CHI-TOWN! The Bulls!

Millennium Park Bean 

Chicago is another city in the United States wherein I spent a significant amount of time. It's located in Central Time Zone of the US (Northern Part). Being in the North, it is expected that Chicago is a very cold city. When I say very cold, it's really very cold. We should thank the Chicago Wind for contributing so much to the freezing feel of Chicago. Just to give you an idea of how cold Chicago is during Winter, try going inside a freezer and feel it. It's cold right? but Chicago is colder than that. I went there towards the end of Winter but morning temperature can drop to -20 degrees Celsius. Those were the times I wouldn't bother going out since my multiple layer clothing still can't cope up with the cold. There were times wherein I'm already wearing 2 gloves and yet my hands are still freezing nearing frostbite.  Anyway enough of the freezing introduction of Chicago. Let's start with my blog.

Welcome to CHITOWN!

Chicago was actually my 1st stop during my 2 weeks travel adventure over the United States. However, I decided to do New York first then Chicago. During my 1st night in Chicago, I just went to my friends house to drop one of my luggage and eat dinner then I immediately went back to the Union Station for my trip to New York.

Downtown ChiTown

Fast forward to my legit 1st day in Chicago. It was 8am and I'm fresh from a long trip from New York. The moment I stepped out of the Union Station, the freezing wind of Chicago welcomed me. It was so cold that all I wanted was to get inside the bus going to my friend's house. I arrived my friend's house around 9am and I decided to rest first until about 12nn before going out again.

OMW to Lake Michigan

Our first agenda was Lake Michigan and Lincoln Park because it's just a short walking distance from my friend's house.  Streets and pathways are still filled with snow because it's winter and it just snowed days before I arrived in Chicago. Anyway, we just strolled around and took pictures before going downtown to eat.

So what's for lunch? Of course, it's non other than the famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.  It's actually my favorite kind of pizza so I'm extremely excited to try the Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago. It's always best to try it where it originated right? or at least where it's named after haha. It was the best pizza I had for years. I'm willing to go back to Chicago and brave the freezing wind just to get a taste of this Pizza. We're very lucky because it's not very crowded and they offer lunch special (Solo Pizza, 1 Sides and Drink).

The Bean

Our next stop is of course the famous landmark of Chicago, "The Bean". It was a weekday so it's not that crowded. I suggest visiting during weekdays because weekends tend to be crowded.  Anyway, there are many good stuff/exhibits around the area. It makes Chicago a unique city.

After strolling around the Millennium Park, we decided to stroll around the Magnificent Mile. It's a looooonnngggg street filled with malls and stores. You can see Michael Jordan's steak resto, Underarmour, F21, Uniqlo, and other good stores. It's similar to Orchard Road in Singapore but the architecture is IMO better.  Trump tower is also along the road.

After strolling in Magnificent Mile, we decided to go back home and do some shopping in Walmart. We had a good chat over the night before we call it a day.

The famous transparent floor.

My 2nd full day in Chicago was spent all by myself. My 1st agenda was of course the Chicago SkyDeck. It's actually the usual skyscraper wherein you need to pay just to go up the top floor. However, what makes this Skydeck unique is the transparent edge seen above. It's really scary because when you look down you will really see what's below you. I myself had a hard time sitting down. It is not recommended for people with heights phobia.

After my trip to Skydeck, I decided to eat lunch at Panda Express because I'm very hungry and I'm very lazy to look for a good restaurant.  I immediately went to Buckingham Fountain afterwards and stroll at the lakeside.  The view was phenomenal however, I didn't like the fact that it's full of dog poop all over the place.  Beware of dog poop underneath the beautiful white snow LOL. The Buckingham Fountain was not operational because it's obviously freezing.


I tried going back to the bean but it's obviously crowded compared to the last time I've been there. People are everywhere. So I decided to just go back to Magnificent Mile to check out some stores and rest in Marriott hehe. After that, I decided to go home to rest and prepare for my next destination.

Next stop was the Snow Storm Music Festival in Navy Pier. It's a music festival wherein there will be several DJs playing while everyone is dancing their asses off. It was a fun party to cap off the night. ;)

My 1st agenda for my 3rd Day was to meet my best friend's sister. She took me out for lunch in Evanston, IL.  My best friend was unfortunately now based in San Diego, CA so I wasn't able to meet her. Hopefully, when I go to SoCal I'll be able to spend a day with her.  Anyway after my Lunch, I met up with my college friend Kathlene who took me around Chicago and some of the suburbs.

We went around Navy Pier, Glenview, and of course United Center. She brought me to her workplace and I was able to see Kraft Food's Headquarters.  She explained to me how's life in Chicago and what makes it better than other city or the Philippines. I had a great time. More talking than taking pictures haha.

I'm leaving Chicago at 10am so I don't have much time anymore to go around. I decided to just buy Garretts Popcorn before heading to the Union Station for my departure in Chicago en route to St. Louis, MO.

My Top 5 US Cities so far.

As you all know, I've been to more than 20 states here in the United States during my visit. Most of it are in Central and East Coast. I'm gonna rank my Top 5 Cities. I'm still going to California and Nevada so the Ranking will definitely change.

Cities out of the Top 5 are
-Houston, TX
-Kinder, LA
-Lake Charles, LA
-St. Louis, MO
-Memphis, TN
-Howe, IN
-Cleveland, OH
-Philadelphia, PA
-State College, PA
-Newark, DE
-Newark, NJ
-Baltimore, MD
-Little Rock, AR
-Dallas, TX
-Texarkana, TX/AR


5. New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans

New Orleans is a very interesting place. It has good food, tourist spots, and culture.  I loved every single thing about the place. I loved bourbon street. I love the historical value of New Orleans. It's a food heaven. I bet New Orleans cuisine is  present everywhere. Talk about the Gumbo, Cajun, Jambalaya, and so on.

4.) Chicago, Illinois

Chicago Skyline

Even though Chicago is one of the best place I've been to, I decided to make it ranked #4. Primarily because of the killer weather of Chicago. I'm not kidding when I say it's cold it's really cold. The wind in Chicago is definitely not helping. Talk about wearing two gloves and it's not yet enough.  The times when I had to wait for the bus to arrive were the times I wish I could teleport to the Philippines just to experience the heat.  Anyway, Chicago has a lot of great tourist spots. It also has Six Flags but it won't be open till May.

3.) San Antonio, Texas/ Austin, Texas

I'm sure not a lot of people will agree but I really love San Antonio maybe because it's near my home base in the US. How I wish I can visit San Antonio every now and then. I strongly believe that San Antonio is the best Texan city followed by Austin then Houston. San Antonio is really good that if I'll be given a chance to choose what city in Texas I want to live in, it will be San Antonio. It's the most tourist friendly city in the Texas triangle (Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston). Public transportation was cheap and convenient too. Special buses have superfast wifi in it.

I also placed Austin as my 3rd favorite because of the uniqueness of Austin. I think young people will really enjoy Austin. There are a lot of things going on. You can go to the Capitol for some history. The artistic side of Austin is everywhere.  Food trucks are everywhere.

2.) Washington, District of Columbia

I always have low expectation when it comes to Capital Cities. Canberra, Australia made me feel that way. However, Washington DC was surprisingly good.  I only stayed there for a day but I felt like I stayed there for a week. Everything was good to see. Everyone looks professional too. There are also a lot of foreigners here because almost all embassies are here. The national mall was majestic. Lincoln Memorial was awesome and scary at the same time. The white house was small. I pictured it as a huge mansion. The Union Station was fantastic. I loved everything about Washington DC.

1. New York City, New York

NYPL

Despite being a very popular city, I was never a fan of New York. It's actually not included in my bucket list.  I hate expensive and crowded city. However, when I found an opportunity to visit New York I didn't think twice and I'm glad I went to New York. It officially become my favorite US City. I don't know why but it felt different from Tokyo. I expected it to be like Tokyo which I hate. I think I'm a bit biased to cities that host Grandslam tournament. I've always wanted to live in a city that hosts Grandslam tournaments.  Anyway, New York has everything I need in my life. Good atmosphere, sports, food, theme parks, park, and so on. Everything I want in life is in New York. I guess I need to start planing my way back to New York.!

This is New York!

TimeSquare

Last March 2015, I got the chance to visit and explore New York City. Despite all the encouragement I get from my parents and my sister to go to NYC, NYC was never a part of my itinerary because I think it will be very expensive to go there. However, when I decided to extend my stay and I found some good deals, I decided to go to New York City from my home base in Houston, TX. I also learned that NYC can be affordable if you plan it right.

I arrived in NYC around 6pm during my first night. It was already dark so I decided to go to Timesquare and stroll around.  Lucky for me, everything is still open till midnight.  I have 6 hours to kill before my bus to Washington DC departs and do what New Yorkers do.  Anyway, for the first few hours of my stay in NYC, I decided to eat where the New Yorkers eat. I found a good pizza house for a dollar per piece and of course "Halal Guys." I also tried going around broadway to check for ticket prices. I didn't go out of the area because it's already dark and safety is also a priority. United States is not as safe as Singapore so always take care of yourself.  Anyway, I just walked around and checked out the Empire State Building before proceeding to my bus going to Washington DC.
*BTW the weather during my 1st night was freezing it's around 1 degree Celsius. I went to Washington DC Around 12am and arrived there around 5:45am. I walked around DC until 4pm before going back to New York City. I arrived 9pm the next day.

During my 2nd night in New York City, I didn't do much. I just met up with my friend who I'll stay with during the duration of my stay in New York. He lives in Queens so we just went to his home from Time Square and shared a good dinner with his family. I also bought a 1 week unlimited train ride even if I'll be using it only for 4 days. It's not really that bad because one ride is 2.50$

Day 3 started in Queens. I learned that this area is full of Filipinos. It's pretty obvious because Filipino Restaurants are all over the place and of course Jollibee is just 1 block away from the station.

Based on my observation, NYC's subway system is old compared to the ones in Asia. I'm talking about Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, and Hong Kong. It's also complicated for someone like me. There are a lot of platforms you don't know where to go. Again, it's just me. I find it hard to navigate around.

Good Morning America

My first stop is Time Square since I need to buy tickets for the Broadway. I also passed by Good Morning America. Felicity Hoffman was their guest during that day. Anyway, I was able to get a ticket below 50$ to watch Matilda. I'll talk more about the play later as I go through this blog. After Time Square, I went to the Statue of Liberty.  I was supposed to take a cruise to the Liberty Island but I got lazy looking for the ticket office so I just hopped on the ferry to Staten Island. It's free and you can see the Statue of Liberty from there.  It's true when they say that it's just a small statue. I suggest that if you're going to choose the Free Staten Island Ferry go on a day with no fog or less fog. Luckily for me it's not very foggy that day.

9/11 Memorial

My next stop is the 9/11 Memorial. It's pretty hard to find because of the ongoing construction around the area. There's nothing much really but it's a good place to see especially if you want to see how it looks like now. After my short trip to 9/11 Memorial. I went back to Time Square to eat some Chinese Buffet because I'm very hungry.My next stop is the 9/11 Memorial. It's pretty hard to find because of the ongoing construction around the area. There's nothing much really but it's a good place to see especially if you want to see how it looks like now. After my short trip to 9/11 Memorial. I went back to Time Square to eat some Chinese Buffet because I'm very hungry.

After eating, I decided to go to FLushing Meadows because of the US Open. Nothing much to see again because Arthur Ashe is currently being renovated. Corona Park is a good place to see though.

Grand Central

After strolling around Flushing Meadows, I immediately went to Grand Central. It's a huge train station with a very nice interior. It houses the best Apple Store EVER! The food court in the basement is also awesome as well as the world foods.  You should not miss Grand Central!

Central Park

Of course, one should not miss the Central Park. This is by far the best park I've been to. It makes me want to stay in New York forever. It's a huge park filled with so many things. I can stay there the whole day. It was covered with snow when I went there. I wonder how awesome it will look like without snow. I bet it's better but a white covered park is not bad in the eyes.

My last agenda for the day was Matilda. It's a play filled with awesome child actors. It amazes how they were able to memorize a series of lines and act at the same time.  The play is basically the same as the Matilda movie but most of their lines are sung because it's a musical (obviously). I really enjoyed the play and I wanted to see more plays in New York. Hopefully when I come back. My day ended around 10:30pm. I didn't worry about going home because all trains and buses run 24 hours.  I just had a problem with the bus going home. I think it was delayed for about 30 mins.

Day 4 was my last day in New York before I go to Chicago.  It's the 2nd to the last snowfall in New York this season. The snowfall was so think that whenever if I open my mouth for a minute it will be filled with snow LOLJK. Anyway, I started my day a little late. My friend John took me around New York. Our first stop was Roosevelt Island. If you have an unlimited pass, you should try riding the tram since it will give you a great view of the city
.

After our trip to Roosevelt Island, John brought me to the Public Library and Bryant Park. I can say that the library has a good ambiance for studying and relaxing. It makes me want to bring all my school notes and review it. It also has a good collection of books. The exhibit inside shouldn't be missed as well. Everything about NYPL excites me. Anyway, Bryant Park is just beside NYPL. It's also covered with snow just like Central Park. Anyway, I ended my trip to New York at Bryant Park around 3pm. My friend and I needs to walk to the station since I need to catch my trip to Chicago.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with my New York trip. I have no regrets at all. New York is officially one of the best cities I've been to.