Chicago Part 2

On the weekend we took a train to the city.

The trains were unlike anything I had encountered before; big, smelly, noisy

and they had a top deck!  Our guard suggested we buy a weekend ticket "they only cost 8 dollars for the whole weekend, so you really don't want anything else."

My Clicky and me opted for the top deck ~ of course ~ but they were a little different to what I was expecting.  If you are sat up there you can look down onto the passengers downstairs.

We had a rattly hour's ride to Chicago Union Station.  

What a magnificent building, just as I imagined an American train station should look like.

It is huge.

I'm sure it has been used in films that I've seen.

A short walk and we came across sunshine and the Chicago River.

We walked further, making our way towards Lake Michigan. 

This is 'The Bean', well it's actually called Cloud Gate but that's it's nickname.  From the outside a lovely shiny thing you can spot yourself in

and on the inside a whole different experience.

We walked on through Millennium Park and came across some sculptures,  which had been visited a few weeks earlier by a blogger I follow Gill from An Elegant Sufficiency.  The artwork left her cold and I have to say, us too.  We were instructed not to climb but we didn't know much more about them.

They were made from old tyres but no signs about why.

I am however, pleased to report that there were some children climbing on them!

As we walked on I marvelled at the skyscrapers.  I love the old four story building against the massive new ones.

It had a water tank on the roof, still in use?

We had a break for a cup of tea and yummy cake and then set on our way again.

Before long we had reached our destination.  Navy Pier.

Now, I know that this is Lake Michigan but everything I know tells me it's the sea.

We sat for a while and watched the tourist boats go by 

and then headed back up The River Walk, still marvelling at the size of the buildings.

More boats with weekend trippers on, the music was very loud!

These two are called Marina City and are apartments 

with car parking underneath.

These boats were moored outside a bar full of party goers, each was playing different music ~ very loudly!

We turned into the city again with it's trains of the 'Rapid-Transit System' nicknamed 'L'.  

Some places they are overground, others underground, and they  clattered and clanked around, we didn't venture on.

Walking back to Union Station we came across Willis Tower.  It is 1353 feet tall, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.  

On the 103rd floor you can step out 4 feet in a glass 'pod.'  I zoomed in so you can see the people standing in them.   I'm sure the views are spectacular but I haven't really got a head for heights so we gave it a miss.

We caught our train back and had a well deserved rest after all that walking.  

We spent the next few days visiting local towns and having an explore in between Mr Clicky going to work.  A riverboat casino on Fox River.

My waffle breakfast.  Yum.

It was time to go home.  We had a night flight, we left at 6 in the evening so I had a gin (or 2) with my sock knitting.   I was hoping the gin might help me sleep, but it didn't!

 The moon soon appeared.

 and the light shone on the wing tip.

We landed at 7am UK time which still felt like the middle of the night but luckily we were picked up from Heathrow by a car and delivered home so we didn't have to drive.  The next day or two I slept when I needed to and got back into UK time.  

That's me for now, I have a few knitted items to show you next time.
Have fun...................Clicky Needles.