See you again, Chi-Town

Disclaimer: I am no Ezra Stoller, but these are my photographs.
“Are we on the North side or the South side Ma?” I asked her over a million times during our 4-day stay in the Windy City. If you have ever visited there with no knowledge, that little bridge over the river will confuse you days on. The only thing that helped was knowing if I was near State St. or N. Michigan (The Magnificent Mile). Cause of course I can link things through shopping (giggles). Besides my ignorance to the way Chicago is set up, I was truly amazed. From the diversity, the skyline, restaurants, and museums, to the fact that they literally have “The Suburbs”. The first place my mom and I went to was Cicero Drive. This street is full of strips, the Airport, and it leads you right into the city. I was taken aback by 10.25% tax (the highest sales tax of any large US city), but that didn’t stop me from shopping.

I went to all the stores that I gawk at online, and shop from when I’m not afraid of sizing like Zara, Topshop, and Aritzia. But, I’ve figured something out about myself. There is an essence to online shopping. I don’t see all the customers, and all the business. I feel exclusivity in that. Something about it appeals to me because in the store I wasn’t as intrigued. Or it could be the styling online, or maybe I only buy key pieces (Or maybe all the reasons in one?). Anyways, seeing the stores were interesting, but online shopping still takes the cake.
On another note, its not brought to attention on my blog, but if you follow my Twitter or Instagram, or know me, you know I’m aware of the world, and I love traveling, and I love learning about people. Everywhere I go there’s different cultures, common and not so common social acceptability, and so on. There was so much going on in Chicago on Memorial Day Weekend (when I went). From the opening of the new Ferris Wheel to 60 people being shot, we are so disconnected sometimes from what’s really going on.  Chicago is beautiful and I was in the heart of downtown everyday. But there is so much more to things than we know, just something to think about.
TIPS ON VISITING CHICAGO If you’re going downtown, be comfortable and ready. You are going to walk, and walk, and walk, and walk some more.
If you want to go to the main attractions, like the Willis Tower, The Art Institute of Chicago Museum, The Shedds Aquarium, check out the City Pass. They are cheaper and give you access to a lot.
When looking at hotels, make it close to what you are going to, or centrally located. The hotel room may be cheaper but you’re going to waste time and money going where you want to and attempting to find parking, then finding it at an okay rate. Some hotels near downtown charge you to park in their parking lot by the day. Honestly, you may save doing that if that’s where the attractions are. Because after parking more than a 10 times, the tolls, and the trolley hop, then gas, we paid nearly $200 for transportation for four days. We could’ve paid less to stay downtown at a hotel, pay for parking by the day, and saved time by being able to just walk outside the hotel and be where we wanted to be.
If you’re focused on shopping, have the spending money. From fast fashion stores to high-end fashion, you’ve got it in Chicago. You will not leave the city without what you may have went for.
You cannot, and will not do everything you want unless you have a nice amount of time. Five or six days is a good amount of time to do a lot of things. But once you get there you will find new stuff you never knew was there to do.
And if you visit, enjoy, Chi-Town has a lot for you.
view more pictures from my trip here.