Tales From Across The Pond Day 2

Mark and Kev's Most Excellent Adventure

Day 2

Central Time Zone

In yesterdays post I forgot to mention the video screen image that the Chicago Bears used to get the crowd to make some noise on 3rd downs. It was a cadence chant of "Lets Go Bears" that was repeated over and over, while showing the image of a bear pounding down on a door that lay across John Candy's body. This image was taken from the film"The Great Outdoors". It was hilarious to watch and really got the crowd going.

Woke up at 06:00 and felt fully rested. I would have liked to sleep later but I think that my body is still on UK time.

I tried to use the time productively by writing my fan post , Tales From Across The Pond, which I published this afternoon, but I experienced a few technical difficulties in accessing the hotel wireless internet connection. I did type up the document in word so  that I could use the time productively, but failed to execute cutting and pasting it, to my post, hence the bold print.

Went down and had breakfast about 0900. It was lovely, but I would have to see the size of the eggs they used for my 2 eggs scrambled because it was extra large. I had about 3 cups of coffee. I think that it will take a while for me to get used to American coffee because it tastes so different to European coffee. Overall I was very pleased with my meal and I particularly loved the crispy bacon. We don't seem to get that in the UK anymore.

We decided to have a touristy day and headed back over to Soldier Field to get the touristy photos. Our first imediate impression was that it was a lot coldernow than it had been during the game. Soldier Field is not an aesthetically pleasing ground. The two stands down the side line do not go together and look as though someone has taken two separate stadia and put them together to make one. However, the exterior of the original Soldier Field that still surrounds the stadium is very beautiful. It is made from a light coloured stone and is reminiscent of the colloseum in Rome because of the Doric Columns. It is spectacular to look at and overwhelms you with its size. I do have photographs of this, but have not yet mastered the technical skill to post them. I would definately advise and recommend a visit. We thought that it had the same majesty as the Twin Towers of the old Wembley Stadium in London.

We then took a walk along the lake front. I know this should normally only be undertaken by romantic couples, but I really enjoy looking at panoramic views and I was not disappointed, looking at Downtown across the lake from East Solidarity Drive was stunning. All of the skyscrapers were wearing their blankets because of the low cloud cover (or mist) and it looked just like it does in the professional photos. We then walked through Grant Park and headed for the Loop. I am not sure if we were mad but I think we must have walked about 7 miles in total.

I like the cleanliness of Chicago and the big wide streets. It kind of reminds of mainland European cities, particularly Paris and Lyons which have wide boulevards. However, I think that crossing the road will probably kill me before I go home. Not only do I look the wrong way, but I makethe wrong decisions on when to walk and when to wait. I am a fairly impatient man and back in London I will cross the road when traffic appears to be gridlocked or some distance away. Here the drivers appear to take great delight in speeding up to hit the pedestrian. I will have to learn patience and wait for the flashing white man to tell me to cross.

We fancied a slice of Pizza for lunch but after n hour of walking around we couldn't find anywhere that sold it. I know that we must be really bad not to find pizza in the Loop, but the hungrier we got, the angrier we became. Of course the obvious thing to do woul dhave been to ask someone for directions, but being men we will never do that. We finally settled on Ada's Famous Deli on South Wabash Street. We had a cream of broccoli soup and a Baja sandwich. The food was excellent value, but thesandwich was overfilled. I think I will have to get used to this. The staff were welcoming and friendly and we both felt that the food was value for money. We did not know about the City Tax which basically adds 10% to the published price. This would be illegal in the UK and will take some getting used to. I do understand that this tax helps keep Chicago the clean and excellent placde that it is and I don't resent having to pay it, I just wish that it was included in the publishjed price. We headed back to the hotel for an hour to get cleaned up and give me a chance to email my girlfriend and put my post on MHR.

We had difficulty in deciding whether there are more Starbucks, McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts in Chicago, but they appear to be on every block. We did have a few Starbucks coffees and I don't think my body has ever contained this much caffeine in it. Maybe thats why I'm buzzing?

In the afternoon we went shopping on the Majestic Mile. I brought a few Christmas gifts and gambled on some clothes for my girlfriend. I do hope they fit, but if they don't then please let it be it is because they are too small and not too big! This area compares very well with Oxford Street and Regents Street in London and the Champs Elysees in Paris. I spent too much money again and also forgot about the 10% local tax. It's getting expensive for me, but it is worth every penny.

About 17:30 we finally head for a bar and the first beer of the day. Our guidebook recommended the Clark Street Ale House and it was close to where we were shopping. We started off with 4 pints of Goose Island Honkers each. We were very impressed by the flavour of this beer and it compared favourably to the beers we get in England. It was probably too drinkable because the 4 pints went down very quickly indeed. We then tried a Wisconsin beer that had the world's longest name, which I can't remember (not that this had anything to do with us drinking alcohol). This beer was very hoppy and had a slight fruity aftertaste. Mark really enjoyed this beer (he is the proper beer drinker, I mainly drink lager in the UK) but it was too strong in flavour for me. We still had 2 pints each of this! The last beer that we tried was the house Pale Ale. This was not as light in colour as I am used to in a Pale Ale, but Mark assured me that it was of the highest qualityand we had another 2 pints each. At this point I started to lose any sense of objectivity and we decided it was for the best to try and get soemthing to eat.

We headed to Joe's Crab Shack on Grand, but decided that our legs could not take anymore walking and took a cab. This decision not to walk was probably alcohol inspired because I think we would still be walking around Chicago looking for the restaurant if we had not taken the cab. We had 18 oysters for starters. They were very tasty but had a bit if shell in them from where they had been shucked. This is not a criticism because I almost chopped my hand off when I tried it at home. We were back on the Goose Island Honkers for our alcoholic drink, but also imbibed large quantities of water to try and counteract the effects. For my main I had the blackened Mahi, which I can highly recommend. The portion size was normal which was a relief to me. Mark had crab cakes and he "waxed lyrical" about how great they were. The meal was excellent value for money at $115 and it did have the Titans@ Texans showing, but I can't remember too much of the game. This was because of a combination of alcohol, conversation and eating, but I will leave it to you to decide on the proportions of responsibility. After the meal we headed back to the hotel for a long deserved sleep. Tomorrow we will visit some of the establishments recommended by the MHR faithful on my first post asking for advice.

I hope you get a sense of the pleasure and excitement I am feeling on this journey to America. I feel like a child on their first trip into the city. Everything is a new experience, including taking a bus ride, where I had my face pressed against the glass, gawping at the sites. My only regret is that I waited until I was 38 to make this journey. I will endeavour to make my next post briefer, but my enthusiasm for the adventure is too great, Excellent!

NFL Games 1

Real Beer Tried 3