John Hancock Tower

Located at the end of North Michigan Avenue is the 100 story, 1127 ft tall sky scraper, the John Hancock Building.

When building was complete in 1968, it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City. It is the 4th tallest building in Chicago and the 6th tallest in the US.



















The view from the top is spectacular and gives you a much greater appreciation of the size and sprawl of Chicago. It has 360 degree views of the city, up to four states and over 80 miles on a clear day.

View looking north....















......the navy pier and downtown beach.....














....the southern view of the city.














It also houses Chicago's only open-air Sky Walk and a multimedia tour, oddly narrated by David Schwimmer.

Clearly Oprah was unavailable........

Architecture River Tour

Monday morning, we decided on the perfect way to start the day, taking an acclaimed Architecture River Cruise along the historic Chicago River.

It take you past past dozens of landmark buildings, such as the Tribune Tower........

.....out to the Marina to see the city's skyline.......














....and the Wrigley Building.

Su Casa.....

After our long walk in the heat - it was time for a much needed margaritas! We headed to Su Case for some fun authentic Mexican food.














Dare I say, everyone's spirits (and hydration levels) were lifted after a few drinks!

Millennium Park

Sunday afternoon we made our way over to Millennium Park, a public park located in the Loop area and covers 24.5-acre along the Chicago shoreline.

It has free admission, and features the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate aka the Silver Bean, the Crown Fountain and other varieties of public art.















The Jay Pritzker Pavilion



















Cloud Gate is one of the most pieces in the park, inspired by liquid mercury it measures 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m) and weighs 1oo tones and features a seamless stainless steel surface.


















You are able to walk around/under it and view the sculpture's surface reflection and distortion of the city's skyline.














50c if you can find me .....



















The Crown Fountain.














It was fantastic to walk around and enjoy the park, however with the heat being over 90F it was time for a cocktail!

Wrigley Field

Sunday we made our way to Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs vs Florida Marlins.

It is the second oldest National League ballpark, the oldest being Fenway Park in Boston. It is known for its ivy covered brick outfield wall, the unusual wind patterns off Lake Michigan, the iconic red marquee over the main entrance, and the hand turned scoreboard.














It is also featured in movies such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Break-Up, A League of Their Own and the The Blues Brothers.

There was a great atmosphere with the band playing......















....and the smell of "Chicago Dogs"!! It is a regular dog on the poppy seed bun topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, dill spear, tomato wedges, and a dash of celery salt.














The boy had a great time chatting and watching the game....














Having a cuddle despite the heat - it was 95F!!














View from our seats.















The funniest part of the afternoon was the occupation of the seat next to me by a fellow Aussie! Honestly was is the likelihood?

"Alan from Brisbane" had been traveling around the US, and like us, decide to try this luck and grab tickets to the game. We had a great chat, some beers and explained the game to him via cricket analogies.

Weber Grill

Saturday night we headed to Weber Grill for dinner. It was s great fun, and we got a kick out of all the "webers" line up to make the open kitchen grill.















Good food, good wine, good company.

Marilyn & tthe Magnificent Mile

Saturday we made our way over to Michigan Ave to see the Magnificent Mile. It is Chicago's largest shopping district, so you can imagine I was in heaven!!

It has fine restaurants, hotels, stores and several of the tallest buildings and most prestigious buildings in the United States, including Wrigley Building, John Hancock Center and the Old Chicago Water Tower.

It is also home to public art and currently has a 26ft-statue of Hollywood actor Marilyn Monroe. The statue pays homage to Monroe's notorious leg-flashing scene over the subway grates from "Seven Year Itch" , which oddly was filmed in New York.....


















.....and boys will be boys....


















After some shopping we made our way to RL Restaurant. Located adjacent to the world's largest Polo store, and represents Ralph Lauren's debut into the restaurant industry. It oozes the vision and décor of Ralph Lauren, and the food is inspired by American classics.














It is apparently one of Oprah's favorite restaurants, so lets be honest, if its good enough for Oprah its god enough for us. In saying that the food was DELICIOUS, with Dana announcing it was one of the best Reuben sandwich he ever had.

Cheers!