Chicago in Five Days

We recently took the Amtrak from Kansas City, Missouri to visit Chicago, Illinois and had a great time. We decided to take the train instead of driving and will definitely be doing it again! The train was scheduled to leave Kansas City at 7:45 a.m. on Friday and though we left 45 minutes late, we arrived in Chicago on time at 3:15 p.m.

The tickets for the Southwest Chief were $125 each, round-trip, and I have to say it’s the only way to travel. The seats were very comfortable with an unbelievable amount of leg room, not like traveling by plane at all.

The observation car on the train was a great place to watch the scenery, with guides giving the history of the area. The part of the country the train travels through is so different from what you see when traveling by car, most of the time I didn’t know where we were, and I’ve lived in the Midwest all of my life!

The Chicago river is a real focal point as it meanders through the city. There is an amazing amount of traffic on the river, including water taxis that will take you all around the city.

We went on an architecture tour that was amazing! You really can’t get a good view of the skyscrapers without seeing them from the river. Our guide, Kevin, was very personable and his invaluable insights into the history of the city was worth the price of the ticket.

While in Chicago we had to go to the Millennium Park to see the Cloud Gate or “The Bean” as it’s known to the locals. Here’s some information on the public sculpture by talented British artist Anish Kapoor on About.com.

On the Navy Pier we went to see Henry VIII at the Shakespeare Theater. It’s an intimate theater with a traditional thrust stage. For more information about the wonderful venue, visit their website: ChicagoShakes.com.