A Day with Elizabeth Taylor!

Last stop – the windy city!
Our last stop is a B&B in Chicago to celebrate our anniversary and also to get used to a “real” bed before we get home! We hop the “L” metro tram train from the B&B and then downtown we climb aboard a double decker tour bus and sit at the top to get a great view and pictures. The tour guide is an actress and very informative and entertaining. This is a perfect way to see a large city and learn the history and see the sights. Her name is Elizabeth Taylor (!) and she shows us the highlights of Chicago in a 2 hour tour – you can “hop on- hop off” at any stop. We stay on the tour bus for a long stretch with Elizabeth (we are on a first name basis now!) because she is exciting and charming.

As we pass the various landmarks, Elizabeth tells us about Millennium Park, the Michigan Avenue drawbridge, the Theatre District, the Palmer House Hotel, the Art Institute, Hilton Chicago, the renowned Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum with Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex (top of the list!), the hotels, skyscrapers including the Trump Tower and Sears Tower, Navy Pier, Magnificent Mile, John Hancock Observatory, and literally hundreds of other hidden gems in the city. The architecture is fascinating, a real mix of new glass castles and old museums and churches.

We reluctantly leave Elizabeth and get off the bus to visit Navy Pier on Lake Michigan and later stop at the shopping district called The Magnificent Mile. Never have I seen larger stores than this. We don’t want to miss the other sights for shopping (need more time!), so we spend an hour or so here, and cool off in the air conditioned shops. We bought nothing but it was very interesting. Our bus tour ticket includes a free chocolate bar at the Hershey store, and a bag of popcorn in the theatre district so we can’t pass those up! Good lunch – main course and dessert!!!

After a full day of touring and walking we take the “L” (Line) “home” and painfully climb the 50 stairs to our 3rd floor room – we are beginning to know how Rips Joy feels climbing those mountain road! We go for supper at a little (I mean little!) Thai restaurant around the corner from our B&B.

We have spent most of the day in Chicago with Elizabeth Taylor and it was mighty fine!