Chicago: Day 16

Dear Diary,

Today was a really super hot day! We're right in the midst of Summer now. The temperatures this week have actually been very good. Today, however, was sheer madness. It was 29 degrees celsius! Almost like Singapore's weather. It'll be worse tomorrow when it hits 32 degrees celsius :P

Steph had dance rehearsal today, so I went to Citygrounds (again) to hide away from the heat. It's been my preferred hideout: away from the house (but still near enough), mostly empty and serves pretty good coffee. It also has a spacious second level and free wi-fi. 

The view of the second level.

I was pretty irritable this morning. Guess cause I didn't want to spend the Saturday at home - I already get to enjoy the house pretty much on weekdays. I wanted to go out and explore the city more on weekends. 

After Steph's rehearsal ended, we decided to head to Millenium Park. There are in fact three festivals going on this weekend - The Chicago Blues Festival, Ribsfest and Old Town Art Festival. The Blues Fest is at Grant Park while the other two are neighbourhood festivals along Lincoln Avenue.

We took the subway down from Armitage to Randolph/Wabash and walked from there. The streets were packed with people and cars! We walked past the Chicago Cultural Centre down to Millenium Park. The park is HUGE. Feeling hungry, we grabbed two hot dogs and plopped ourselves on the grass of the Great Lawn in front of the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. It felt great! There were families and groups of young people just sitting and chatting or lying out in the sun. In fact, you can come here and sit on the lawn at any time of the day. There are free concerts here too during summer :)

Apparently, it's a sin to put ketchup on a Chicago hotdog :P
The usual toppings are relish, mustard, onions and pickles. 

The view of the pavillion. They have concerts here throughout Summer! :)

Perfectly legit stoning :)

After eating, Steph laid on the grass and I propped my head on his belly. It felt good just being able to lie down on a weekend, without any hassle and watch the sky above me. When I closed my eyes, I could hear Blues music in the distance. It was lovely!

The Blues Festival was being held at Grant Park, which was just a short distance away from Millenium. We strolled through Lurie Gardens, past the Chicago Institute of Art towards the sound of the music and the swarm of crowds. Again, the place was packed with people! Many had set up camp with their mats and lawn chairs on the vast grounds.

At the Blues Festival, Grant Park

Hordes of people enjoying the festival.

You can see the Buckingham Memorial Fountain from here in the background.

The stage and the huge screen 

The good thing about festivals is always the food!! :) We queued to get tickets for the food and drinks. It cost USD 8 for a row of 12 tickets. There were many vendors (from renowned eateries) selling stuff like pizzas and pastas to ribs, burgers, roasts etc. We were spoilt for choice. In the end, we settled on some Mustard Fried Catfish. drizzled with honey mustard sauce. 

We went to the Buckingham Memorial Fountain next. It's an iconic landmark that can shoot  a stream of water 120m into the air. Apparently, it's one of Chicago's popular icons, after Cloud Gate (Or what is more commonly known as The Bean). 

*warning* : The 120m jet of water sprays nearby visitors when the wind is strong.

Buckingham Memorial Fountain

Just across the fountain, is Lake Michigan. We got ourselves a cup of ice-cream and sat by the edge of the Lake, soaking in the view and the breeze. 

The view of Lake Michigan

People love to sit by the Lake here and just chill.

A cup of "Chicago's Old Time Mud" -
vanilla ice cream with chocolate chip and swirls of caramel.

The sun setting over the Planetorium (in the far distance!)

A pair of ducks wading in the sunset.

It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the time that I got to spend with Steph. It felt good just lying that on the Great Lawn and sitting by the Lake, enjoying the evening and each other's company.... 

Given the day's activities, we were happy but shacked by the time we got home. We had initially planned to meet Hazel at Kingston Mines but we were too tired. Tomorrow was gonna be another lovely weekend where we would be heading to Chinatown. Am looking forward to that too! And Dim Sum! :)