My second trip to Chicago - warning:long post! (Lincoln: neighborhood, public transportation)

[Chi-town Native]

great story! I think I could write something very similar on my experience staying in Rome a few years back, clearly Italians know how to live life to the fullest!

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Thanks for taking the time to write such an informative post.

I'll incorporate some of your suggestions on my next trip, as you had done with recommendations from others.

Glad to see that you always felt safe, despite some of the crime posts here the past few months.

Didn't catch a Sox or Cubs game? Did so last visit?... or just not a baseball fan perhaps?...

He had a great time, exploring all that Chicago has to offer. And Chicago really does offer something for everyone.

No, many people are not baseball fans, and even if people from out of town are a big baseball fan, they may be loyal to their hometown team. And if they are not playing at Wrigley or the Cell, why go?

Lets not make him feel out of place for not being a big baseball fan, or make him feel like he has to pick sides. He loves Chicago for so many other reasons.

[MoItaly]

I would like to add for the benefit of travellers to Chicago that the Chicago Greeter tour is really a great thing to do; you talk to a local who knows and loves his/her city (they do it for free) and you are even discouraged giving tips (but I got around that and bought the guy lunch). The guy we met, Richard, showed us old pictures of Chicago for about an hour at the Convention Center , while explaining the history from the beginning on. It was very interesting, at least for us.

He told us about the Chicago fire (and the Water Tower being the only building that stood against it) and that when the city was rebuilt, they literally raised many building, several feet. Then we went to see these places, the huge pump that supplies water to the entire city, and he took us underground (I had no clue it was like that) from the convention center we went under several building in downtown, came up where we could see the center from a distance, amazing.

This guy could tell you who made each building, when, the story behind it, it was very educative.

The tour is normally 2 or 3 hours, but in our case it lasted almost 6, but that's because we kind of connected with this old man (who comes to Florida every winter, so we'll meet him again here in a few months) and it became more of a conversation with a knowledgeable friend than an official.

Forget the bus tours, the cruises on the river etc...the Chicago Greeter is really great if you want to know something about what you see walking around in Chicago.

[MoItaly]

Tex, it's fine, didn't take it in a negative way.
I personally find baseball boring (I do watch many play-offs games though), but understand that I am Italian and lived in Europe until the age of 33 and baseball is barely considered a sport over there (I guess it's because we suck at it...lol).

I am a huge soccer fan, of course, I grew up with it and I follow heavily football, both college and NFL. The other sport I really like is basket.

But I am a sport guy, so I watch big sport events of any kind. And as a sport guy, there are places that always have an effect on you, just because of tradition/history. The Yankees stadium for instance although I don't care much aboiut baseball or the Yankees.

In Chicago you have two of these places. Two years ago I walked as close as I could to Soldier Field with my wife, we just stared at it; I guess it's like for a religious man to go to the Vatican.

This time I read somewhere about the red line stop at Addison, from where you can see Wrigley Field and I confess that when we stopped and I could see the big sign Wrigley Field, Home of the Cubs, I thought I should have put a Cubs game in my trip.

It's just that there is so much to see in Chicago...it's that many don't know about it. When I came back, the first questions I had in the office from a couple of guys who "know" Chicago, was "did you go to Rush St"? Too many think that all Chicago has, is the Loop, magnificent Mile, River North and Gold Coast bars and restaurants and a couple of famous museums.

Personally, I felt more connected to Chicago not on the Mile, but the first day when I was walking Grant Park at 5:30 a.m. under the rain whistling blues tunes for myself, or when at 2 p.m. I was smoking outside Pippin in the loop, standing there, relaxed by 3 - 4 beers, just people watching, like we used to do in Italy.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by MoItaly

Tex, it's fine, didn't take it in a negative way.
I personally find baseball boring (I do watch many play-offs games though), but understand that I am Italian and lived in Europe until the age of 33 and baseball is barely considered a sport over there (I guess it's because we suck at it...lol).

I am a huge soccer fan, of course, I grew up with it and I follow heavily football, both college and NFL. The other sport I really like is basket.

But I am a sport guy, so I watch big sport events of any kind. And as a sport guy, there are places that always have an effect on you, just because of tradition/history. The Yankees stadium for instance although I don't care much aboiut baseball or the Yankees.

In Chicago you have two of these places. Two years ago I walked as close as I could to Soldier Field with my wife, we just stared at it; I guess it's like for a religious man to go to the Vatican.

This time I read somewhere about the red line stop at Addison, from where you can see Wrigley Field and I confess that when we stopped and I could see the big sign Wrigley Field, Home of the Cubs, I thought I should have put a Cubs game in my trip.

It's just that there is so much to see in Chicago...it's that many don't know about it. When I came back, the first questions I had in the office from a couple of guys who "know" Chicago, was "did you go to Rush St"? Too many think that all Chicago has, is the Loop, magnificent Mile, River North and Gold Coast bars and restaurants and a couple of famous museums.

Personally, I felt more connected to Chicago not on the Mile, but the first day when I was walking Grant Park at 5:30 a.m. under the rain whistling blues tunes for myself, or when at 2 p.m. I was smoking outside Pippin in the loop, standing there, relaxed by 3 - 4 beers, just people watching, like we used to do in Italy.

Sure, but its in those areas where Chicago really shines, so there is reason why the tourists are there. Plus the tourists themselves are what makes Chicago feel cosmopolitan on the level of New York and LA, more so than the long time residents.

Also keep in mind, that as much as Chicago has to offer, if you get an opportunity to check out some other cities in the midwest 5-6 hours away you would be suprised that those cities also have a lot to see, stuff that people don't know about.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Sure, but its in those areas where Chicago really shines, so there is reason why the tourists are there. Plus the tourists themselves are what makes Chicago feel cosmopolitan on the level of New York and LA, more so than the long time residents.

Also keep in mind, that as much as Chicago has to offer, if you get an opportunity to check out some other cities in the midwest 5-6 hours away you would be suprised that those cities also have a lot to see, stuff that people don't know about.

Can you just give it up and move already?

MoItaly is talking about Chicago in a Chicago forum. Not a city 5-6 hours away.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by MoItaly

...He told us about the Chicago fire (and the Water Tower being the only building that stood against it)

I was smoking on the Cultural Center's steps while I watched/listened to a Chicago tour guide say this same thing about the Water Tower being the only surviving building of the great fire... I almost corrected her, that's a nice story but I'm pretty sure there were more buildings to survive, one for certain at 678 North Orleans, it's a pre-chicago fire building and it's made of wood.

Also, Mrs O'Learys cow had no part in the genesis of that fire.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Can you just give it up and move already?

MoItaly is talking about Chicago in a Chicago forum. Not a city 5-6 hours away.

Even if I were living outside the midwest I would say good things about the midwest as a whole, including Chicago no matter where I would be living.

Like I've mentioned before, I like where I live right now.

I only added that because he talked about how Chicago is so much more than the Loop, Mag Mile, bars and restaurants in River North and Gold Coast, and the great museums.

Well, sure, but thats the cluster of Chicago that sets the place apart from other places.

If one loves experiencing the rest of Chicago, then you might as well consider cities further afield.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Sure, but its in those areas where Chicago really shines, so there is reason why the tourists are there. ...

Chicago shines in more areas, es exemplified by the first post of this thread, just meandering around the various neighborhoods, walking and looking, is a great use of vacation time for many people, like the OP, and me as well when I go to other cities.

[runnerXT]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Sure, but its in those areas where Chicago really shines, so there is reason why the tourists are there. Plus the tourists themselves are what makes Chicago feel cosmopolitan on the level of New York and LA, more so than the long time residents.

Also keep in mind, that as much as Chicago has to offer, if you get an opportunity to check out some other cities in the midwest 5-6 hours away you would be suprised that those cities also have a lot to see, stuff that people don't know about.

nope. been there done that since I moved to Chicago from Boston. Checked out about every other major city in this area of the country. Boring and depressing aside from maybe Milwaukee.