Chicago Day 6: Chicago O’Hare Airport

Finally, it’s time to head to the airport. We picked up our luggage from the hotel and went back to the James R. Thompson Center to catch the blue line to the O’Hare Airport.

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The fare from city center to O’Hare airport is only $3.

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We got a quick bite from McDonalds in the airport after we passed security check.

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Since we had plenty of time, Ben and I just went exploring the different terminals. Here are some of the photos we took from O’Hare airport. (more…)

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Chicago Day 6: Chicago Cultural Center

We returned to the hotel by noon to check out. Since our flight was at 7:30PM, we left our luggages at the concierge and went for more exploration.

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We came upon a building with the sign “Chicago Pvblic Library” (that’s how the public spelled on the building). This is the north entrance from Randolph St., with Doric columns.

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Apparently, the library is now converted to the Chicago Cultural Center that houses the city’s official reception venue. The above is the grand staircase leading to the Preston Bradley Hall.

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An interesting view of the staircase from above. We saw a couple planning a wedding shoot here. (more…)

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Chicago Day 6: James R. Thompson Center

After exploring the Daley farmers market, we walked over to the Thompson Center behind the Daley Center. The Thompson Center is a state building.

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In the front entrance, stood a sculpture by a French artist Jean Dubuffet. The sculpture is titled “Monument with Standing Beast”.

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When we walked into the atrium, we felt like we just walked into a sci-fi movie scene.

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The open concept elevators and the lobbies of the offices on various floors create interesting shapes, lines and angles. The orangey color of the panels resembles the color of tomato soup. (more…)

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Chicago Day 5: Fireworks at Navy Pier

After dinner, we walked to one of the Navy Pier Free Trolley stop as we intended to watch the fireworks. We waited for a while and decided to walk instead because there were quite a lot of people waiting at the stop. Half way walking, a trolley just came by and we managed to get on.

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Night view of the Pier Park.

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With the Chicago Go card, we went for a ride on the ferries wheel. Fortunately, the line was not very long.

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View from the ferris view. (more…)

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Chicago Day 5: The Halal Guys

We just kept walking and walking until we came across a restaurant with a long line up.

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It was a newly opened Gyro restaurant.

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Nanzaro insisted we joined the line as he had heard good thing of The Halal Guys in New York.

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The restaurant is small with only a few tables. Luckily, most people just came for take-out. (more…)

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Chicago Day 5: Old Town

After visiting the Chicago History Museum, we just wondered around the neighbourhood.

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Came across a pretty big church.

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A fountain at the corner of a junction.

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Then we saw the above hustle bustle. Apparently, there was a fire in a building in the neighbourhood. That’s why we kept hearing a helicopter hovering over the sky. There were lots of emergency vehicles parked along the closed road. (more…)

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Chicago Day 5: Chicago History Museum

After lunch at Pret-A-Manger, we took Uber to Chicago History Museum. On the way there, we heard helicopter hovering in the sky. The Uber driver told us that it meant something bad had happened.

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Chicago History Museum was formerly known as Chicago History Society. It was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

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Here are some of the exhibits in the museum.

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Interesting steering wheel made with chains.

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South Side Elevated Railroad Car 1. (more…)

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Chicago Day 5: Centennial Fountain

After lunch, Ben brought us to Centennial Fountain to have a closer look. We saw the hourly water arc from the boat of the Architecture Cruise.

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It was quite a long walk as I recalled.

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The Centennial Fountain was erected for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

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A side view of the fountain. (more…)

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