Day 8, the Windy City

We only had about half a day in Chicago before our departure by another Amtrak train. We woke up to a much more sunny dispensation, and from our room, we could see Lake Michigan shining brightly under the influence of a blue sky. We headed out for a walk to check out the lake, and while we managed it, the weather was still biting cold, despite the sun being out. Chicago is one cold city! (and this comes from someone who can now tolerate London’s cold weather)



Photos?


We also walked around to check out some of the familiar Chicago sights, including the Trump Tower, the Chicago Tribune Building (whose concierge was super kind to let us in for a few minutes to soak in the absolutely gorgeous views of the lobby), 875 North Michigan Avenue, bank of Chicago River, The Bean and the Millenial Park.



Our biggest miss at this location was the Architecture river tour - taking roughly 90 minutes and covering all the buildings through the river. We mistakenly thought they didn’t operate at this time of the hour and didn’t attempt coming in time to attempt the tour ahead of our departure.



Chicago is a lively tourist city worth going back as a standalone destination. However, if I do return, I hope I have the good sense to come back in much warmer weather. Though spring should be upon us by now, a day here felt like perhaps the coldest day of the London winter, where the temperatures have significantly improved by this time of the year. I was quipping to Lukasz that I would never be able to live in Chicago, as it is just too cold for me!!





We walked to get to the train station just in time to board our 3 Southwest Chief to Kansas City, MO. 


This Amtrak train, the 3 Southwest Chief, is a significant upgrade to 43 - the one we took from New York to Pittsburgh. The coaches are two decks and we got the upper deck seats, and there is a remarkably spacious Observation Deck to get an amazing view of the outdoors. It is the also the train we will come back to 2 more times in our journey and this connects across a fair bit of our journey from midwest to the west coast. 


On this journey, while the weather  was bright, the views were mostly that of farmlands in Illinois and Iowa, reminding me of a lot of similar train routes I have been to in India. The observation deck, however, is a superb spot to watch the terrain pass through - I hope Indian authorities bring this in soon - it would definitely be an upgrade.



By nightfall, we arrived at Kansas City, where we alighted for another step before proceeding onwards. We were now half way through the journey, both by distance as well as time. 



Food tip: Order yourself a Giordano’s Deep Dish Pizza! Just get a small one and that will still serve 2 people or two meals for one person. I actually finished only about half and carried the rest for my train ride to Kansas.


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