The Chicago Pedway

One aspect of Chicago that has always fascinated me is the Pedway. The Pedway is an underground walkway connecting nearly five miles of downtown Chicago. I first heard about it through a rumor that you could walk all the way from Union Station to the Leo Burnett building, which was later squashed as not true.

Although the pedway does not go that far, it's not very intuitive. Some coworkers and I have recently explored the pedway to see how far we could get without going outdoors. We made it from Block 37 (State Street & Randolph) to the Aon Center fairly simply - but always needed to ask around to continue in the right direction. Some parts were nicer than others, with various fast food, shoe shine shops and even an athletic club discovered underground.

Often when asking which way to continue in the pedway, miscellaneous kiosk owners would say, "you are already in the pedway" when it felt like we were in a building's lobby, making the path confusing. After our hour of exploring, I felt the ultimate satisfaction the following week when I entered the Illinois Center at Michigan & South Water Street to save 10 minutes in the cold on a walk to the Swissotel.

If you want a Chicago experience, or to just stay warm on some walks to lunch in the winter, check out the pedway map here and go explore.

Chicago pedway map

Art Institute

In my continual effort to go to free museum days, I stopped by the Art Institute after work last week to walk around.

Knowing that there are plenty more free days in the future, it was a relaxing experience to only walk through a few wings and know that I can go back another time soon. I explored the Modern Wing and the Impressionism section - covering the third and a majority of the second floor. I'm looking forward to going back!

This piece reminded me why I love chrysanthemums!

Monet. The whole impressionism wing made me want to go to France immediately.

The most interesting piece I came across in the Modern wing, titled White Crucifixion - blending paintings of Jews during the Holocaust with Jesus suffering on the cross

Chicago Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week (in any city) has easily become one of my favorite weeks of the year. When else do you have an excuse to try any restaurant with a substantial deal…and a reason to make your friends go explore?

Check out the highlights from four places I went to this Restaurant Week, foodstagram style: 

Fig & Olive, Gold Coast
Truffle risotto and paella

ARTango, Lakeview
Paella and steak

CH Distillery, West Loop
Gnocchi and brussel sprouts

Dessert trio at Mon Ami Gabi in Lincoln Park