By: Jasmine Cuza

The city of Chicago is home to the infamous Willis Tower, the Silver Bean, soul food and tall skyscrapers. Tourists are guaranteed to smell the food coming from food carts that displays food from different cultures. While exploring the streets, the tall buildings and their unique structures caught my attention. The architecture and color scheme of each one of these buildings gave each of them their own personality. While looking closely some of these buildings are connected to each other in the most unusual ways: indoor bridges and walkways are the paths that connect these buildings together. Some of these paths lead to underground train stations or basements within the city. There are walkways that even lead to underground restaurants and cafes, but due to COVID- 19 most of these establishments remain closed. but there were still restaurants out on the streets with outdoor dining.

At night the city is brought to life with its iridescent lights. The lights of the buildings shine into the night sky and reflect off of the vast river in the middle of the Chicago Riverwalk. There are people socializing, walking their dogs, taking a stroll and there were even a few food trucks parked along the street. In the mornings the riverwalk is filled with boats; there are tiny boat cafes where passengers can dine-in for brunch and kayaks to rent to cruise along the shore.

The best place to grab a bite of soul food is at Chicago’s Home of Chicken and Waffles, cooking up some of the south’s famous home-cooked meals. This place can get busy and lines are even expected out the door at times. I ordered the fried chicken along with sweet potatoes, collard greens, red beans and cornbread. The fried chicken had a crispy golden brown exterior and a juicy interior. My favorite side would have to be the cornbread because it was warm and flaky; they gave me the corner piece and I love the corner piece because of the nice crunch on the side. The collard greens had a pungent pork flavor-enhanced into it. This was very exciting for me because while living in Southern California I have never been to an actual soul food restaurant. This was my first time I had an amazing experience and this restaurant set the bar high.

My next and final stop landed me at the Millennium Park where Cloud Gate resides, known to many tourists as, “The Silver Bean” is an art piece designed by Anish Kapoor. The construction of this art piece took place from 2004 to 2006. It is made of stainless steel plates welded together. The inspiration behind Kapoor’s art is liquid mercury and one unique feature about this piece is that it reflects Chicago’s skyline. This art piece certainly has gained the attention of many from around the world because of its shape and design. I was very fond of this piece not only because it went with my outfit I had planned that day, but because it resembles a spaceship. I had lots of fun looking at this bean as it adds character to the park. Around the park, there were people taking pictures, vendors and the beautiful skyline of Chicago. This place had a warm and chill environment and is very family-friendly.

The city of Chicago was filled with many daring adventures and mouthwatering food. There is always something to explore and do on every corner. It is one city that I keep close to my heart and definitely will never forget.

A Breeze Through The Windy City