Looking out over Chicago

Drew Mitchell is an Australian Rugby Union player.  Lou Mitchell's is a diner around the corner from our hostel in Greek Town.  To date it is the best breakfast we have had in the United States.

A real diner.

After this culinary delight we made our way north east, making for the John Hancock Center.

We kept wondering if "Drake Sold Out" was the name of the show.

We passed the MCA again on our way up and found a fresh food market, which was a delightful surprise.  I always feel bad about bitching while I'm on a massive holiday, but getting fresh food is a real hassle on the road.  This was a great find.

Fruit!

We had picked up 2-for-one vouchers for the John Hancock Center, so it was a very reasonable morning out.

The John Hancock Center in Lego.

As an experience it crapped all over the Empire State Building in NYC.  The JHC experience included a free audio tour, recorded by David Schwimmer, which was just as irritating as it sounds.  It was also very informative.

East

South

West

North

We went for a wander down Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile, making for Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago.

A swarthy man in Lego

The weather was perfect, so we snapped a bunch of photos in the park.

A big silver thing at Millennium Park

The big silver bean.

That evening we caught up with my father's cousin, Fiona, and her family.  They took us to Piece in Damen.  Fiona clearly knows the appetites of twenty-something Australians well, as Piece is a fantastic pizzeria/brewery.

No really, I'll get the large

Fiona, Ray and Dana were great company.  Dana and Ray introduced us to 'white pizza,' made with garlic sauce in lieu of tomato.

Dana holding dessert.  Which I ate.

Fiona takes the Talk and the Skeptic through some must-sees

Ray and Dana with the remains of the white pizza.

Afterwards Ray suggested we check out a bar called Cans (pronounced 'Cairns') where there was a trivia night in action.  We were too late to take part, and irritated other patrons by shouting the answers to general knowledge questions.  It was a good last night in Chicago.

All things go.

Those of you playing along at home will recall that Ann Arbor is a college town, built around Michigan U.  We went out on the one night we were there, because the drive to Chicago wasn't going to take very long.  Things got a little messy, and we were a touch delicate in the morning.

The Skeptic went to Trader Joes and got us a pile of fruit, which we desperately needed.  Then we stepped across the street for coffee and pastries from Bear Claw.

Bear claws on the boot, because we're classy.

The Skeptic still wasn't up to doing much, so I drove us to Chicago.  It was another lovely day.

I recognise that building...

That night we were staying out by O'Hare, and there was an Outback Steakhouse just around the corner, so we went to check it out.  We were pleasantly surprised.

Marinated mushrooms

While the menu and atmosphere had little to do with Australia, the food was very good.  The steaks were thick, juicy and well-cooked, and came with fresh vegetables; a rarity in this country.

Bloomin' onion.

The best part of the meal was the appetisers; the Bloomin' Onion and Bushman's Shrooms were cooked in the kitchen of the gods.  That we, as a nation, didn't think to batter and fry an onion first is one of our greatest failings.

We went to bed full and happy, ready for a deeply spiritual experience the next day.