chicago posts
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (5 months ago)
Dec 15th, 2012 at 10:00AM: There is nothing quite like the smell of a Christmas market. Step anywhere near Chicago's Christkindlmarket and you'll pick up the intoxicating scents of grilled meats, roasting nuts, glühwein, sizzling potato pancakes and incense. It's enough to get even the biggest Scrooge into the holiday spirit.
Chicago's Christkindlmarket is a mini version of the Nuremberg Christkindlmarket in Germany ...
by Grant Martin (RSS feed) (5 months ago)
Dec 6th, 2012 at 1:00PM: If you have more than a couple of hours to spare on a layover in Chicago, a great way to soak up some time is at the nearby gambling hall. Rivers Casino is only a few miles from the airport and is an excellent diversion away from the humdrum terminal newsstands and blaring overhead announcements.
To get there, exit security then head downstairs and take the CTA blue line one stop ($2.25 one way ...
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (5 months ago)
Dec 2nd, 2012 at 12:00PM: It isn't always sunny in California. It only just seems that way for those of us who live in colder climates. On Thursday, it rained in Los Angeles. I swear, there was no sun or blue skies to be had anywhere. Before I travel anywhere, I check the forecast for my destination obsessively and I can tell you that this is the first time there's been rain in L.A. in at least 6 or 7 years. Or it least it ...
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (6 months ago)
Oct 28th, 2012 at 11:00AM: Is it possible to get lunch in Chicago for $3.49? That was the question I sought to answer on Friday at Annapurna, an Indian vegetarian restaurant on Devon Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's largest South Asian neighborhood. Whenever I need a quick trip to a foreign country but can't make it to O'Hare, I gravitate to one of my two favorite ethnic enclaves in Chicago: the Arab corridor of Albany ...
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (6 months ago)
Oct 23rd, 2012 at 11:00AM: Travel writers don't spend much time waxing poetic on the joys of American suburbia – and for good reason. Spending time in the suburbs of most American cities is about as exciting as listening to a filibuster attempt on C-Span. Unless you enjoy the numbing sensation that comes from driving past row upon row of characterless houses, strip malls as far as the eye can see and the identical ...
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (6 months ago)
Oct 22nd, 2012 at 9:00AM: There is nothing like a really good pig race on a glorious autumn afternoon in the Midwest. I have to admit, I had never really associated pigs with speed until I happened upon my first ever pig race while on a family outing at the All Seasons Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch in Woodstock, a graceful small town built around a picturesque square about an hour northwest of Chicago. But those pigs ...
by Grant Martin (RSS feed) (7 months ago)
Sep 23rd, 2012 at 12:00PM: Midway through their journey across the country, the Bacon Barter team pulled into Chicago last week for a visit to Gadling Labs. Led by funny man Josh Sankey, the travelers aim to voyage across the entire United States using only bacon as currency. That's for food, gas, lodging and any other necessity on the road.
We met up with Josh and his chase car on the streets of Lakeview and bartered ...
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (8 months ago)
Sep 11th, 2012 at 1:00PM: On a recent road trip, I stopped for the night in suburban Indianapolis and was happy to find a nice hotel room for just $91 per night. But in the morning, when I saw the receipt that was slipped under the door and noticed a total bill of $106.47, I thought that there was some mistake.
In huge cities like New York and Chicago you expect punitive taxes on travel related expenses, but could the ...
by Jessica Festa (RSS feed) (9 months ago)
Aug 21st, 2012 at 2:30PM:
Well, here's something you don't see everyday. This video, taken by YouTube user GrimbleGromble1 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in the United Terminal, shows an airport employee actually joking around with fliers. The vehicle warning sounds you hear are being made by the cart driver, who drove back and forth past travelers trying to get them to laugh. Watch at the end as the video ...
by McLean Robbins (RSS feed) (9 months ago)
Aug 14th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
National Relaxation Day is fast approaching. The August 15 holiday marks a day where you're supposed to kick back and take some much needed "me" time. Here are five spots where you can do just that.
Lake Placid Lodge, Lake Placid, NY
The Check In to Check Out Package at New York's Lake Placid Lodge requires you leave your smartphones/iPads/laptops and other electronic devices in the safe ...
by Jessica Festa (RSS feed) (9 months ago)
Aug 12th, 2012 at 11:00AM: An array of fringe festivals are happening around North America, bringing together the most out-of-the-ordinary artists from around the world. From dancers, to acrobats, to buskers to unusual performance artists, these fringers will show that they are not only talented, but were born to perform. Want to see a show in the near future? Check out these 10 great fringe festivals to check out before ...
by Dave Seminara (RSS feed) (9 months ago)
Aug 6th, 2012 at 10:00AM: Years ago, when I told a group of colleagues in New York that I was moving to Chicago, the reaction ranged from bemusement to outrage.
"Chicago?" one began, tentatively, as if they'd heard of the place but couldn't quite place it. "Why would you want to live there?"
Another co-worker was more blunt.
"Chicago's a dump," he said. "You'll be back in New York in a year."
Like many New ...
by Laurel Miller (RSS feed) (11 months ago)
Jun 15th, 2012 at 12:00PM: From where I stood on the roof of Bastille Cafe & Bar in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, I could see flocks of seagulls circling nearby fishing boats, as I catch whiffs of brine, gasoline and eau de canal water.
Despite the industrial marine supplies and salmon canneries across the way, up here I was surrounded by buzzing honeybees and dozens of varieties of produce, from heirloom French ...
by David Downie (RSS feed) (11 months ago)
May 30th, 2012 at 12:00PM: Chicago, Chicago – the city is so big and so fabulous you have to say it twice. Buildings are not just tall, they're also as broad as entire cities. Alleyways are as wide as turnpikes. People are not built for bigness: they're digitally enhanced for hugeness. Fittingly the portions on the giant plates in the vast eateries of Chicago are bigger than jumbo-size. They're mega. They're obscene. ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (12 months ago)
May 23rd, 2012 at 1:00PM: Some people should not be allowed to wear a uniform.
While flying from Spain to the U.S. to attend the Gadling annual team summit, I touched down first at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. I got into line at U.S. Customs to enter the country.
The line was in a huge room with a row of bulletproof glass booths manned by U.S. Customs & Border Protection officials checking passports and ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (12 months ago)
May 23rd, 2012 at 10:00AM: The Art Institute of Chicago has one great exhibition after another and is definitely on Gadling's top ten list of things to see in the Windy City. Now they've opened the largest exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein's artwork ever to be shown.
"Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective" includes more than 160 works from all phases of the famous Pop artist's career, from his early comic book imitations ...
by Libby Zay (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Apr 30th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
As of today, the World Trade Center is back as the tallest building in New York City. Construction crews erected steel columns that reach over 1,250 feet high, just edging out the observation deck at the Empire State Building. The skyscraper isn't expected to reach its full height for at least another year. When finished, the giant monolith will be capped with a 408-foot-tall needle that ...
by Jessica Marati (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Apr 4th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
Knotted shoulders... stiff necks... flight delay anxiety... pent-up aggression toward the armrest-hogger seated next to you on the plane. Travel certainly has its ways of winding you up, and there's nothing like a great yoga class to wind back down. But with trendy studios charging upwards of $25 per class, it can be difficult to find a practice that doesn't exceed your daily travel budget. ...
by Meg Nesterov (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Mar 22nd, 2012 at 2:00PM: The Internet has brought us many ways to research and book hotels at prices much lower than the hotels' published rate. Aggregate sites like Kayak and Orbitz give you the best available rate (BAR) without pre-payment on a specific hotel, while "opaque" sites like Priceline and Hotwire allow you to bid for a room below BAR but the actual property remains hidden until after you book and the purchase ...
by Libby Zay (RSS feed) (1 year ago)
Mar 20th, 2012 at 4:00PM:
Still recovering from St. Patrick's Day? Here's a time-lapse video of what you missed in Chicago, where thousands of people gathered to see the Chicago River as it was turned a radioactive shade of green (temporarily replacing its usual murky green). The tradition has been happening for more than 40 years to celebrate the holiday. It all went down at 10 a.m. on Saturday, just before the St. ...
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