In the latest series of my irrelevant posts….. But, I was slightly puzzled that McDonald’s could supply six Chicken McNuggets but didn’t have enough stock for four. I’m sure there’s a more complex reason for it, but I decided that I was amused by the situation.
As mentioned in my previous post, my five days in Chicago had come to an end and I was returning to O’Hare Airport. The Blue Line is a 43 kilometre long service which is the longest on the network and one of two lines in the city which is open and operating for 24 hours per day.
I only realised at this point of proceedings that I could enter the station using a contactless card, something which proved suitably convenient as I had just tried to buy a paper ticket and that had failed. As an aside, I applaud the posters to offer the suicidal help and contacts, but that and the whole dank arrangement did make everything feel a little miserable.
It’s not easy as first sight to decide whether the wall has an artistic city skyline drawing or just lots of dirty marks.
But it’s dirty, all grimy. Although when a transport authority is operating a 24 hour service, I imagine that makes it more challenging to send cleaning crews in to deal with the issues.
Fortunately, I only had a wait of around three minutes for the train.
Lots of metal screeched to a halt with the sound echoing around the station.
The carriage had something of a 1980s feel to it.
It’s not the most comfortable metro system that I’ve ever been on with its tough plastic seating.
Nor was it the busiest during my trip, although in general this is one of the most used lines on the network.
However, it was cheap and efficient, and I was able to take a blurry photo safely back at the metro station at O’Hare Airport. This airport extension to the blue line was opened in 1984 and the transport authority is promising to make the cars rather more luxurious as they continue their roll-out. Having looked at some of these designs, they’ve removed the wood effect and put some cushioning on the seats, a definite improvement on the way.
Walking to the station to get my train to the airport, I meandered by Trump Tower which it’s fair to say has some very impressive views over the Chicago River. It’s not an unattractive building, it’s 92 floors in height and has 339 hotel rooms as well as many floors of residential properties. I had a look to see how much the residential apartments were, although I’d add that was just out of interest as I’d be horrified to have an address of Trump Tower. They’re not that expensive, a studio apartment is from $300,000, although there’s a $675 monthly home owners fee for the services offered to residents, so I imagine that’s a factor given that local property taxes are a similar sum.
I’ve been impressed at the Chicago L, or their subway system, since I first visited the city. It’s loud, clanky and feels like a hefty piece of engineering because most of it in the centre is elevated. Indeed, that’s where the nickname the Chicago L came through, the L is shorted for Elevated. It’s been clanking its way around the city centre since 1892 and I’m not sure that it looks much different from when they put it up. Saves digging under city streets I suppose as they did in London. Matters have changed somewhat since the initial construction, much of the now greatly expanded network is now under ground or at least at ground level.
Another photo of the L in all its subtlety.
And a metro train clanking its way around, which must have annoyed the residents at first floor level (second floor in the US) when they constructed it.
This was my stop (or start technically I suppose), Washington Station which is on the Blue Line and goes from the Loop all the way to O’Hare airport. It’s a relatively late build for a station, constructed in 1951 and it’s also connected in with the Red Line.
En route back to the airport, I had a little pop into the Smashburger at Michigan Avenue in Chicago. I had intended to look at the menu online in advance, but for reasons known only to Smashburger they’ve blocked it to UK phones. The company were purchased by Jollibee in 2015 and they’re planning a rollout in the UK both for their main brand and also for Smashburger, although they haven’t got very far with either yet.
The menu board, with customers ordering at the counter and then a staff member brings over the order. The chain are meant to be noted for their craft beer, but one look at the generic rubbish they were serving put me off that idea. I was also just slightly annoyed as I headed to the toilet, which was a hike of the like that JD Wetherspoons require in the UK, before I saw there was a code required which they hadn’t listed on the receipt. I then had to trek back to the counter whilst obviously by now being concerned that my food might be ready. I’d hate to think that I was late for food…..
As a positive though, the dining area was clean and well presented, with power points available which was particularly useful as my phone battery had started to get lower than I would ideally like having spent several hours meandering around Chicago.
It took around ten minutes to arrive, so I was back in time. I just had the burger as I thought I’d get a snack at the airport and this was all entirely adequate, but not particularly exceptional. The chicken was more firm than moist, all really quite run of the mill. The highlight of the visit was watching someone drop a cup full of ice all over the floor and they then patiently tried to recover every piece despite the logistical challenges of going under tables to find them. I was impressed at their effort to be complete in their task, as I think I would have left the ones under tables. But, I digress. I wasn’t sure that I could see anything of particular interest in the chain, so I’m content to have ticked it off my list of fast food restaurants without needing to make a return visit.
I really can’t produce a great deal of commentary about plants and trees, but I liked the whole set-up at Lurie Garden in Chicago which is at one end of Millennium Park in the Loop District. This post is nearly entirely just photos, but I was quite taken by the peace and calm in such a busy city environment. There were plenty of places to sit, numerous plants to look at and it feel very much like a public realm where everyone was welcome.
The metal covered building towards the end of these photos is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry, best known to me for his Brain Health Twisted Building in Las Vegas. This park is one of my favourite places in Chicago and I don’t recall it feeling so open and accessible in my previous visits to the city. It’s not all nature though, there’s a car park with over 1,000 spaces here, which I managed to get lost in. Effectively a large section of this area is just a rooftop garden for that car park, but it’d be hard to tell that from these photos.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not one for sitting outside, but this well reviewed craft beer and cider bar is primarily outdoor based and I thought that the views were really quite impressive. Located on the Riverwalk and looking out over Chicago River, this felt suitably on-trend as a location and just a little exciting.
My wide angle camera has distorted the shape of my laptop, but this felt a rather comfortable place to work for an hour. The beer was also suitably decadent, the very passable Neighborly Stout from Begyle Brewing who are a local outfit. The downside of all this al fresco drinking is that the beer had to be served in a plastic glass, but it was a creamy and rich stout so it could withstand that drinking vessel.
I was glad when someone came to sit there, as that pigeon kept staring at me and I wasn’t sure if he would launch into an attack. I’m pleased to say that he didn’t. They did serve a basic menu of food including some tempting hot dogs, but as usual I was concerned about some aerial attack from a bird wanting to steal it.
I was also pleased that the city wasn’t living up to its reputation as the Windy City, it was all peaceful and calm in terms of the weather. All really very lovely.
Um, well, I never claimed that this blog was always full of riveting content. Indeed, it rarely ever is. But, after visiting the rather lovely BuckleDown Brewing I needed to come up with a plan for food and I then discovered a discount voucher for pizza. This was at the time of Liz Truss’s budget which wrecked the exchange rate, so a thrifty option seemed most sensible.
I ordered on-line and went to pick up as the Domino’s was located around 100 metres down the road and I don’t like deliveries as I find the whole process quite unnerving. My friend Richard seems to find these interactions positively wholesome, but I hate staring out of the window in case I miss the delivery, so I invariably wait outside and by that point I might as well collect myself. I’m digressing again. Incidentally, he doesn’t mind getting taxis either, another thing I find far too stressful (and indeed expensive).
How lovely!
Very delicious, especially with the generous amount of jalapenos, and I like how Domino’s cut their pizzas into squares. I really do need to get out more to find that exciting, but variety is the spice of life. And beer. It had been quite a productive day and what better way to reward that but with pizza?
After several hours in the lounge, I was pleased that my flight to Chicago O’Hare was taking off on time given the situation with Hurricane Ian. Incidentally, I paid £4.30 and 7,000 Avios points for this flight which I thought was very good value for money, the redemption on internal US flights is generous especially as I had so many Avios from previous trips with BA.
Here’s a photo of a corridor. OK, I’m running a little short of photos for this post. I can’t remember why I took this photo either.
My BA status meant that I was one of the first to board the aircraft. Wooooo. I’d add here, in case anyone thinks this is a bit decadent, that I managed to secure BA silver status back in January 2019 by a series of cheap flights to Malta, I’ve been living off that ever since…. I’m slightly sad to say it’ll end (temporarily) in December 2022.
Nice out.
I really enjoy internal US flights, as although it’s not as good as train travel with Amtrak, it’s quite relaxing to gaze out over the country.
The weather got better as we neared Chicago, but the pilot never turned off the seatbelt sign. The crew also remained seated and there was no service offered during the flight, the weather conditions just didn’t allow it.
We sat on the tarmac for around thirty minutes after landing at Chicago O’Hare and I looked longingly at the British Airways aircraft. I don’t know why as I didn’t want to get on it, it’s just reassuring in its own way. As a flight, all was comfortable with American Airlines and I was pleased that I had arrived into Chicago on time. What could possibly go wrong…. (more to be revealed in later posts)
Having safely arrived at Chicago O’Hare airport I remembered something that I had read on Flyertalk, which is that American Airlines allow access into their lounges to departing and arriving passengers. I’m not used to this set-up, not least as in most European airports they don’t allow departing and arriving passengers to mix at all. But, nothing ventured and nothing gained. Although that sentiment can be reversed to be nothing ventured, but still the potential to be refused and look an idiot.
Anyway, despite the potential downsides, I thought that I’d visit the lounge and see what they said, with a friendly and helpful man at the desk saying that I was absolutely allowed to enter and not just that, I could visit the floor with the Flagship Lounge. Very lovely. It’s also quite exciting as they then press the button on the elevator and then a staff member already waiting on the second floor takes the card and offers a formal introduction to the lounge.
I’m going to come back to this lounge again as I had a much longer visit later on during this trip, but since I liked it so much, there can be two posts. Here’s the dining menu which was rather decadent and I liked the attempt to use local suppliers where possible. I was quite impressed at how neatly the cutlery was arranged and even how posh the napkins were. I thought it was all a bit too decadent for me, but it’s important to embrace these things, especially when they’re free.
It’s all self-service as part of a buffet arrangement, here’s the cold selection.
And the hot selection.
This was a rather lovely welcome back to Chicago and not one that I had really expected. I had been carrying the champagne they gave me at reception around the lounge not really knowing why I had accepted it as I’m more of a beer person, but I wasn’t going to let it be wasted. I had found a bottle of Samuel Adams Octoberfest, a new beer to me, to complement my prawns, thin little carrots (I don’t know what the technical term is) and roast potatoes.
Being somewhat uncouth and primitive, I have a habit of eating food with my hands, not least because chicken strips, burgers and pizzas are all best consumed in that manner. The food here was suitably upmarket for that to be rather difficult, it’s quite hard to use my fingers to eat a ceviche in a couth manner. What with the surroundings being spotlessly clean, the ambience feeling inviting, the food and drink being plentiful and finding it necessary to use a knife and fork, this was the little treat that I needed.
I took the time to charge up my devices to face the wild outside that was Chicago and then a second beer before I thought that I really must go and find my hotel. And that proved to be more of an adventure than I had anticipated, much more of an adventure…..
This blog isn’t a technical support forum, but I’ll take this opportunity to offer my new found knowledge about problems with O2 roaming in Chicago. As anyone who is wading through this blog and its endless posts will know, I’d already been in the United States for a couple of weeks and I had been merrily using my included roaming data which is 25GB per month. I arrived into Chicago and it stopped working.
I thought it was strange as I sat on the tarmac of O’Hare Airport (on a plane, I didn’t stomp out there in a mood to sit on the floor) and realised I had no phone signal. I didn’t think too much of that, as I’m used to coverage blackspots since I’m from Norfolk and half the county is inaccessible. Once in the airport, I connected to their public wi-fi and didn’t lose connection until I was on the Chicago Subway (more on that in the next post) before realising something was clearly not working. I took a photo of the map in the Subway carriage as I was starting to think that I had better get details of all the public transport links since I was being plunged into data darkness.
To cut a long story short (well, for this post, I’m about to recount the full long story in the next post or two) this proved to be a problem as I needed data coverage for the next part of my trip. I didn’t actually fix the problem for some hours, until I was in the hotel and connected to their wi-fi. O2 customer support were helpful, but couldn’t work out was wrong. Fortunately, I found a tip on-line, which is that there’s something odd about AT&T’s 5G connection, namely it works differently (I’m not a computer engineer, that’s the limit of my explanation of the issue). As my phone was connecting to AT&T, as O2’s partner network in Chicago, it rejected any data link unless 5G was switched off. It’s an odd quirk, but for anyone struggling with roaming, try going into the phone settings and disabling 5G. Immediately on doing this my phone roared back into life and I could check social media every 25 seconds, which is just as I like it.
