3 days in the windy city: My Chicago bucket list

Some of us have that city that we've dreamed of calling home. Mine was Chicago. 

I can't even pin point the exact moment I started dreaming of living in windy city, but this place that I had never even visited just stuck in my mind for years. When it was time for grad school, I found a school in Chicago that had the exact program I was looking for. I was so ecstatic, and without a shadow of doubt, I thought that was going to be my opportunity to move to Chicago. 

I can remember how heart broken I was when I did not get into this school. After the grad school rejection, I pushed Chicago out of my mind. Then sometime last year, Chi Town popped up in my head again, and I randomly bought a ticket and booked a solo trip to my dream city.

Chicago did not disappoint and I immediately fell in love with the windy city. The art, the stunning skyscrapers, and the general vibe of the city had me clicking my camera nonstop. Unfortunately, I lost most of the pictures I took with my DSLR camera—sigh! I was able to salvage a few, but most of the pictures in this post are the low-quality ones I took with my phone.*Insert sad face*

For the purpose of this post, I included 5 pictures I found online. These pictures are of The Chicago cultural Center, Crystal Garden, Interior of Holy Name Cathedral, Crown Fountain, and Buckingham Fountain. All pictures have been credited to the appropriate source. 

Enjoy...

Day 1

Once I touched down in Chicago, I headed to my hotel, freshened up and hit the town. The Flamingo Sculpture was the first art I came across. While it is a pretty neat sculpture, I wouldn’t advice anyone to go out of their way to see this

When I think of Chicago, what comes to mind is the vibrant Chicago sign that I have seen in a gazillion movies

So of course, I had to go out of my way to see the famous sign for myself

The millennium park is the area that houses Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the famous Cloud Gate (The Bean), Crown Fountain, and Lurie Garden

 In recent times, Cloud Gate has become one of Chicago's most popular sculptures

This stainless steel sculpture, Cloud Gate was created in 2006 by British artist, Anish Kapoor

How picturesque is this!

Crown fountain is a unique interactive piece of art in Millenium park
Photo Credit: Rstrain.me

Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park is where  the Grant Park Music Festival takes place

The pavillion is one of the world’s most unique and advanced music venue

 These metal head sculptures were created in 2014 by Spanish sculptor, Jaume Plensa. They were erected in celebration of the 10th year anniversary of Millennium Park

 Awilda sculpture by Jaume Plensa in Millennium Park 

When I was done at the park, I dragged myself to my hotel for a quick nap.  After my nap, I headed on out to hang out at a house party with my friend, YouTube Vlogger FabCocoBerry

Day 2

Next morning was Easter Sunday and I had planned to attend church service at Rockefeller Chapel; University of Chicago. Unfortunately, I had been sleep deprived for days, and did not hear my alarm go off. By the time I woke up, it was midday, so I decided to stroll around and enjoy the quite street ambiance. 

After my midday stroll, I hopped on a train to go check out Holy Name Cathedral

Holy Name Cathedral is one of the famous Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States

How impressive is the Gothic revival architectural style?!
Photo Credit: Flicker

After my brief stint at the church, I wandered around the city a bit, and then walked on the Michigan Ave Bridge 

Once I got off the bridge, I came across this interesting "Men in Suit" sculptures

Then I met up with my cousin at Vertigo Sky Lounge. The lounge has a roof top bar with an amazing view of the Chicago skyline.

Then we took goofy pictures

Manificent mile is shopping boulevard on the northern part of Michigan Avenue. I am not a big shopper, so I wasn’t too keen to visit. However, when I was done hanging out with my cousin, I decided to take a stroll down the famous shopping street.  It indeed is a shopper’s paradise. 
Photo Credit: 10best.com

After I was done walking the magnificent mile, I found myself at Cloud gate. How stunning is The Bean at night!

Day 3

My last day in Chicago started with a visit to the Sky Deck at  Willis Tower/ Sears Tower, the second tallest building in the USA, and 14th in  the world

I am terrified of heights and I froze right after taking this picture. Luckily, a kind stranger was nice enough to comfort me and help me up

Look ma, I did it!

Once I was done conquering my fear of heights at the Willis tower, I hopped on bus #124 and went to Navy pier.  The Navy Pier is an area on the shores of Lake Michigan. It comprises of gardens, shops, rides, and a host of other fun things

One of the highlight at Navy Pier is The Crystal Garden, an indoor botanical garden
Photo Credit: Flickr

After my Botanical experience, I headed to Buckingham  Fountain, one of the largest fountain in the world. Unfortunately, the water had been turned off for the season, but it was still great to see this historical landmark
Photo Credit: FineArtAmerica

Chicago Cultural Center: My last point of call before heading the airport was the Chicago Cultural Center. This was worth the visit as I was gob smacked by the amazing interior
Source: Chicago Cultural Centre

The center also house the largest stained glass Tiffany  dome in the world—amazing!
Photo Credit: Anne Belmont Photography
The center also had some neat art work

That's all from my adventure in the windy city. Do you guys have that one city that you've always fantasized about? Or a country that has been on your bucket list and you just cannot just wait to visit?  Please leave a comment and share. Thanks!


Happy hump day chicas.