Here lies my 5 day stint in Chicago, Illinois. And may it rest in peace.
Chicago, known affectionately to it’s locals as Chicagoland (reason not discovered), is the capital city of Illinois and according to the masses of car yard advertisements I have seen on the television is “the heart of the mid-west”. And in this city of massive proportions, I got to work on the sightseeing right away – after 20 hours in the air, 8 hours wandering around airports, 2 hours in traffic between airport and hotel and only 6 hours of sleep I arose to experience my first day trip around the city.
Even though I was the only person on the coach who was under 60, I was not the only Australian, in fact I was not even the only person from Wollongong! I was shocked to speak to a lovely old man from our home who had included Chicago in his 3 month retirement party tour around the world – it’s amazing who you’ll meet around on your travels.
I did a few of these tours, as a way to familiarise myself with the city, so I could have the last two days of my stay to wander around and see whatever I wanted. And the tours were great. I saw all sorts of crazy stuff, like Oprah’s house, the Magnificent Mile, Chicago’s version of the Gold Coast, the tallest building in America (or the world or the northern hemisphere or something), the largest commercial building in the America, and of course, Lake Michigan, by which I was utterly gob smacked. Standing on the beach, it looks like the ocean, you can’t see the other side; it could go on forever as far as I was concerned.
It really is a very nice, well put together, beautiful city. And I was really lucky because my hotel was across the street from Grant Park, which is full of gardens and trees and people walking their dogs – it was sunny and fantastic and I was on top of the world … until I started noticing people being rude to me. The concierge, people at cafes, people in pharmacies, gift stores, everywhere! Really, do not expect people to ask how you are from behind the counter; they do not care. You’d be lucky to get a word out of them that wasn’t the price of your purchase. And when you accidentally pop out the old “how’s it going?” - do not expect a response. I don’t know if this attitude was typical of Chicago, if it was aimed specifically at me, or if each and every person I dealt with was in a bad mood, but wow, it really put a dampener on my trip. I struggled to remember people being rude to me in my last 2 trips to the States, and I couldn’t recall any hostility. Perhaps I was just noticing it because I was alone … either way, it didn’t make for the most fantastic stay.
I got a little timid about eating out alone, and awkward about wandering around the city alone. Don’t get me wrong, I still had a good time (first flushes of freedom and all the beautiful monuments and all), but I got the distinct feeling that it was definitely a destination better seen with a travelling buddy. So, take my advice, do more research than I did. Oprah is not a good enough excuse to blow your money on a five day stay somewhere in a new country. You’re probably best off trying for a place especially touristy (L.A., San Francisco, New York, Rome, Paris, etc) for your first little stay where you’ll be kept busy.
Other Observations
Tipping: We are lucky not to tip in Australia, but I do have the sneaking suspicion that we are the only country in the world that doesn’t. In Chicago (and numerous other places I assume) people tip for EVERYTHING. E.g, after paying significant moolah for a bus tour to the University of Chicago, I was expected upon exiting the coach, to tip the driver … even though I had already paid. If you don’t tip room service, they’ll just put it on your hotel bill. Everyone expects it, and it’s not rude, it’s normal. I always keep a bunch of $1 bills in my back pocket for tipping. A basic guide would be this: for people who provide services (porters, tour guides, etc) $2-$3 is generally a good amount; for waiters, room service, or anyone else who comes with a bill, you should give them 15% of the total amount on the bill.
Money: Yes, all American notes look wildly similar. (Trivia: they’re made out of cotton!) I found that it helps to put them in ascending order of value in my wallet, so I have some idea of what I’m reaching for. I decided to do this after I tipped the airport transfer driver $13 instead of $3. He was really grateful. I was not.
Jetlag: Oh my godfather. Jetlag is no fun. I swear I told everyone back home, “nahh, I’m immune to jetlag, I can sleep on planes, I’ll be fine”. No, I most certainly wasn’t. How, may I ask, can one sleep on a plane when a) food is constantly being thrown at them; and b) they have just left their mummy crying at the airport? Impossible. You may not notice the jetlag right away, but when, on your 3rd day abroad, you sleep in til 4:30pm after hitting the sack at 9:30pm the night before, jetlag is your reason.
Food: Dining alone is awkward. But face up to the awkwardness if you can. It’s worth it. Find a place that sells fruit and keep some in your hotel (the whole time difference/jetlag thing is weird, I was waking up hungry at 4am).
Don’t feel the obligation to be out and about every single night. If one night you feel the urge to stay in and order room service while watching TV, writing postcards and uploading your photos, do it! It’s your holiday, and if you need some time out you shouldn’t have to feel bad about that. Going to a new place is scary after a while, and I really felt the need to sit down and absorb it after a few hectic days. It helps.
Anyways, so I’m the airport. My original flight was cancelled and now I have to wait 6 hours for the next one to turn up, but I’m on my way to Washington, DC - the nation’s capital. Til then, ciao!
Chicago, known affectionately to it’s locals as Chicagoland (reason not discovered), is the capital city of Illinois and according to the masses of car yard advertisements I have seen on the television is “the heart of the mid-west”. And in this city of massive proportions, I got to work on the sightseeing right away – after 20 hours in the air, 8 hours wandering around airports, 2 hours in traffic between airport and hotel and only 6 hours of sleep I arose to experience my first day trip around the city.
Even though I was the only person on the coach who was under 60, I was not the only Australian, in fact I was not even the only person from Wollongong! I was shocked to speak to a lovely old man from our home who had included Chicago in his 3 month retirement party tour around the world – it’s amazing who you’ll meet around on your travels.
I did a few of these tours, as a way to familiarise myself with the city, so I could have the last two days of my stay to wander around and see whatever I wanted. And the tours were great. I saw all sorts of crazy stuff, like Oprah’s house, the Magnificent Mile, Chicago’s version of the Gold Coast, the tallest building in America (or the world or the northern hemisphere or something), the largest commercial building in the America, and of course, Lake Michigan, by which I was utterly gob smacked. Standing on the beach, it looks like the ocean, you can’t see the other side; it could go on forever as far as I was concerned.
It really is a very nice, well put together, beautiful city. And I was really lucky because my hotel was across the street from Grant Park, which is full of gardens and trees and people walking their dogs – it was sunny and fantastic and I was on top of the world … until I started noticing people being rude to me. The concierge, people at cafes, people in pharmacies, gift stores, everywhere! Really, do not expect people to ask how you are from behind the counter; they do not care. You’d be lucky to get a word out of them that wasn’t the price of your purchase. And when you accidentally pop out the old “how’s it going?” - do not expect a response. I don’t know if this attitude was typical of Chicago, if it was aimed specifically at me, or if each and every person I dealt with was in a bad mood, but wow, it really put a dampener on my trip. I struggled to remember people being rude to me in my last 2 trips to the States, and I couldn’t recall any hostility. Perhaps I was just noticing it because I was alone … either way, it didn’t make for the most fantastic stay.
I got a little timid about eating out alone, and awkward about wandering around the city alone. Don’t get me wrong, I still had a good time (first flushes of freedom and all the beautiful monuments and all), but I got the distinct feeling that it was definitely a destination better seen with a travelling buddy. So, take my advice, do more research than I did. Oprah is not a good enough excuse to blow your money on a five day stay somewhere in a new country. You’re probably best off trying for a place especially touristy (L.A., San Francisco, New York, Rome, Paris, etc) for your first little stay where you’ll be kept busy.
Other Observations
Tipping: We are lucky not to tip in Australia, but I do have the sneaking suspicion that we are the only country in the world that doesn’t. In Chicago (and numerous other places I assume) people tip for EVERYTHING. E.g, after paying significant moolah for a bus tour to the University of Chicago, I was expected upon exiting the coach, to tip the driver … even though I had already paid. If you don’t tip room service, they’ll just put it on your hotel bill. Everyone expects it, and it’s not rude, it’s normal. I always keep a bunch of $1 bills in my back pocket for tipping. A basic guide would be this: for people who provide services (porters, tour guides, etc) $2-$3 is generally a good amount; for waiters, room service, or anyone else who comes with a bill, you should give them 15% of the total amount on the bill.
Money: Yes, all American notes look wildly similar. (Trivia: they’re made out of cotton!) I found that it helps to put them in ascending order of value in my wallet, so I have some idea of what I’m reaching for. I decided to do this after I tipped the airport transfer driver $13 instead of $3. He was really grateful. I was not.
Jetlag: Oh my godfather. Jetlag is no fun. I swear I told everyone back home, “nahh, I’m immune to jetlag, I can sleep on planes, I’ll be fine”. No, I most certainly wasn’t. How, may I ask, can one sleep on a plane when a) food is constantly being thrown at them; and b) they have just left their mummy crying at the airport? Impossible. You may not notice the jetlag right away, but when, on your 3rd day abroad, you sleep in til 4:30pm after hitting the sack at 9:30pm the night before, jetlag is your reason.
Food: Dining alone is awkward. But face up to the awkwardness if you can. It’s worth it. Find a place that sells fruit and keep some in your hotel (the whole time difference/jetlag thing is weird, I was waking up hungry at 4am).
Don’t feel the obligation to be out and about every single night. If one night you feel the urge to stay in and order room service while watching TV, writing postcards and uploading your photos, do it! It’s your holiday, and if you need some time out you shouldn’t have to feel bad about that. Going to a new place is scary after a while, and I really felt the need to sit down and absorb it after a few hectic days. It helps.
Anyways, so I’m the airport. My original flight was cancelled and now I have to wait 6 hours for the next one to turn up, but I’m on my way to Washington, DC - the nation’s capital. Til then, ciao!
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