Chicago

Eating Healthy While In Chicago

December 9, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Eating while on the go can sometimes be a challenge. While in Chicago many are tempted to overeat due to the impressive quality cuisine available. However overeating can lead to health conditions and may be undesirable for those attempting to lose weight. By choosing healthy meal options, visiting the right restaurants and purchasing some healthy snacks its possible to avoid the temptation.
Planning for places to eat while traveling in Chicago is vital if you want to avoid the last minute fast food decision. Try to find locations that are near the places you plan on visiting during the day so that you can maximize the time spent eating and not trying to find someplace to eat. The last thing you want to do is get stuck in traffic while going or coming back from getting some food. Do not be afraid to call ahead and ask what healthy alternative meal options the restaurant offers.
Some things you need to avoid while eating this type of food include salt, monosodium glutamate and fat. These are the ingredients common in fast food as well as the gourmet food offered at many restaurants. In fact this is why Chicago style pizza is so famous around the world, because of the fat in the huge amount of cheese that is piled on.
Eating healthy while traveling can be especially difficult when other people you are traveling with vow for the unhealthy and fast options. While this can be a potential source of travelers conflict, many fast food restaurants do offer healthy alternatives. Also remember to buy some snacks for the trip as well. These healthy snacks could include fruit, vegetables and grain products. If you are creative then you could make your own trail mix .
Just remember to prepare for your healthy eating in Chicago.

Filed Under: Attractions, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Fast food, Health, Restaurant

Getting The Best Price For Hotels in Chicago

December 8, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Hotels can often be the largest expense for a traveler in Chicago. Learning how to find the best rate on a hotel in Chicago is vital if you wish to spend your money effectively while on the trip. By using the correct search methods and finding hotels which will bargain for a room you can assure that you are paying the true market price for a hotel during your stay in Chicago. Many hotels will charge high prices simply for their location, services or simply out of spite. Learning how to avoid this is vital and can leave more money in your pocket.
Plan out the locations which you wish to visit during your trip and ascertain the best location to get a hotel. By finding a hotel close to the places you plan to visit you can save money on traveling and save time, allowing yourself the time to visit more places at a cheaper rate. Use a map and calculate the closeness of the places you plan to visit versus the price of the hotel.
Hotels tend to be cheaper the farther they are from desirable places to visit and if they offer cheaper rooms and fewer services. Decide what services and room qualities your family really needs. Is excellent room service, comfortable beds and a wide screen TV really that important when it comes to traveling? Once you have found out what your family desires than its time to compare prices at that level of desirability and then compare hotels of that desirability versus their location and price. If you search hard enough you can find cheap hotels in prime locations, making it much cheaper to sleep and shower during a trip.
Remember to negotiate with the hotel owner for a lower price. You never know when they need to sell a room.

Filed Under: Attractions, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Hotel, United States

Eating Out While In Chicago

December 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Finding a good place to eat while in Chicago should not be too much of a challenge since Chicago is world famous for its excellent style of cuisine. However by following some simple tips and guidelines its possible to eat at the best restaurants in your price range during your stay in Chicago. Remember that a trip without good food is like leaving your taste buds back at work in the office. Please don’t forget your taste buds while in vacation in Chicago.
The first thing you need to accomplish is deciding on what type of food you would like to eat. Whether its pizza, Chinese food, grill style or a hamburger joint you have to find some type of restaurant that has food you desire. Perhaps take the time to make this decision with your family or the people you are traveling with to make sure this is a desirable food choice for them as well.
Once you have decided on the style of food you are going to get you need to decide on the price you are prepared to spend. Eating out with four people can quickly reach into costing one hundred or more. That is just if the price per person is twenty dollars each before tip.
Now that you have had to think about the price range you need to consider the quality of the restaurant you plan on visiting. Perhaps check reviews of the website online or just ask people who work in the area. Just make sure that you review at least once second opinion of the restaurant. The worse thing you can do is give yourself food poisoning while on vacation.
The last thing you need to consider is the distance of the restaurant from your hotel or the location you are visiting.

Filed Under: Attractions, Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Food, Restaurant

Avoiding Tourist Traps In Chicago

December 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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While Chicago does have its fair share of good places to visit, it also has its fair share of tourist traps as well. Learning how to avoid visiting these traps while visiting Chicago will prevent wasting time and money and ensure that you have a quality trip during your vacation. Tourist traps can make a vacation boring and leave a scarred memory during that time of the vacation.
Investigate the places you plan on visiting thoroughly. This means calling ahead, reading reviews online and talking it through with the people going with you on the trip. Would they enjoy visiting the place or find it boring? Consider the opinion of everyone that will have to go so that democracy is adequately served in terms of enjoyment.
Tourist traps are often marked with low quality advertising and gift shops selling useless trinkets. They tend to be located off of highway exits and display typically boring things such as rocks, collections or other seemingly useless things. While these places can sometimes be educational and exciting, remember to use adequate judgement before paying them to view their supposed spectacle.
While research before visiting the location usually wards out tourist traps its always possible to judge the location upon arrival. Consider things such as the size, quality and price of the tourist attraction as well as the employees present. Should any of these things seem of low quality it would be wise to leave immediately. Tourist traps can be unsafe and designed simply to take your money and run. While they can be a hoot, they can also be a waste of money.
Perhaps you should visit with a travel agency or chamber of commerce while in Chicago. These locations will be able to advise you on what exactly there is to do in the area of Chicago.

Filed Under: Attractions, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Chile, Tourism, Tourist trap

Paying Less While Visiting Chicago

December 4, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Visiting Chicago can be an expensive endeavor after you consider the cost of hotel, travel, food and the places you will visit. By planning ahead its possible to spend as little money as possible while adequately enjoying your visit to Chicago. Remember that not everything worth visiting costs a lot of money and much is often completely free.
The best way to save money is to first plan the cheapest hotels and methods of eating. This could mean staying in a cheap hotel or grilling food and eating food from the grocery store. Its not always necessary to eat out at restaurants. When you do decide to eat out at restaurants remember to order cheap dishes and never go somewhere extravagant unless you are prepared to pay the price.
Make a list of places to visit that are free or have cheap admission. This may include public shows and entertainment, museums, zoos or field trips. Remember that you do not always have to go somewhere to experience a city. Consider going to bars or just walking around to meet and talk to the local people. You can often have much more enjoyment for free acting casually and seeing what happens.
After you have visited all the places that are cheap or free to visit find out how much of your allotted travel budget you have spent. Now that you know how much money you have left consider how much it will cost to travel back to your home. Now that you know how much you have left to spend decide on the best places to visit that cost money. This may include expensive restaurants, a theme park or a specialty show, such as the opera or a play.
By budgeting your money you can still enjoy a vacation. Remember it is not all about the money.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Hotel, Restaurant, Travel

Seeing The Best of Chicago On A Limited Time Schedule

December 3, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Perhaps you have been laid over in Chicago for a couple days or you have just found yourself in the windy city for a day. Make good use of it! Finding something to do in Chicago should never be a challenge By considering your circumstances such as who you are with and where you are in the city you can find things to do in no time.
The first thing you need to know is how and where you can travel. Should you have enough money public transportation is always an option. If you have little money and no way to travel than you will need to only consider places within walking distance. Once you have determined the scope of travel of which you are capable you need to consider the places that you can afford to visit. Should expensive restaurants and locations be out of your price range consider a cheap play, museum, or public music.
If you can not think of any places to go then consider calling a local travel agency or chamber of commerce for advice on what there is to do. Perhaps strike up a conversations with one of the locals or ask the staff at a local restaurant or hotel what there is to do. Remember that being creative is the biggest factor in finding the best thing to do at the time.
If all else seems to fail then just get out of wherever you are at and walk around the city until you find something to do. Perhaps walk into a local bar or pub or visit a local rave or dance club. Ask about what people are getting involved in around the city. You never know where a random conversation with a random person could lead you to. Chicago is full of a lot to experience.

Filed Under: Attractions, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, China, Hu Jintao, United States

Learning To Take The Bus and The Train In Chicago

December 2, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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The bus and the train in Chicago are the vacationers most economical choices for travel throughout the city, especially if you plan on walking around to see the sites. However these methods of traveling can be somewhat confusing and if your not careful could leave you stranded in an unfamiliar place. By learning and planning on how to use these methods of travel correctly you can ensure that you use the train and bus correctly while in Chicago.
Planning to use a bus can be difficult since it often will involve transferring from one bus to another to get to your final location, much the same as when traveling using more than one flight in an airport. Make sure to record the times you will need to get on and off each bus and what time you will need to return to the bus step in order to get back to the place you are staying from the location that you are visiting. Remember that a bus is not always on time and it will often take longer than you expect due to varying traffic and weather conditions.
Taking the train is effective for bypassing all the traffic which a bus can encounter. It also is not delayed by weather conditions as well. When taking the train however it is especially essential that you know which stops to get on and off at and exactly where a train is going. Since there is different possible routes for a train to follow this becomes especially important. Remember that riding the train could be more difficult when with children due to the long time spent among a crowd of people. Trains can become especially crowded when compared to a bus because people are often standing and sitting in any available space on the train.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Bus, Chicago, Train, Weather

Top Five Things To Do In Chicago

December 1, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There is a large multitude of things to see and do while in Chicago. While selecting which of these places or events to visit can be difficult, there is five things every visiter to Chicago should see during their trip.
One of the coolest things to see in Chicago is the Skydeck Chicago, which is known previously as the Sears tower. This location features plastic boxes which extend out of the building on the 103rd floor of the building. This allows the daring to walk outside of the tower and enjoy the impressive view outwards, and especially below. The adventurous should attempt to lay down or do a handstand while in the skybox, if they have the courage.
Another place you can’t miss especially if your traveling with the family is the Lincoln Park Zoo. This zoo has no entry fee and is home to over 1,000 animals for viewing. The zoo includes an impressive array of programs and attractions available for the general public, including a tropical section and dolphin show.
A must see is the Navy Pier, a strip of deck home to shops, events and restaurants. Famed as a must see location for the midwest this is a place that is great to spend a day in. Just be prepared for high prices, as this area is exclusive.
If you are getting tired of the hustle and bustle make a visit to the Millenium Park. This park is famed for its design and architecture, and offers a large expense of land to play and feel free in. It is also home to much musical performance and shows.
The last place on this top five list is the Chicago Cultural Center. This place is a must see for those who love great building design. This location also proudly displays daily musical performances and shows.

Filed Under: Attractions, Events Tagged With: Chicago, Lincoln Park, Navy Pier, Willis Tower