Lubna Walk and Explore!
Downtown Chicago greets you with a ‘concrete jungle’ embrace. Under the steely gaze of its many diverse skyscraper hotels, you can put your walking shoes to good use by setting off on foot to explore the many sights and sounds of downtown Chicago. That is exactly what we did! In our two-night sojourn, we walked more than 20,000 steps each day, determined to cover as much ground as possible!
Our ride into Chicago was with a very interesting Uber driver. He was an Eastern European immigrant. Chatty and full of interesting stories. When we asked his name, I could swear he said “Voldemort” ( Voldemere to be exact!) which made my boys a bit more eager to listen to him intently! Driving past neighborhoods, he explained which ones were safer than others and which ones to steer clear of – unless we wanted our windshields and headlights smashed in among other niceties. That would give an authentic Al Capone experience but somehow I couldn’t convince my family otherwise. We dropped the idea of using the subway for late-night travel fairly quickly. Since our hotel was a stone’s throw from Michigan Avenue literally on the Canal, it just made sense to walk.
Architectural Wonders
Arriving in downtown, you can’t help but strain your neck to stare out at the diversity of the buildings. Strategically placed alongside the Chicago River, you can see the hustle and bustle it attracts from tourists. If anything at all, do invest in the 1.5 hour Architectural River Cruise. If you are lucky enough to get a tour guide who not only knows the history but can infuse a fair bit of humor, you will have an amazing experience, as did we. Interesting fact, Merchandise Mart with its many shops and offices actually has its own zip code. Willis Tower is of course a big tourist attraction. The iconic Wrigley building with its clocktower is what catches your eye instantly. There’s also the Chicago Water tower, one of the few buildings to have survived the great Chicago fire.The Marina Towers aka Corn Cobs literally look like corn cobs. My favorite was going under the many rising bridges on the river.
The Chicago River is named after a Native American Algonquian term named after the smelly leeks that grew on the banks. It wasn’t always the beautiful canal you see now. Instead, at the height of the Industrial Revolution with all the industrial waste and brimming with sewage, it was so muddy and murky, you could walk on it! Today you can marvel at its emerald green waters and take a Hop-on, Hop-off water taxi to explore it from end to end.
Landmarks
Our luck with certain landmarks was not very good, unfortunately. The Bean was high on our priority list. Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions, we couldn’t go up close and had to settle on pictures from afar. However, Millennium Park was really nice to walk through and take pictures of the Chicago skyline. It takes you to the Navy Pier and Lakefront Trail and seeing all the boats docked on Lake Michigan, rocking to and fro in the waves, is a sight you should sit and enjoy on the pier benches, preferably with an ice cream in hand!
Shopping
If you are fond of shopping, you should definitely check out the Magnificent Mile. There are about 13 blocks of high-end designer stores. Our interest in it was limited to getting to the largest Starbucks building. On the corner of Michigan Ave and Erie St, with five floors, it is the biggest Starbucks in the world! We grabbed some coffee and pastries and got back just in time for our River Cruise.
Starbucks Roastery 
Downtown Chicago by night is its own animal! Walking to The Buckingham Fountains in Grant Park, you can admire the night lights and the mix of old and new architecture. These are one of the largest fountains in the world. Again, our luck didn’t hold out because due to COVID they were not on. Still, we ended up walking twice there just because it was a nice place to hang out. Interestingly, each night we observed joyriders and bikers come out in full swing. It was quite a sight to see. Music blaring, street racing, lots of drama. I could tell the boys were itching for more of this kind of fun!
Culinary Delights
We settled for less adrenaline-pumping and more calorie-dumping fun. My favorite thing in Chicago – FOOD! Foodies will be in heaven in Chicago. Our first meal in Chicago was in Nandos across the road. I’m still salivating at the juicy chicken and plethora of dipping sauces. Next up, deep dish pizza from world-famous Lou Malnati. The ambiance of this underground pizzeria was great with its brick walls and string lights and lots of young students coming in for a bite, but I have to admit, I’m not a fan of deep-dish pizza. It’s cheese overload and more a pie than a pizza. But you can’t come to Chicago and not have deep dish, so scratch that off your list! Of course, all desi Pakistanis swear by Devon Street, so we made a special trip out there for lunch at Usmania. No doubt the biryani, nihari, and kebabs were great and we did full justice to the food! The one thing I missed getting there was paan. Oh well, saving something for our next trip!
Wedding Vibes
The only thing that could make our Chicago experience any better was to attend a Pakistani wedding. We wrapped our trip meeting up with old friends, bhangra dancing, dressing up, and leaving with very fond memories of a new city we got to explore.
