Day two in Chicago started out in a bit of a frenzy. The person I was traveling with decided to head back home so now I was a solo traveler in Chicago. After I got over the initial fear of being alone, I found freedom in the whole situation. I moved out of the Airbnb apartment and found lodging closer to all the action. I was in the center of the Magnificent Mile. Luckily Jack, my Airbnb host, was nice enough to drive me to my new hotel. Once I checked in to the Inn of Chicago, I decided to walk along Michigan Avenue to explore.
Almost immediately I came across Lake Michigan on the DuSable Bridge. I walked downstairs to see if I could get in on the boat action happening on the lake. I noticed there were a few boat tours and I figured taking one would be a great way to learn more about the city. All of the tours were sold out until 5:30PM which meant I had 3-hours of free time.
I headed straight to the Bean in Millennium Park. It was actually pretty cool. The bean is made out of silver steel so it’s like a mirror of some sort—it reflects the city skyline as well. People gather from all over the world just to touch it and get a picture with it. I even found myself envious that I wouldn’t get the picture I wanted so I decided to take selfies until two nice ladies took my full-length pic for me (the struggles we have nowadays…millennials).
From The Bean, I headed across the street to the Chicago Cultural Center. I stayed in there for hours exploring the exhibits. The architecture was beautiful. There was one specific exhibit that I loved called Love is for Sale: The Graphic Art of Valmor Products. What I loved about this exhibit is it raised awareness about the conversation of beauty in advertisements when catered to black women (and some men) back in the day. The ads promoted bleaching creams, wigs, and attaining “good hair” with Valmor Products. I’m always amazed by the ads of our dark past. Some of them were offensive and would make me feel inadequate as a black person (if I lived during those times).
My tour of Chicago via Lake Michigan was the perfect way to get more acquainted with the city. I learned about the architecture, took in the beautiful views and just enjoyed the amazing weather. If you’re ever in Chicago, you have to take one of these tours on Lake Michigan.
My day wouldn’t have been complete without a Deep Dish Pizza for dinner. I waited in Giordano’s for an hour before my pizza was ready. It was a total of $24 but so worth it. I was so exhausted by my day that I decided to take my deep dish back to the hotel. Let me just say this, deep-dish pizza is the best food creation on the face of this earth.
Travel By Ky 