I've finally found time to tidy up the blog and add some photos where they were missing. I really think this gives a much better story of some of the beautiful places and things we've seen, so if you have some spare time, you can find all the posts I've added to by clicking on this link:
http://paulandlilly.blogspot.com/search/label/newphotos
I'm working my way forward from the beginning, so at the top of that link you'll always see the most recently updated posts.
A prime example of the difference this makes is Kyoto, where we didn't have time to write very much, but it was absolutely one of the best places we went, and hopefully you can now get a flavour of that.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Updates: video added
Been meaning to post this for ages: my doesn't-do-it-justice video of Pixar's very cool zoetrope (based on Ghibli's even better one):
http://paulandlilly.blogspot.com/2010/01/hong-kong-phoolery.html
http://paulandlilly.blogspot.com/2010/01/hong-kong-phoolery.html
Friday, 2 July 2010
Time to Chica-go home
We flew to Chicago on American Airlines, who turned out to be a budget airline in disguise and tried to charge us for baggage. Pff. We were very amused when waiting to collect our bags in Chicago: a foot-high letter N fell off their sign onto the conveyor belt and made its way around the waiting passengers. Budget indeed.
Chicago is great, its main downside being very expensive hotels. We stayed a few nights in Lincoln Park, definitely a decent base - plenty to do in the area and transport is good enough to get you around. Then we moved to the Loop, the central downtown business area, which is a little quiet at weekends but good enough - since it was the weekend we got a good deal on a Hilton to end our trip in some measure of luxury, by which I mean the room looks good but every little extra like wifi costs a fortune. The first hotel we stayed in, way back in November in the UAE, was also a Hilton. Rest assured we've been a bit more economical in between.
One thing I didn't know is that pretty much the whole city burned down in 1871 and had to be rebuilt. As a result the whole city is full of great architecture, from the 1870s onward - even the brand new Trump Tower is tasteful.
Our favourite is the Tribune building, which is not only an amazing bit of Gothic architecture in its own right but also has bits from many other famous buildings embedded in its outer wall on three sides of the base - Taj Mahal, Houses of Parliament, Angkor Wat, World Trade Centre... you name it.
Union Station's amazing central hall is all but empty because the functioning part of the station is across the street.
And don't miss the Tiffany Dome:
Lilly has been loving architecture tours and Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings. I could go on, but basically every bit of the city that we visited had buildings that were interesting to look at, which is a good starting point.
Chicago is a very walkable city, and the public transport is pretty good. The 'L' - elevated train tracks - are amazing. They're still basically wooden planks for platforms resting on girders over the street. They look like they should be in a museum, but work pretty well - if you don't mind waiting a while for your train.
In a nice change from California, you're never far from shops, bars and places to eat. In a less welcome change, the weather is completely unpredictable - one day went from scorching hot and clear blue skies, to unpleasantly humid, to thunderstorm, and ended in a very pleasant evening. And that after our flight in had been delayed by weather.
Although our baseball experience was a bit below expectations - see previous post - celebrations were still going for the Blackhawks who had won the Stanley Cup a few days earlier (cheered on by us in Orange County). One or two of the city's landmarks had acquired temporary adornments as a result...
There's plenty of entertainment here, and the dive bars are great - for example Delilah's, where Kurt Cobain and Courtney met, or the Old Town Ale House, which is full of colourful local artwork, or Rainbo, the 'original hipster dive' which was on a block suffering from a power cut, so we had a candlelight beer.
Also plenty of good music venues.We gave top marks to Schubas, a venue that looked strangely like a church hall but with great acoustics and a nice attached bar, where we saw:
Chicago being the home of the blues, we also went to a couple of the many blues clubs. B.L.U.E.S. is a small and slightly shabby-looking joint but put on a great show with hours of music by a decent-sized cast.
Buddy Guy's Legends is a well-known place that has just reopened after a move, and we saw Eddie Shaw & the Wolf Gang. Eddie used to play with the legendary Howlin' Wolf, and is getting on a bit, and probably a better sax player than singer, but still put on a good show. Ridiculously, one of his band had a triple ax, and probably justified it. Highlight was a cameo from Buddy Guy himself, who really can still sing. Shame the place feels so new and a little characterless.
Lincoln Park is a really nice spot, with a big greenhouse full of unusual plants, and a zoo. The zoo feels its age a bit - you wouldn't ideally want to live there if you were an animal - but it is completely free, so you can just wander in as you please, and on that basis well worth a visit. One of its more unusual features is a spider cave that the big spiders could just wander out of, though apparently they don't want to - if your wife is with you, this is a really good spot to let your hand drop gently onto her shoulder... On our visit, the zoo was also notable for an extremely undignified aardvark, who appeared to have wedged himself upside down in a dustbin.
Sadly more expensive, but still impressive, is the Shedd Aquarium - unfortunately didn't have time to see the big show they put on, but lots of nicely done exhibits, some big beluga, dolphins, a few penguins, and all the weirdy-looking fish you hope to see.
All in all a great week, great place to visit, and could happily have spent more days here.
But sadly this is the end of our world tour - at least for now...
Chicago is great, its main downside being very expensive hotels. We stayed a few nights in Lincoln Park, definitely a decent base - plenty to do in the area and transport is good enough to get you around. Then we moved to the Loop, the central downtown business area, which is a little quiet at weekends but good enough - since it was the weekend we got a good deal on a Hilton to end our trip in some measure of luxury, by which I mean the room looks good but every little extra like wifi costs a fortune. The first hotel we stayed in, way back in November in the UAE, was also a Hilton. Rest assured we've been a bit more economical in between.
One thing I didn't know is that pretty much the whole city burned down in 1871 and had to be rebuilt. As a result the whole city is full of great architecture, from the 1870s onward - even the brand new Trump Tower is tasteful.
View from Millennium Park
Trump Tower almost blends in
Our favourite is the Tribune building, which is not only an amazing bit of Gothic architecture in its own right but also has bits from many other famous buildings embedded in its outer wall on three sides of the base - Taj Mahal, Houses of Parliament, Angkor Wat, World Trade Centre... you name it.
The Tribune Building and some of its stones - been there!
Union Station's amazing central hall is all but empty because the functioning part of the station is across the street.
FForgot my baby carriage!
And don't miss the Tiffany Dome:
Lilly has been loving architecture tours and Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings. I could go on, but basically every bit of the city that we visited had buildings that were interesting to look at, which is a good starting point.
The splendid Bean in Millennium Park - they keep it nice and shiny
Chicago is a very walkable city, and the public transport is pretty good. The 'L' - elevated train tracks - are amazing. They're still basically wooden planks for platforms resting on girders over the street. They look like they should be in a museum, but work pretty well - if you don't mind waiting a while for your train.
Underneath the L
In a nice change from California, you're never far from shops, bars and places to eat. In a less welcome change, the weather is completely unpredictable - one day went from scorching hot and clear blue skies, to unpleasantly humid, to thunderstorm, and ended in a very pleasant evening. And that after our flight in had been delayed by weather.
Although our baseball experience was a bit below expectations - see previous post - celebrations were still going for the Blackhawks who had won the Stanley Cup a few days earlier (cheered on by us in Orange County). One or two of the city's landmarks had acquired temporary adornments as a result...
The famous Picasso sculpture and the lions outside the Art Institute of Chicago
There's plenty of entertainment here, and the dive bars are great - for example Delilah's, where Kurt Cobain and Courtney met, or the Old Town Ale House, which is full of colourful local artwork, or Rainbo, the 'original hipster dive' which was on a block suffering from a power cut, so we had a candlelight beer.
Also plenty of good music venues.We gave top marks to Schubas, a venue that looked strangely like a church hall but with great acoustics and a nice attached bar, where we saw:
- The Photographers, a husband and wife playing some amusing songs (The Mustache Song is worth googling - we liked it so much we bought the CD);
- Where Astronauts Go To Hide, who were decent;
- Breathe Owl Breathe, an improbably great show from a very offbeat group.
- Nashville Wreckers, a slightly schizophrenic band with one frontman in tight jeans and tattoos straight out of a rock band, another stout fellow with a scruffy beard and plaid shirt, and a middle-aged woman playing a violin. Identity crisis ahoy, but decent music, and their drummer gave Lilly some tips on Frank Lloyd Wright;
- Singing In The Abbey, a strings-dominated band with good music but inaudible vocals;
- Holly Golightly, a cheery and professional country music singer from England.
Chicago being the home of the blues, we also went to a couple of the many blues clubs. B.L.U.E.S. is a small and slightly shabby-looking joint but put on a great show with hours of music by a decent-sized cast.
Buddy Guy's Legends is a well-known place that has just reopened after a move, and we saw Eddie Shaw & the Wolf Gang. Eddie used to play with the legendary Howlin' Wolf, and is getting on a bit, and probably a better sax player than singer, but still put on a good show. Ridiculously, one of his band had a triple ax, and probably justified it. Highlight was a cameo from Buddy Guy himself, who really can still sing. Shame the place feels so new and a little characterless.
Eddie Shaw on sax and Buddy Guy
Lincoln Park is a really nice spot, with a big greenhouse full of unusual plants, and a zoo. The zoo feels its age a bit - you wouldn't ideally want to live there if you were an animal - but it is completely free, so you can just wander in as you please, and on that basis well worth a visit. One of its more unusual features is a spider cave that the big spiders could just wander out of, though apparently they don't want to - if your wife is with you, this is a really good spot to let your hand drop gently onto her shoulder... On our visit, the zoo was also notable for an extremely undignified aardvark, who appeared to have wedged himself upside down in a dustbin.
This never happened to Cerebus...
Sadly more expensive, but still impressive, is the Shedd Aquarium - unfortunately didn't have time to see the big show they put on, but lots of nicely done exhibits, some big beluga, dolphins, a few penguins, and all the weirdy-looking fish you hope to see.
Eel be spotted easily with skin like that
All in all a great week, great place to visit, and could happily have spent more days here.
But sadly this is the end of our world tour - at least for now...
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