The flight from San Francisco was a lot shorter than I expected. I planned on sleeping a lot more but my brain forgot time zones are a thing, whoops. This just meant more coffee for me.
When I got to the transit hub, I was impressed. It was clean, organized and the people were super helpful. I had to go to the washroom and it was probably the cleanest bathroom in an airport or transit hub I have ever seen; the toilet had a plastic seat cover that you waved your hand in front of before sitting and you'd have your own fresh seat cover.
The Chicago Transit lady was very helpful. I told her where I wanted to go and she told me not to buy two tickets there - it would be cheaper to buy a one way ticket at the airport to downtown, then buy a ticket from downtown back for less money. Sold! She also searched and searched for a tourist map but couldn't find one and felt bad about giving me a full service map. I didn't care.
I got down to the stop I needed to be at and immediately took a wrong turn. Well, it was the right turn but we'll get to that. First I needed coffee and wifi. Once I obtained that, I set off again with new directions from google maps - and went the wrong way. I went back to Starbucks and started again - in the direction I went in the first time. I thought it was wrong the first time because I hadn't walked far enough and didn't see a landmark I was supposed to that indicated I was going the right way.
It's no secret that I'm a big architecture nerd. I collect architects. I like seeing the buildings, learning about the process, learning the history, and so forth. I like the hidden works of art in every day life. I have a list of architects I want to see in my life and when I'm in a city I know has one, I research it and get my picture.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is like the Oscars of architecture. The Pritzker family are also pretty big philanthropists as well, so of course I planned on seeing the Pritzker Pavilion.
If it looks at all familiar that's because it was designed by Frank Gehry and looks like every other Frank Gehry building ever. I no longer need to seek out another Gehry. He's very talented but all of his structures look alike.
A few metres away is Cloud Gate. Also known as "that giant bean thing".
I love that even on an overcast day, this was flawless against the sky.
Also to everyone who says I should take pictures of myself, there you go.
I took a wrong turn to get back to the train. You would think this isn't difficult given that I'd just come from there but you would be incorrect. I came in to the park at a different entrance and it was just enough to throw me off. However, it worked out better than planned; earlier on this trip I was on Route 66 through Arizona and Nevada. While in Starbucks, I saw that Route 66 started not too far from the park.
The marker for it even happened to be on the same street I needed for the train! The ride back to O'Hare was uneventful.
Next: HOME YAY!!
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