Visiting Chicago for Indonesians

My friend and her hubby are going to Chicago. Not only it's her first time to Chicago but also to US. So I emailed her this guide to use up her 4 days in Chicago wisely. I copied it from my email, I haven't edited anything due to my laziness *ha ha* But I bet it will be helpful to some people. I left Chicago 4 yrs ago, hopefully this is still okay. And please note, some of the attractions are only suitable for summer (temen gw pergi pas summer soalnya)

_________________________________________________________________________________
Yay! You're going to Chicago!!

Essentials:

- public transport: http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/

kalau dari airport bisa naik blue line ke Downtown. Kalo hotel elo di magnificent mile, my best guess is it's near red line. 

- ada jg yg namanya Metra. Commuter train buat ke suburbs. Dulu gw kerja naek ini.

Sight Seeing, Picture Spot:

- Magnificent mile. Di peta sepanjang jln 41: N Lake Shore Drive. Itu bisa sambil jalan kaki/jogging, nyusurin pantai aja ke south, nanti ketemu:

- N Michigan Ave. Kanan kirinya toko2... bs lanjut ke: 

- S Michigan Ave/Millenium Park n Grant Park. Ada Buckingham Fountain, the Bean, ada semacem teater outdoor, kalo wiken biasanya ada show. Atau hari biasa siang2 ada rehearsal. Lanjut lg ke

- Navy pier. Kaya Port gitu, bisa duduk2 n foto2 makan es krim. Ada Children Museum, Glass Museum n Bianglala gitu. Terus ikut:

- Boat tour: waktu itu gw ambil yg ini http://www.wendellaboats.com/ yg lake n river tour. Tp kalo bisa mending ambil yg Chicago Sunset. Make sure book first.

- Museum Campus. Nah kalo sini waktu sunset/malem yak. Bisa foto2 dengan latar belakang Chicago Skyline. Best spot is the road between Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. Kalo ke sininya siang jg bagus foto2 di depan Field Museum.

Total di atas ini bisa diselesaiin sehari asal ga lelet2 jalannya ya hehehehe... Kalau naik mobil, sedia 25sen yg banyak buat parkir di pinggir jalan. belum tentu ada gedung parkir dan kalaupun ada pasti mahal bgt.

Museum:

- Museum campus: Field museum, Shedd aquarium, Adler Planetarium. Kalo ada wkatu ke Field boleh, lainnya membosankan ehuuhehuehue... Kalo cuman sebentar di Chicago sih foto2 ajalah di sini...

- Chicago Art Institute, nah ini di Millenium park. Bagus juga kalau suka lukisan2.

- Museum Science and Industry. Nah ini seruuu... http://www.msichicago.org/ lagi ada special exhibit: The Animal Kingdom. Sayangnya bukan Body World... kalo iya pasti Andi suka :p

Shopping

- N Michigan Ave for branded items (ada sih yg standard mall gitu). Cari parkir susah n super mahal (up to $30 per hour). Naik train/bus aja. 

- My fave mall: Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie, North of Chicago. Jauh sih kalo ga punya mobil...

- The 2nd biggest mall in the US: Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, West of Chicago. Ga penting sih... kalo kelebihan waktu banget baru ke sini :p

- Gurnee Mills Outlet. Sejam ke North

- Chicago Premium Outlet kalo mo belanja di sini enak nih... http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=63 Nun jauh di west tapi ya.

- Pleasant Prairie outlet. Nah ini lebih jauh lagi dr Gurnee, jd kalo mo ke sini cuman kalo lo mau ke Renaissance Faire (see below) http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=90

Other attractions outside the city

- Six Flags Gurnee Mills, very recommended kalo demen sama jetcoaster. Ini extreme. bukan kaya Disneyland atau dufan. Isinya jetcoster doank plus bbrp yg serem2 lainnya. 

- Milwaukee. 2 hrs driving north. 

- Bristol Renaissance Faire http://www.renfair.com/bristol/. Nah ini jg jauh di north di perbatasan Wisconsin. Seru sih kalo ada waktu yg bisa di-spare. Kalo mau ke sini, bisa sekalian ke premium outlet Pleasant Prairie, tp lebih kecil dr yg Aurora

Culinary Chicago/American-Style:

- Deep Dish Pizza. This is the signature of Chicago. Gw sukanya yg di restoran Lou Malnati's cuman kayanya di downtown agak jarang. Giordano's or Gino's will do too.

- Chicago-style Hot Dog. restoran: Portillo. 

- kalo Garrett belom buka di Singapur, I will direct you to Garrett. Tp since udah ada yaaa... kalo ketemu aja ya. Ada di downtown. Jangan ke yg Mich Ave karena pasti ngantre, ke yg State St aja. 

- Cobain Jamba Juice deh. smoothies, seger n sehat banget.

- Cheesecake Factory (it's a restaurant) in N Mich Ave. Entah kenapa ngantrenya gila2an... gw sih biasa aja ehuuehhuehu...

- Original Pancake House, for breakfast

- The Bongo Room, for breakfast also, gw sih biasa aja sama ini cuman entah kenapa terkenal bener :p

Culinary- Others:

- Brazillian: Fogo de Chao. Ini All u can eat daging2an. 

- Spanish Tapas: Cafe Iberico. Lumayan murah dibanding resto lain. The paella and white sangria are great 

- Peruvian: Machu Piccu, Ashland Ave. Steak2an jg sih. Cuman gw demen bgt sama stuffed mushroomnya (ga nyambung yak auhhuauha)

- Greek... nah ini gw lupa yg pernah gw makan apa. Cuman ada GreekTown di Chicago.

Culinary-Asian: 

- Ken-Kee, New ChinaTown. the best fish in special sake sauce, u can't find it anywhere else (sambil ngiler deh gw nulisnya)

- Lao Sze Chuan, Old China Town. Tony's Chicken, again u can't find it anywhere else. Kalo pada demen pedes bisa ke sini

- BBQ King, New China Town. Barbeque pork, roast pork, roast duck

- Green Tea Japanese Restaurant, Lincoln Park. Entah kenapa Salmon suhinya enak bener

- Joy-Yee bubble drink, New China Town. You gotta try! Ini pake juice asli semua. Durian, avocado, mango, dan yg lain2 enak :p 

- Seven Treasures, Old China Town. Braised noodlenya enak... biasanya gw pesen sama roast duck dan roast pork (gembul bener...)

(Old n New China Town tuh sebelahan. Naek aja red line, turun di Cermak)

- San Soo Gab San, Korean Town (a bit north of downtown). Korean BBQ gitu lah

- Tang Noodle, Vietnam Town (a bit north of downtown). favorite gw jauh di west... yg ini lumayan :p

- Star of Siam (Thai), Downtown. Favorite gw jauh di North sih, yg ini lumayan juga lah.

Itu aja kali yaaa... Moga2 bermanfaat. Have fun!!