A Tour Of Chicago's Millennium Park

10 Things To Do In Chicago With Only 24 Hours

Last weekend, I took a girls trip with my mom and sister and jetted off to Chicago on a Friday night flight after we all got off work, blood shot eyes and all. We attempted the trip last month but the flight cancelled, so this was our last chance because of conflicting schedules. After we landed, the smell of the subway filled my senses. It was my first time. The two hour subway ride and walk-a-thon through the streets weakened our already frail bodies. We made it in one piece to our beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of the city - The Inn of Chicago. Oh but don't kick up those heels just yet, we had 24 hours of full throttle activities scheduled ahead of us and there wasn't any time penciled in for resting. It was a jammed packed timeline with one goal - see as much of Chicago as possible. On your mark, get set .....

The three of us were only in the Windy City for a Saturday, so seeing everything wasn't really possible. So below, I've come up with a must do list of things to do and see in Chicago if you only had 24 hours to do it. Don't forget your trusty map! Or if your phone works, your GPS.

Here is a list of activities that can all be done in one day if planned accordingly:

1. The Subway -
Ride the subway and people watch. Probably not at 4 am though (trust us). Price: 3 day pass - $14

2. Willis Tower Sky Deck -
Be sure to get there before 9 a.m. or you'll be waiting in line for quite a while. Lines were already out the doors and around the block by 11 am. You can also get a "Fast Pass" for $35 and wait in the express lane. Might be worth it with this full schedule. Price: $17

3. Millennium Park -
Here you will find the famous Cloud Gate and Crown Fountain. Next door you might get lucky and catch an artist showcasing his/her music at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. It's design will make you wish you had time to catch a full concert. Price: FREE

4. River Boat Cruise -
Tired of walking? Take a a tour of the city's architecture on Chicago's waterways. Heads up! Price: $30

5. Uno -
Chicago's first deep dish pizza restaurant. Be prepared to wait an hour, the pizza is slow cookin. Price: $12 - $22

6. Portillo's -
Dare to eat a mouthful of the Chicago style hotdog? Total man food. Price: $10

7. Art Insititue of Chicago -
Escape the sun and spend a couple hours at this art museum with four floors of art. Maybe you'll be lucky and see a Vincent van Gogh! Price: $18

8. Navy Pier -
Walk down to the Navy Pier and do a little souvenir shopping and take a look at the ocean, I mean Lake Michigan. Or maybe even ride the ferris wheel

9. Locally Owned Restaurant -
Pick a locally owned restaurant in the area and dine like a local and not a tourist. We stepped into a quaint little Armenian Restaurant, named Sayat-Nova, that was located below a fortune teller's studio. The food, environment and service was excellent. Price: $16

10. Innbar Of Chicago -
End the night by sipping on a cocktail at one of the only rooftop bars in the city with one heck of a view. Price: 1 beer $6

You think you could get all this done in one day?

Weekly Obsession - A La Carte

I just ran across these beautifully hand drawn maps via Notcot and I'm in love. I am incredible jealous of those that can sketch such wonderful things from their travels. Well, hand drawn maps I think are even more fantastic! I just drool over this stuff. A La Carte offers maps from Barcelona, London, Munich, New York, Paris, Shangha, Tokyo, Vienna, Washington, D.C. and Zurich. These maps are a combination of "guidebook, tourist map and a piece of art all in one." It's kind of like a friend of yours that lives in that particular place hands you a map with all the hot spots, interesting tips, things off the beaten track and what to do and see. Perfect for those spontaneous adventurous Flashpackers and journal keepers alike looking for the best kept secrets. What a great way to make a memory. Shoot, time to place an order.

Buy maps at A La Carte

Travel Journal 2

I found yet another set of awesome travel journal illustrations. These were done by illustrator Maral Sassouni who enjoys dipping into her travel image bank. I kinda have a thing for illustrated maps and she does a great job using mostly just watercolor, gouache, and ink.

Let's Tango

The live theater showing of Forever Tango is going to be in town this month and I got all kinds of got excited to go see it....till I saw I would of needed at least $90 to go. The show is directly from the brothels of Argentina, then became a hit in Paris, then New York, and then the rest of the US. It looked intriguing and I can't wait till I head down to Argentina someday and see the real deal on the streets. I just think it's hot. (OH gah please excuse the Paris Hilton lingo)

Travel Journal

Columbia, Mexico, & Morocco.
Oh how Tim Baynes puts my travel journal to shame. I should really work on that.

Dynamic Graphics Magazine

Got myself an interview and designs printed in Dynamic Graphics Magazine. Talks about some of my goofy shenanigans. And above is a sample of a Cessna billboard I did for Wichita. Scroll to the bottom of the web page to read all about it!

What a Stud

So far this month, I feel as though I have been running around with my head chopped off. Would it be at all gross if I said it could possibly be better if it really was? And I'm sorry to any readers, but posts will come. My life this month has come in a package of many many changes all at once. One of which is that I moved my beautiful Arabian horse Skyflight Arax (see photography above) to a new home. It's further away and I hope that doesn't mean I see him less and less....I'm kinda lazy when it comes to driving.

Some other changes: nose ring - out. Sad. I've had it for a good 4-5 years but it had to happen sometime. And then there is my move to a new casa, constant back issues, many trips around the US, and then the newly frantic job search. Boo hiss. Lets just say my chi needs some cleaning.

Judge A Country By It's Logo

I ran across this thumbnail sheet of logos representing many different countries all around the world. It was kinda entertaining to see how each country was interpreted into the logo. So if I were to pick 2 countries to visit judging completely by the logo and nothing else it would probably be Australia and Chile. Portugal and Sri Lanka would have to be more on my least fav list. But points for trying.

What are some other thoughts?

Dinner Around The World

Would you like to have breakfast in Paris and then lunch in Tokyo? Or maybe even a quick dinner in London afterwards?

Well these cool placemats give you something to look at other than the calorie intake on the back of the Lucky Charms box. You could even learn some good old geography. Shoot.

Picasso In Brazil

For the second time in the last 6 months Picasso prints have been stolen and let free into the streets of Sao Paulo. The ones stolen this time were "The Painter and the Model" from 1963 and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933, according to a statement from the Sao Paulo Secretary of State for Culture, which oversees the museum. About noon, three armed men paid the $2.45 entrance fee and immediately went to the second-floor gallery where the works were being exhibited, bypassing more valuable pieces, authorities said. The value of these prints were $612,000.

"This indicates to us that they probably received an order" to take those specific works, said Youssef Abou Chain, head of Sao Paulo's organized crime unit. The robbery took about 10 minutes and the museum was nearly empty at the time. The assailants took the pieces -- frames and all -- out of the museum in two bags. The institution has no metal detectors.

Forget the vendor art on the streets of Sao Paulo, I'm paying a visit to that museum. ;-)

Inspiration #3

As I filed through stacks of art in a local air conditioned art gallery on the beaches of San Pedro, I still found myself shaking my fist at the dang airliner that made me pay cash after they had lost my reservation online. If only I had that extra $70 I could have some delightful masterpieces. I fingered the measly few coins and salt water soaked Belize bills in my pocket. It ate away at the inner artist.

But nope. I settled for this brown handmade paper with brightly colored paintings of everyday life, festivals, and iconic figures. I'm fairly pleased with my buy and proudly march it home to add to my collection.

As I unpack, I unroll my newly precious gift to myself and look it over. Oh wait, what is it that the couple and the donkey are prancing around so merrily in the upper portion of the painting?

HA! I had to laugh, it just made itself into a conversation piece.

Inspiration #1

The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.

~G.K. Chesterton

Carnaval Party

Last month my work had a Carnaval themed party and I was on the planning committee. I had an itch to paint something (and I was inspired by a painting I saw on the net) so I ended up creating this for the event poster and invites. I'm working on uploading a large image for viewing but I'm always faced with a big ERROR pop up window. The whole idea of the party was about giving into temptation for one last night before Lent. So the top portion is a Brazil landscape. Below is of course the female figure with Portuguese wording about temptation as the design on her suite. To the right is an old hotel like sign pointing down to hell with the name of the party destination on it. The additional stuff adds to the scenery of Brazil and party aka beads and frills. I've heard others ideas of what it all means, so I guess it's up to the viewer really! But thats what was going through my head at the time. Enjoy!