All that Jazz!

Having left Tonya's, feeling quite sad, we took a 5 hour train journey to our next location... Chicago! Of all the places on our itinerary, this was the biggest unknown. We'd picked it because it was close to Tonya's but probably knew the least about this city.

We were pleasantly surprised! Chicago is an amazing town with loads to do... but the most amazing and surprising thing about it was that everything seemed free! Free trams, free fireworks, free Jazz , free dance lessons, free zoo, free open-air cinema, free fountain display... this list just went on!

Although home to the Sears Tower, a few people had told us that the best view was from the Hancock Observatory. It costs about the same as going up the Sears tower but you get an excellent audio commentary (narrated by Friends, David Schwimmer) which gives you extensive information as you walk round the 360 degree vista. Here's one of the views from the top.

Chicago is on the edge of Lake Michigan (which to us looks more like an ocean!). In the centre of the picture is Navy Pier, which has all sorts of entertainment including a big Ferris Wheel and free firework displays on some nights.


This is a view, looking back at the city, as we went round the Ferris wheel. There were many boat tours operating from the Pier and we opted for the Sea Dog speedboat tour!

The picture above is the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park, affectionately known as "the bean" It's quite an impressive piece and provided lots of opportunities for taking warped photos! The park also offered a free, open-air showing of Hitchcock's "Touch of Evil". Here is our view of the Chicago skyline at dusk just before the film started.


And as if all this wasn't enough, we went to visit Lincoln Zoo (also free!) to get close to some fantastic animals including Gorillas, Pygmy Hippos and this Polar Bear. He liked to show off by swimming right at the glass and then darting away at the last minute.

So although we were only in Chicago for a few days, we managed to pack a lot in! You can see the rest of our Chicago photos here.

Next stop: Las Vegas!