10 Reasons To Visit Chicago

No, the city of Chicago isn’t paying me to write this blog post. 🙂

It’s just that I’m going through a bit of Midwest withdrawal, as I recently left my summer home in Michigan and flew back to Florida, snowbird that I am.

I Heart Chicago

Maybe blogging about one of my favorite cities in the Midwest — Chicago, will help ease the pain of Midwest withdrawal.

Here are 10 reasons I LOVE Chicago:

1. The element of mystery. After all, Chicago is where Jack Reacher disappeared to after he left Margrave, Georgia. Plus, the history of organized crime and Al Capone in Chicago is very compelling — at least to a mystery writer like myself. And Chicago features prominently in Get Back Jack, too.

2. The shopping. The Magnificent Mile features all the big-name stores, from Apple to Burberry to Hermes and more. Walking along that wide, clean, bustling avenue makes shopping a truly delightful experience. It may seem like a minor detail, but I love that the sidewalks are wide enough for two or three friends to walk side-by-side without someone getting bumped into a building.

Magnificent Mile

Magnificent Mile

3. Lake Michigan. How could you not love a city with a view like this? A short boat ride puts you out in the open expanses of Lake Michigan, connecting Chicago with Wisconsin and Michigan. The Navy Pier runs along the shoreline of Lake Michigan in Chicago, providing the city with a scenic spot to host year-round activities.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

4. Eataly. Have you ever been to Eataly? Eataly complexes are a celebration of Italian food and drink, and exist in several cities around the world. Each complex is like a miniature mall, with various food stations including pasta, pizza, meat, seafood, and even a nutella bar. If you go to Chicago, allow at least two hours to eat, drink, and shop in Eataly.

Eataly

Eataly, Chicago

5. The Chicago River. It’s not exactly the cleanest river, but it’s great for recreational activities like going out in a kayak or sightseeing boat. It provides a somewhat scenic view for all the offices located along the river. And the Chicago River provides river banks for cafes and other pedestrian-friendly zones.

6. The architecture. There’s the Chicago Water Tower, built in 1869, which survived the Great Chicago Fire. There’s the Tribune Tower, the neo-Gothic home of the Chicago Tribune. And, of course, there’s the John Hancock Center which, at 100 stories and 1,127 feet of height, is the seventh tallest building in the United States.

Chicago Water Tower

Chicago Water Tower

7. The history. Do you know why Chicago is called The Windy City? Clue: It’s probably not because the city is prone to gusts of wind. Do you know why the Chicago River reversed direction in 1900? It was hailed as a monumental achievement in engineering. One that saved lives. But to me, the really exciting part about Chicago is that the city is still so active, I can practically feel history being made around me whenever I visit.

8. The geographical convenience. Chicago has two international airports, sits beside the second largest of the Great Lakes, and is in a more central location to the rest of the United States than some other major U.S. cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Chicago on US Map

Courtesy Google Maps

9. The Art Institute of Chicago. This art museum houses the third largest collection of art in the United States, from the ancient to the ultra-modern. You could go to the Art Institute every time you visit Chicago and always see something new. Even the museum itself is a work of art.

Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Chicago

10. World Class Athletics. Between the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, and the Chicago Blackhawks, there’s something for everyone.

Alright, now I miss the midwest more than ever and I don’t have any trips to Chicago planned in the near future. The good news is, I’m a mystery writer, and I can think of plenty of mysteries I might need a couple of fictitious FBI Agents to solve in the city of Chicago. 🙂

Have you ever been to Chicago? What do you love about it?

Meanwhile —

Caffeinate and Carry On!

Diane Capri

p.s. Are you a member of the Diane Capri’s Exclusive Reading Group mailing list? It’s FREE! Just CLICK HERE to sign up and refer your friends, too. You’ll be glad you did, I promise. Can’t wait to see you there!

 

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6 Responses to 10 Reasons To Visit Chicago

  1. Betty Detuno Farish October 2, 2014 at 1:17 am #

    #11 I was born there. I love the planeterium and the History Museum. My uncle lived behind the Hancock Building. I loved to visit him. Pizza and all the assorted ethnic foods. Shopping even if was window shopping. My favorite time was the year they had the cows dressed up on Michigan Ave.

  2. Bill Wright October 2, 2014 at 9:12 am #

    Chicago is in Illinois
    Illinois is one state south of Wisconsin
    Cudahy is in Wisconsin
    The City Lounge is in Cudahy
    The City Lounge sells Three Dachshund Beer
    Three Dachshund Brewery makes Otto’s Oatmeal Stout
    I love dachshunds and Iove Otto’s Oatmeal Stout…

    And, Diane, I would bet that Kim Otto loves dachshunds (I can see her with a mini long-haired black and tan) and she loves her some Otto’s Oatmeal Stout….

    http://www.3dachshundsbeer.com/beers.html

    Otto’s Oatmeal Stout Brewed with dark roasted barley and oatmeal for a very rich flavor and aroma. The oats provide greater mouth-feel, smoothness and foam quality for this stout.

  3. Pat Davis October 2, 2014 at 10:18 am #

    Memories of trips there to visit relatives as a small child, swam is lake Michigan, life guard had to save me when I got out too far. As an adult went there with my daughter when she was in college for a long weekend shopping get away. It snowed and we trudged Michigan in heavy snow before they could get it all cleaned up. Another trip with friends from work in St Louis. We took a long weekend to see a play and do some shopping.

  4. Mary Sweeney October 3, 2014 at 4:10 pm #

    Because my daughter lives nearby… Would love to see the sights of Chicago as I only went to a pizza place while there…

  5. Sherry Isaac October 8, 2014 at 8:18 am #

    I have to love Chicago, fall-out from an honor presented to me by Chicago-North Romance Writers when I attended their conference this spring. (And I’m from Winnipeg, long dubbed the ‘Chicago of the North’) The conference and the people were fantastic, but we were just a little too far from the city’s border’s and time was just a little too short to do any sight-seeing. Thanks for the post and the virtual tour, Diane.

  6. Susan Fox October 9, 2014 at 7:37 am #

    Hi Diane,
    I read your post as a link from Twitter yesterday and have been semi-obsessively looking for you ever since. If you track analytics then I think I saw you via Chicago Agent fly by. My son, who is the head of Digital Analytics for Mesa Boogie explained this is how analytics really become skewed during tracking where customers (aka readers) come from. However, this AM, care to guess how many lists I went through on Google before I found you? HA! Alot! I digress, what I love most about Chicago, having grown up one mile off the beautiful N. Shore of Lake Michigan is the roses and the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Now Mom would be so pleased (and proud) to know I am a speaker on the topic at The Chicago Flower & Garden Show each March. My mother, a native Texan taught me how to grow roses along Lake Michigan and then the Libertyville Men’s Garden Club took over from there after I inherited her garden. Brilliant and wise she insisted “all intelligent people read murder mysteries.”;)

    And I miss the people of the “City of Broad Shoulders” Carl Sandburg from 1916 poem “Chicago
    “Hog Butcher for the world,
    Tool maker, stacker of
    wheat,
    Player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler:
    Stormy, husky, brawling,
    City of the big shoulders.” ~ Carl Sandburg 1916

    code phrase: HOT LIPS
    When All Else fails…#COFFEE

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