The Final Stretch

It is currently stuvac (study vacation) and I am preparing for my two finals. By Wednesday evening, I will have finished all my exams. Reading provisions like this makes my head spin:

(c) a reference to competition, in relation to conduct to which subsection (8) or (9) applies, shall be read as a reference to competition in any market in which the corporation engaging in the conduct or any other corporation the business dealings of which are restricted, limited or otherwise circumscribed by the conduct, or any body corporate related to either of those corporations, supplies or acquires, or is likely to supply or acquire, goods or services or would, but for the conduct, supply or acquire, or be likely to supply or acquire, goods or services.

The past few weeks (maybe a month now) have been somewhat tough. I've been dealing with insomnia and fatigue which has resulted in a lot of tv watching. A lot. To the point where it is kind of embarrassing. This is Natalie logic; 'well I am interested in Law and Order: SVU, oh look there is a crossover with Chicago P.D, I better go and watch that. Oh wait, there is going to be a three way crossover between SVU, Chicago P.D and Chicago Fire, I now have to watch both these shows so the crossover makes sense'. And that is precisely what I did.

Both of the shows are filmed in Chicago and there are a lot of exterior scenes. It really just makes me miss Chicago as it is one of my favourite cities that I have visited thus far. I loved: the architecture of the buildings, the Chicago River, The Loop, Millennium Park and Lake Michigan, which was so large that it seemed more like the ocean than a lake. I really wish that I had spent more time in Chicago, more time to explore the suburbs too.

Chicago Day 2

25th August 2012

Apart from the fact that it isn't centred, I love this shot. Though the OCD in me is frustrated that the swans weren't evenly spaced out.

I had plans on waking up early to watch the sunrise from Lake Michigan. However my plans of sleeping went out the window and stayed up all night; the first all-nighter in my entire existence. Though, it was truly beautiful watching the sun rise from Lake Michigan, the sky changing from pinks to violets and to orange and yellow.




Finger prints galore!





I also found the Bean/ Cloud Gate which was mainly the only thing that I had wanted to see in Chicago. It was amazing and so much larger than I imagined. As it was 6am in the morning, there was no one around and I took many photos of the bean,  reflecting the skyline of Chicago. In hindsight, it was rare to be able to take a photo without any tourists milling around.

The streets were quiet as I headed back to the hostel for the complimentary breakfast. After breakfast, I headed out and just wandered. I headed down the Magnificent Mile until I was so tired and stopped at Maccas for a large coffee and a breakfast burrito. Officially the most disgusting thing I have ever tried. I headed back down to the park and tried to nap for an hour before meeting my Chicago Greeter.






I am not entirely sure how I discovered the program but I am very glad that I did. The idea is that a local Chicago-an would hold a free tour for a few individuals/ small group. I was lucky and I was the only person in the group so it turned into a private tour. The woman was very lovely and she took me around the highlights; Millennium Park, Art Institute of Chicago, into Macy's to sign me up for a free discount as I was a visitor and I also got to try Frango Mints for free. There were many more places that she also showed me (and I never got around to jotting it down and I have completely forgotten now. D'oh). Oh, she also showed me the place the Barack Obama and Michelle Obama used to work at (Sidley Austin). It was also the first time that someone (Macy employee) asked me this question: what is your heritage? Which is actually a brilliant way of asking someone their background without sounding like an utter idiot (should probably educate the Belgium/ Indian on this). I didn't take any photos because I was worried I would slow her down and I would look like a total retard. It was mainly because I was the only person so she was always looking at me and I didn't want to great a hassle. At the end of our 5 hour tour, she brought me down to Greek town (which was very interesting) and there we parted.

In addition to teaching me about Chicago, she also taught me a trick for conversions from F to C. Subtract 30 and divide by 2 (not exact and does not work for numbers lower than 32 {below freezing}).

I didn't try the deep dish pizza because the idea was a little nauseating. However, I couldn't leave the city without trying at least one of their famous food items: Chicago Style Hot Dog.

My Overall Thoughts
I loved Chicago downtown and 1.5 days was definitely not enough time. Chicago was so vibrant and diverse and I wanted to visit outside of downtown and the Loop. This page explains it all; there is just so much to see.

Would I re-visit?
Yes! Without a doubt.

Chicago Downtown & Navy Pier

24th August 2012

The next city that I was visiting was Chicago, Illinois. I had originally been tossing up between visiting San Francisco or Chicago. I didn't manage to travel to San Francisco on the trip (which I do regret though I already knew that once I flew away from the west coast, I wouldn't be returning) however I also loved Chicago. In hindsight, I should have spent less time in LA and squeezed in a day for San Francisco. Oh well peanut butter.

It was a 4 hour flight to Chicago (ORD) from LAX. It was my greatest achievement in managing to bring my 9kg hiking backpack and my 10kg day pack as carry on luggage and I managed to not pay for any baggage fees. Amazing.

I stayed at Hostelling International Chicago as it was the most conveniently located hostel in Chicago, right in downtown. It was nice and very clean. Though the downside was since it was in The Loop, my dorm was right next to L tracks and the trains were running almost all day (it stopped in the early hours of the morning). Due to the flight and the time zone, by the time I managed to leave my hostel, the sun was already starting to set.

First impression: I loved the archicture of Chicago.








I headed down to Navy Pier, walking alongside Lake Michigan. The thing that I noticed was that it seemed to be couples galore, and, being the solo traveller that I was, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I had a gentleman yell out, "are you by yourself?" which I responded with "yes I am". Not entirely sure what else I could have said.


Though it was very awkward when I was listening to a band at a table, by myself. Nonetheless, it was a good experience; the band was pretty good. It was amusing when they selected two individuals to do the actions to 'head-shoulders-knees-and-toes' on the other individual (which is quite awkard when it gets to the knees aspect).

It was a very short day in Chicago. I had organised a Chicago Greeter tour for the following day and walked back to my hostel, with plans to have an early night. Oh the irony.

To be continued