Nothing but Walking
The obnoxiously loud clicking of the L traveling down the track was a reoccurring sound I heard every morning. The smell of filthy sewers, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the smell of car exhaust filled the air. It was an odd mix, but it perfectly described the busy and moving feeling of the city of Chicago.
Walking through the city gives me a better perspective on everything that’s happening around me. Especially when it comes to hidden gems, like Pickwick. This little Pinterest looking coffee shop is a relaxing place to get coffee before class. It makes me feel adventurous walking through the city finding places I’ve never been. Whether it’s a small coffee shop like this or a mural on the back of a building.
While adventuring through the city I found myself walking down Lake Shore Drive. I headed towards the lake front to get a better look at the sky line when I noticed a “DANGER SUBMERGED ROCK” sign under my feet. This made me look into the water to see what these rocks really looked like. They were huge boulders. Hundreds of the lining the shores of the lake. No wonder they had a sign.
Lake shores are great and all but I wanted to see more. I kept dragging myself all over the city until I found a spot where I could look out and see the busy life on the roads of downtown Chicago. Walking across a bridge I found a beautiful view not too far from Millennium Park. The different architecture of the buildings showed how long the city of Chicago had been around and how it has stayed the same and how it has changed. In the distance I could see on and on until what seemed like the never ending city.
On my way to the final stop of my little tour I found myself at the John Hancock Center. The architecture of this building was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen. The six-foot-wide pillars at the bottom for support was a design I had never seen before. Along with the bracing on the side of the building going through the windows, crisscrossing across the whole building. Looking up from below the clouds moved but the building seemed to be swaying along with them. It felt as if the building was leaning forwards like it was going to fall to the ground and crush me below it.
I end my personal walking tour at the famous Bean in Millennium Park. There were hundreds of people admiring the Bean, taking pictures with their reflections facing them in the mirror looking outside. The view of this Bean is one of my favorites. On one side you can see a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds and the skyscrapers while on the other side you can see dark large clouds rolling in as if a storm was going to swallow the sky line in front of it.
