I took the "L" downtown...

Training last week was in one of the suburbs of Chicago. I was staying next to the end of the Orange Line, so after work one day I jumped on the "L" and headed downtown. The familiar rustle of public transportation made the new city seem comfortable. Passing train yards, warehouses, up-and-coming lofts, and finally the towering downtown blocks... It was a cross-section of the city. 

Chicago is linked via a network of elevated commuter trains that shoot outwards from the city center. For the most part they are elevated (thus their name), sometimes tracing actual city streets for several blocks directly above traffic. Where the rays meet is a confusing "Loop" of tracks that rumble above the city streets. Orange and pink lines run clockwise, brown runs counterclockwise, green runs back and forth... and who knows what those other lines are doing! 

I got off the orange train a few stops into the "loop" and walked across the river. I'd seen an advertisement for the "Chicago French Market" in the Delta Sky Magazine on the way over, so that was my first stop. It wasn't exactly Pike Place, but there was a burger with good fries and some cheap Belgian beer that tasted exactly like cheap Belgian beer in Belgium... with the acoustic guitar playing in the background, the rustle of trains overhead, smells of foods from all over the world, it was perfect for me. 

 

After fueling at the market, I started walking. Downtown Chicago is bigger than it looks, and just following the river was a great tour through it. Every elegant steel drawbridge had a label stating its cross-street. Several of the tourboats going by were giving architectural tours - something I'll definitely sign up for next time I'm in town, if I have time! 

 Nature's first green is gold... as dawn goes down to gray, nothing gold can stay... or, in Chicago, her final hue is rust. The silver and gray surfaces seem to wear down to a rusty patina, old Chicago peeking out from under the coats of fresh paint and shiny glass towers. Brick gets redder, concrete is stained by its rebar as winter salt eats through paint, galvinization, or any other protective coating.

Where the river meets Lake Michigan, there are marinas and the sound of rigging humming in the breeze. The major difference is that it smells like a duck pond, rather than low tide! There were boat rentals, from kayaks and paddle boards to rocking party boats that were loading up for the evening. The paths along the water bend around and connect with the famous Millennium Park. First, I crossed over Maggie Daley park, which has an ice skating ribbon (climbing walls in the summer!), mini-putt, a kid's adventure playground, and rolling grass knolls. Without the skyscrapers towering over the park, you could imagine you weren't in the middle of a city... 

There was a classical concert going on in the Jay Pritzker Pavillion (designed by Frank Gehry), filling the space between skyscrapers with orchestral sounds. The entire space was full, with park-goers trading blank spots along the railings. I wandered down to the "bean," otherwise known as the Cloud Gate. It was a game of "who's photo-bombing whom" and wondering whether you're actually seeing a mirror across an alternative reality. Seriously, when you can't see yourself in a mirrored surface, it's trippy! 

See you in a few months, Chicago!