Route 66

Sunday 18th
After our late evening fondue meal we headed out for a late brunch. Hmmm seems to be a constant theme on food here, well we are in the US after all.

We headed to Lou Mitchell's Restaurant which is famous as the place to have a meal when you head off on Route 66. An extract from the Lou Mitchell website "Jackson Boulevard was the starting point for the original Route 66, which means you can drive into Chicago on the “Mother Road” from the Kennedy Expressway, Illinois Interstate 90/94. Exit Jackson east and look for Lou Mitchell’s on your right located near the intersection of Jackson and Jefferson. Route 66 was created in 1926, and when the signs went up on Jackson Boulevard, commuters found Lou Mitchell’s waiting for them. We’ve been feeding the hungry travelers with comfort food since 1923. Drop in and enjoy our famous breakfast and/or lunch."


The place was packed, we queued for about 15 minutes in a fast moving queue which is the norm, and I guess especially on a Sunday. The food, it is the traditional US breakfast, so plenty of it with large portions as you would expect.








 After Lou Mitchell's we headed down Jackson Boulevard towards the lakefront to the point where Route 66 officially starts



















The weather turned foul the complete opposite of the perfect blue sky of the previous day, so Win and I headed to the Art Institute of Chicago, where we spent a great three hours enjoying the exhibits staying out of the bad weather, until we of course headed back to the Hotel.

Monday 19th
Our last full day in Chicago before we fly out Tuesday morning. The day once again started overcast which is not the best to visit the world famous Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) also now known as Skydeck. So hoping that the weather would clear as the forecast predicted we went on a tour of the Chicago River. This is billed as an "architecture" tour, and the guy certainly knew his stuff and talked for the full 90 minutes of the tour without taking a breath. Thoroughly enjoyable and I would recommend it.

After the river tour, the weather did seem on the improve, so we headed to the Skydeck on a clearer day we would have had better views of the City and Lake Michigan however we did enjoy going up to the 105th floor and looking out over the city. Loved the glass floored platforms that are on the western side of the skydeck. A great view of the city and surrounding area.

Hey, there's my feet and there are the buildings and street below - how cool is this