Chicago has been given such a bad rap by the media that I was pleasantly surprised to see how absolutely beautiful it really is!
Also, I learned far more than I expected to during a four-day trip there, including that it was founded by a Haitian immigrant named Jean-Paul LeSable in 1779.
Above is his bust displayed in the middle of the city and there are a significant number of roads and bridges named after him.
The most important thing I learned though, is that Chicago is nothing like how it is portrayed to be in the news, for the normal reports I have seen about this beautiful city are only of shootings, murder, and violence.
I know you can’t judge a place after one four-day visit, but the Chicago I saw was nothing like that.
Anyway, as a Jamaican, I can sympathize with the portrayal in the
press versus reality.
Sure, every major city has dangerous areas and with a population of some three million, Chicago does too, but there is so much more to this city than those minor glitches!
On my recent visit, I found a clean, beautiful city with helpful and friendly people everywhere we went!
And it’s not as if we took organized tours into so-called ‘good’ areas! No sir, we wandered around on foot, and public transportation to the places we wanted and never once did we feel unsafe or saw any act of violence.
(it's at the airshow that we realized cel phone cameras are no good really, as you will see below.😡)
The happy wanderers |
Women lay out thier vegetables on the street corner |
Anyway, when we set out, we again got nothing but
friendly assistance from everyone we asked.
So, we happily embarked on our exploits, found an informative bus driver as usual, went to the aquarium, spent the day and had no problem at all returning home.
Beautiful buildings on both sides of the Chicago River. |
We also frequented the water taxis which traverse the Chicago River that runs through the center of the city. They also run in sections of Lake Michigan, down to Navy Pier.
Traversing the Chicago River is a treat in itself as it takes you past some of the most amazing architecture you will see anywhere.
In fact, many tour operators in the area offer ‘architecture
tours’ up and down the river daily.
I found Navy Pier exceptionally beautiful, relaxing and
healthy.
Healthy as the entire compound is a grand jogging trail which you can utilize or just walk leisurely around, as there is so much more to do.
There is something there for everyone, young people, old people and everyone in between.
Navy Pier I fell in love with the exhibition there called ‘the state
of sound’ which explored the role of ‘Chicago born’ artists to every genre of music. I learned so much, including the fact that so many of the artists that I had adored over the years, were born in Illinois. They include numerous Gospel artists, blues, jazz, hip hop, R&B. artists. What made it even more wonderful was the fact that you could download and listen to mini-documentaries about these artists, including them performing some of their greatest. That was a rewardinf experience as was just about everything we did in that much-maligned city, in just a few days. |
The planetarium |
Beauty everywhere |
A Buddhist monk selling beads |
Yacht owners lined up on Lake Michigan to watch air show |
The airshow at Lake Michigan |
My fellow explorers at the air show |
On a water taxi |
Pedestrian bridge over Chicago River |
At Navy Pier |
Venue of "The state of Sound" |
The lighthouse as seen from Navy Pier |
Section of the city as seen from Navy Pier |
Beautiful flowers everywhere |
Pedestrian bridge named in honor of the founder |
2 comments:
I’m happy you got to visit my favorite city. Lived there for years and loved every inch of it
Media always skew news on areas. Such a beautiful place. Whenever there's news on Chicago it's all crime. Thanks for sharing.
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