Our first full day in Chicago began with more of the sweltering heat from the previous day. After a welcome shower we headed over to the bike shop where I got the tube earlier. This time I just let them install the tube at the shop, and after a short wait I was ready to go. We biked down a few blocks to the edge of Lake Michigan and caught the Lakefront Trail which leads around the shore all the way to downtown Chicago. Lake Michigan is so large that it's impossible to see the opposite shore, making it seem more like an ocean than a lake. As we made our way down the bike trail beaches popped up along the shore. It was quite a unique experience being on a beach with nothing but water to one side and the towering skyline of a sprawling metropolis to the other.
When we entered the city proper we found ourselves on Michigan Avenue which provided an incredible first impression of the downtown area. My neck hurt from craning it upward to take in the diverse collection of skyscrapers as we walked down the bustling street. Even in the summer heat there were throngs of people jockeying for position on the sidewalk. Before long we arrived at the river running through the heart of the city. It was an impressive sight with the soaring buildings standing just feet from the picturesque waterway.
By this time we were starting to get hungry for lunch, so after making a few calls to locals to guide us, we made our way to Xoco's to grab something to eat. The restaurant was a modern, crowded little space where we got some excellent Mexican sandwiches to tide us over until dinner. Once we were finished eating we explored the city a little more and found ourselves in Millenium Park, the home of the famous Bean. The park houses dozens of public sculptures, but by far the most famous is the giant mirrored bean that glimmered in the sunlight as we arrived. Curved in such a way that reveals an incredible mirrored view of the cityscape around it, the bean also has a fun-house mirror room area underneath that projected dizzying reflections of the dozens of people that were milling about in its shadow.
We didn't have much time to linger at the Bean, however, since we had to meet Mark, a friend of Geries's, at Linden in a short while. Thinking it would be a pretty quick ride, we hopped on the iconic L Train to make our way over. As it turns out, Linden is one of the furthest stops on the rail line and it took us nearly an hour to get there. Thankfully our friend was still around, and after locking our bikes up in some of the coolest bike racks we've seen, he took us for a short tour of the North Shore area on our way to get some dinner. Mark took us to Portillo's, a Chicago staple and excellent Italian beef restaurant. The sandwich was as delicious as it was messy (we had ours dipped, so the bread fell apart as soon as we touched it), and after we had our fill we headed back to the train station to meet another friend downtown.
Alice, a friend from high school, met us at a small tea shop a short ride from the train station, and we set off to do some sight-seeing in the city. We walked around a little while, catching up, until we came to the Hancock Tower where we hoped to go to the top to get a bird's eye view of the city. Much like the Space Needle, there was a pretty hefty charge just to go up the elevator to the 94th floor. Thankfully, though, there was no minimum charge at the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor. The beer was pretty overpriced, but it was still cheaper than going to the observation deck, so it was easier to think of it as getting a discounted elevator ride complete with a free drink. It was a surprisingly clear day, and the view from the top was spectacular. We could see the whole city laid out before us, and for miles over the lake. The sun had gone down by the time we finished our drinks, and we got to see the city come alive with thousands of shimmering lights blanketing the ground for miles.
When we finally left we were hungry again, so we took a trip to Lou Malnati's to partake in another Chicago staple: deep dish pizza. The pizza was great, and we had a good time catching up with Alice, who we hadn't seen since high school, but eventually it was time to go, so we packed up and headed out for the Lakefront Trail to get back to our place in Uptown. I had a little bike trouble along the way which made shifting impossible, so I was stuck in the highest gear for the rest of the trip, but we didn't stop much so it ended up not being too much of a handicap. However it meant that I would have to get some more help before I could go riding again the next day. Since we were tired when we got back I put it off for the morning, and we went straight to bed when we arrived at the hotel.
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