Chiraq

I'm gonna keep it real, I feel as giddy as a five-year-old trying to tell you all the things I did in Chiraq! The last trip I took was Raurfest in Atlanta so I was having serious vacay withdrawals. I took this trip with my roommate Ashley, to see her grandmother, and she made our first time experience one to remember. From museums, food and nightlife, Chicago is a very unique city and an experience to say the least. The weather was beautiful, but a tad chilly, so I purchased this Old Navy French Terry bomber jacket, once I got there and I love it!

Museum Life

If you know me you know I am a museum junkie. So one day was spent completely running around like a tourist. Ashley and her grandmother recommended DuSable Museum of African American History. It’s a beautiful gray building that sits in front of a stunning sculpture garden feauturing several great exhibits. My favorite was their Martin Luther King and The Black Panther Party exhibit..

The museum that had me excited to get to this city was the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. This experience can definitely go in the books as one of my favorite museums. It’s a four-story glass building that sits on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile downtown. The entrance alone is intriguing, and the artwork draws you in. On the day we visited, there was a live band on the second floor, a sculpture garden out back, an exhibit where you walked into an entire hot air balloon that filled a portion of the building and so much more! It was an all-around a cool place!  At first my friends were not interested and I had to explain what contemporary art was. Afterwards they called it weird but I know they enjoyed themselves.

Bein’ a Tourist

We ate dinner outside downtown at the Emerald Loop outside where the humongous Trump tower hovered over us. We even strolled through Chinatown where we saw squid and fish in the restaurant windows, people practicing and sharing information about Fowlon Gong, we even saw a wedding! We stopped by a Won Don Shi bakery and got smoothies made with fresh fruit. Then N. Damen street which is like the SoHo of Chicago for the yuppies, with cute coffee shops and stores like Marc Jacobs and RSVP on the block, it was cute but not where our wallets wanted us to be.

For the young people reading this post, Chicago's nightlife right after the Cubs win a baseball game. . . IS WHERE IT’S AT! Thanks to my friend Charisse who recommended Wrigleyville and N. Clark St. for things to do after dark and she was right! We walked the street for about a mile and a half which was lined with bars, restaurants and a McDonalds, and every single establishment was LITERALLY overflowing into the streets with people. It was a fun place--not to mention being able to walk alongside the iconic field.

I guess Chiraq has earned its name for being a rough city. I could hear a tad bit concern in my mother’s voice when I told her where we were going, but I was never concerned for my life and I really enjoyed the active culture and the huge downtown. I can’t wait to go back during the warmer months to spend time on the lake. This is the best description I could offer without overloading you guys. I hope the pictures do more justice!