Chicago Day 2

Day 2 of Chicago, and what a day it's been in! Yesterday convinced me that Chicago was the slums and the pits and a dreary place to live in (less the hookah) but today exposed me to some of the famous wonders for which the lovely city of Chicago is heralded for.


Home to Keith, Shu and some hobo from Virginia.

This day began at about 10am, after a peaceful slumber at the only extra beds that most college kids can offer - the couch. In any case, we headed for the downtown area, which sorta defines Chicago from a daytime perspective - magnificent architecture and wonderful scenery. Here's a sample of the things that one can see in terms of architecture and the Millennium Park.


Millennium Park has 2 notable video displays where they show pictures of residents of Chicago. Here's a sample of one of them.


How the f*** did we get these pictures taken?


This view captures the beauty of Chicago architecture and the skating rink at the Millennium Park

I'll upload more pictures later in this entry but didn't want to overwhelm you kids too much at first.

Lunch was at Pizzeria Uno, a place that claimed to give birth to the Deep Dish Pizza. The Deep Dish Pizza is supposed to be a speciality of Chicago - it's essentially a pie disguised as a pizza, with the usual topppings that you'll expect on a pizza but with meat stuffings and a crust so pie that you're wondering what the hell you're eating. If a picture paints a thousand words, then...



Going back to Chicago architecture, some notable buildings include the Chicago Tribune building, which is actually home to random pieces of stones from all over the world. Not exactly random, though - we've got the Berlin Wall, Lincoln's tomb, the Parthenon and other such famous spots. Another building I thought was kinda crazy was this one:


What's with that diamond top?!?! Solar panels or wot?

The afternoon was spent bumming, shopping and chilling. Due to the massive amount of food consumed (we packed away the unfinished portions and gave them to some homeless people), there were many intermissions between stops. I also did something pretty crazy - spent about US$300 (not including the 10% sales tax) on a Hugo Boss suit. I know I'm gonna be upset with myself when I go back to chomping on spags for the next month but hey, when else will you get a decent and branded suit at US$300? It's arguably a bargain (rrrright). I did get a coat to prevent my arse from freezing, though.



We wrapped up the evening with a trip to Second City. Second City is THE place to go for comedy in Chicago - or even America, for that matter. Second City is really quite the holy ground for comedy in America, with an illustrious history when it comes to the amount of talents that have walked out its doors. This comedy club was home to James Belushi, Bill Murray, Dan Castalleneta, Mike Myers, Dan Akroyd and Tina Fey, amongst other comedians. I mean, look at that list!



Anyway, at US$9 a head (yes, we got it at half price thanks to my ISIC card - finally found some bloody use for it), you get about 2 hours for the revue, or what is essentially a series of skits that have been prepared and constantly updated. Then after that, you get a bonus hour of experimental skits and a short improvisational comedy performance from the cast. It's really not shabby at all, if you think about it. And it's definitely a sight of Chicago that distinguishes it from other cosmopolitan cities - I really suggest that all visitors have a look.

I don't really have much else to say except that I'm almightily pissed off that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade may not be open to visitors due to the whole terrorism bollocks. Man, whatever else will I do tomorrow?!

I'm exhausted. Good night folks, hope you liked the pics.