself to drink here for CLPs benefit as she is a huge fan. Of Jimmy Buffet, not me .
Then it was a hop, skip and a stumble to Harry’s and once again thought better eat something so had some very tasty sausage ravioli. And a beer just to mix it up a bit
Then back home nice and easy and now comes the tricky part. How to not waste a beautiful afternoon when already done so much and had a few sherberts . Wonder where those horse and carriages are 🤔
Now being an expert on the subway I decided to head north this time and have a gander at Goose Island Brewhouse. Yes folks that is the level of humour here
Not much else up around there of interest so caught the subway back. Will be interesting to see NYC subways because Chicago is where the dregs congregate. No courtesy at all for cane I’ll just leave my bag on the seat next to me or put my feet up. At first stop two seats opened up and about to sit down when middle aged woman standing pointed at me and thought she was offering seat but no she was asking me to move so her 10 yr old daughter could get past and they took both seats . And of course beggars in every carriage . Will try more for buses methinks or just stay closer to home. Speaking of which found Big Shoulders Coffee 200 m from hotel and they serve Cortado. And Breakfast. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. Which is spooky because it’s true actually. Having spent todays budget on that xtra pack of Juicy Fruit I was left with $7 which bought a take away Chicken Salad from local store . Fuck the tip
Don’t get me wrong it’s been a wonderful time so far with glorious weather but it’s a balancing act having a good time and keeping an eye on the money all the time. And let’s not even think what it is in $AUD 😢. It’s 330 pm and I am in for the day and counting the hours until
flashman181 