Chicago in One Day and a Half

Chicago is a great city! I have to say this from the start, since it really got under my skin. Forget NYC, forget Boston, all these stuffy over-crowded East Coast cities. There is no way to compare the El-train and its "tour de force" around the Downtown loop, where you can almost touch the people working in those offices and almost get the feeling of being on some sort of urban roller-coaster. Secondly, where can you jump from your formal office dress and walk to the beach in 10 minutes? Not that many cities that I know of. Plus, the lively downtown is amazing. The Millenium Park has some interesting features and would make a great location for a picnic, besides the endless summer concerts still happening this month. Architecture: plenty and interesting one. "Chicago school" has certainly given a lot in terms of early and modern skyscraper know-how. The Hancock observatory is extremely nice...just get to the 95th floor and have lunch there...amazing views...and terrible decent prices for such a location and town. A nice surprise indeed. I didn't get the chance to also climb the highest building in North America (Sears Tower). I have heard that although it's overpriced (like all other tall structures around the world) its skydeck is something unique. Worthwhile seeing next time I am there.:)..Other than that? A lot...culture (visited the Chicago public library, it seems the largest in the US, and the U Chicago library and campus), science..many good universities, great food (all types...italian, mexican, etc.--the real stuff is there--) and many night attractions.