Chicago's Navy Pier

Jersey Iggy is in the Navy! Navy Pier, that is! She was at Chicago's downtown waterfront attraction in June last year.

She felt dwarfed by the Ferris Wheel which reminded her of Vienna's own Riesenrad that Vienna Vixen Iggy told her about. Right next to it is a musical carousel which delighted kids of all ages.

Navy Pier is right next to the mighty Lake Michigan which takes you to the neighboring state of Michigan on the other side. Tourists can ride the various lake ferries in high speed or cruise-friendly pace. Miss Iggy recommends the architectural boat tour which takes you down Chicago River nearby with informative trivia on the famous buildings of Chicago's skyline.

As she strolled along Lake Shore Drive, she was content looking at the many yachts docked by the shore, thinking, someday she'll be cruising the world in style!

Taste of Chicago

Jersey Iggy attended this annual foodie festival in Chicago last June 2010 called "Taste of Chicago." It was a summer theme park for your taste buds right in downtown Chicago's Grant Park, where you can sample the Windy City's finest culinary treats in either a "taste" size or a regular meal size!

Admission is free, but you have to purchase ticket stubs in order to buy food, similar to tokens. You are given a map of the food stalls sprawled across the park and you can let your appetite run wild and try something new!

If you're not sure if you're going to like a certain item on the menu, try their "taste portion" which will only cost you about 2 or 3 ticket stubs. If you love it, get the bigger size and chow away!

The Rainbow Cone won us over in the dessert category. It's an icy-sweet fusion of different flavors like strawberry, chocolate, pistachio and orange sherbet. It gives you this delicious sensation of having the rainbow melt in your mouth!

An added treat to this delicious attraction is the Buckingham Fountain, the watery centerpiece to this gastronomical gathering!

Miss Iggy would love to come back for seconds! (And thirds and...)

Rollin' Down The River(s)

Miss Iggy cruised down the Three Rivers (Kankakee, Des Plaines & Illinois) in Illinois last September 2009.

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. 

Miss Iggy wished the speedboat ride didn't end so soon.

Windy City's Willis Tower

Chicago's skyscraper star (that tall, dark one in the middle) used to be called Sears Tower. When Miss Iggy came to visit last September 2009, it bore a new name: Willis Tower. It stands 1,450 feet and 110 stories high and claims to be the "tallest building in the western hemisphere."

Tourists can conquer the Willis Tower by climbing its Skydeck, where you get an aerial view of Chicago (and see how straight and flat its landscape is), plus get to know its history and all that jazz!

Wrigley Field: Home of the Chicago Cubs

Do you think of chewing gum when you hear the word "Wrigley?" So does Miss Iggy! But "C" does not stand for chewing gum at Chicago's Wrigley Field, instead, it's the crimson and blue logo for the Windy City's Major League Baseball team, the Chicago Cubs.

Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium which used to be called "Weeghman Park." It was built in 1914 in what used to be the grounds of a seminary. Wrigley Field is actually the "second-oldest ballpark in the majors behind Boston's Fenway Park."

The name became "Wrigley Field" in 1926 in honor of the Cubs' owner, William Wrigley, Jr.

For more Wrigley Field facts to chew on, click here!

Miss Iggy's Big Fat Greek Dinner

Miss Iggy's been to Greece before, and last September 2009, she went to Chicago's Greektown.

She found herself in Artopolis Bakery and Cafe, located on 306 South Halsted St. "Artos" is Greek for bread and "polis" means town, but they offer so much more than just bread!

Exhibit A: Artopolis' Frutti Di Mare, or the salad which transformed Fortuitous Faery into the "Face That Lunched A Thousand Shrimps." For $11.75, you get this oceanic delight of "Rock Shrimp, Octopus and Calamari, marinated in olive oil-lemon and minced garlic, on a Mediterranean salad."

Apropos for Lent, don't you think? But a bit luxurious, so it defeats the sacrifice.

National Shrine of St. Therese

A Rose by another name would have to be St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as the "Little Flower," because that is the flower associated with this young Carmelite saint. Miss Iggy went on a pilgrimage to her National Shrine in Darien, Illinois last September 2009.


Inside the shrine is the "largest wood carving in the United States" depicting the life of St. Therese. Visitors can take home a miniature version of this beautiful wooden art from the shrine's gift shop.

While there, you can admire the "most wonderful collection of relics, personal effects and memorabilia of Therese outside of France."

St. Therese's other National Shrine on the northern side of the border is in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Beanie Baby

Miss Iggy at the "Cloud Gate" sculpture at Chicago's Millennium Park last September 2009. Locals like to call it the "Bean" because it's shaped like one, but shiny and silvery. It's created by British artist Anish Kapoor--his very first public outdoor art installation in the United States.

The "Bean" weighs 110 tons, measures 66 feet long and 33 feet high, and is made up of polished stainless steel plates forged together to become this fluid-looking metallic masterpiece.

Miss Iggy can proudly spill the beans that she's "been to the Bean!"

And speaking of beans, the sisterhood would like to wish a Happy Valentine Birthday to our correspondent in Ireland, Little Ms Firefly, with these conversation Jelly Belly beans! Cool Beans!

Up In The Ceiling

Miss Iggy wondered if this small plane actually flew up in the air before being hung up in the ceiling, suspended in mid-air, at Chicago's Midway Airport. Spotted last September 2009.

The Blues Brothers At Midway Airport

The Blues Brothers welcomed Jersey Iggy at Chicago's Midway Airport last September '09. These soulful statues mimic the original Blues Brothers: Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who founded the band as a musical sketch for Saturday Night Live back in 1978.



Miss Iggy thought, this cool duo sure knows how to chase my travel blues away!

Miss Iggy advises everyone not to treat airports as mere entry or departure points...some airports are worth admiring for their architecture, displays, and exhibits that they can certainly be destinations by themselves! So once you're done with security, stop fiddling with your gadget to get a wifi signal. Look around, explore! Just make sure you have enough time to do that before you board the plane, though!

Miss Iggy Meets the Midwest through Midway Airport

Yes, Chicago is part of Midwestern United States, and Miss Iggy flew here through Midway Airport last September 2009. It's conveniently located just ten miles away from downtown Chicago.

Midway Airport got its name from the historic "Battle of Midway" in 1942, which is considered the "most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II." When the airport first opened in 1927, it was simply called Chicago Municipal Airport.

There is a special memorial inside this airport to honor the heroes of the Battle of Midway worth checking out if you find yourself checking in or landing into Midway Airport.

Miss Iggy Looks Back At 2009

Miss Iggy casts a pensive glance at the golden soy fields in semi-rural Plainfield, Illinois, and retrospectively at the year that was. Illinois' nickname is "The Prairie State," and here is one picturesque explanation of that. Photo taken back in September '09.

Here are some of the highlights of Miss Iggy's 2009:

• Miss Iggy recruited three new sisters to the 'hood! Sailormoon (who technically got enlisted in December of '08), The Becky, and LittleMsFirefly!
• Miss Iggy got her three seconds of purple-hued fame in one of the sisters' (The Becky's) wedding at beautiful Caleruega in Batangas, Philippines last February! (How many dolls get to be part of an entourage?)
  
• Speaking of weddings, the Coco Jam Iggys jammed at another Caleruega Wedding while Khmer Iggy attended a Khmer one!
• Miss Iggy celebrated her blog's first anniversary by holding a give-away which was ominously won by then non-sister LittleMsFirefly!
• Miss Iggy showed that she's not just a whimsical wanderer but also a civic-minded doll by joining such causes as the Down Syndrome Solidarity Walk and the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk.
• Vienna Vixen Iggy Iggy frolicked around Europe (Istanbul, Budapest, Amsterdam) and even spent Christmas in the Philippines for a mini-Iggy reunion with her Coco Jam Iggy sister!
• Singapurple Iggy not only had a Singapore Explore-Galore, she also went on a European Cruise and toured Cannes, Barcelona, Valleta, the Mediterranean, just to name a few.
• Eire Iggy welcomed us to her Irish abode, and then toured us around downtown Dublin.
• If only Miss Iggy could wear a bikini in these beaches: Boracay, Myrtle Beach, Atlantic City, San Juan, Sentosa, Cannes, and Margate Beach!
• Mr. & Miss Iggy went back to their strawberry-filled roots in Baguio City!
• Mr. Iggy hopped on the bus to join Miss Iggy's travels! (He needs to smile more, though)
• Miss Iggy goes loco for lomo! But that's already a given!
• Jersey Iggy discovered a whole new world at Walt Disney World in Orlando,
  then crossed the northern border to the Canadian capital city of Ottawa!
  

And the list goes on and on! Miss Iggy had adventures in food, too, but they are quite numerous to fit here. Doll domination draws steadily near in the horizon...may it ever continue this 2010! :)

Chicago Hope & Smiles For The New Year

Miss Iggy sends Hope and 2,010 reasons (and perhaps more) for you to smile in the coming New Year! This smiling fountain is one of two tower blocks at Chicago's Millennium Park designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. The "Crown Fountain" showcases rotating videoclips of some 1,000 residents of the Windy City. And guess what? They actually spout water right where the mouth is!

Here's a short videoclip of the two blocks in normal fountain mode, that is, sans the smiling faces.

Miss Iggy and the Sisterhood would like to thank everyone for tagging along in our travels and adventures! Please do join us again!

Happy New Year!

Pink Monkey Business

Jersey Iggy befriended a pink primate in Chicago recently. It's actually a birthday gift/Chicago souvenir to Fortuitous Faery. The pink monkey had a Chicago Bears (NFL) logo on its shirt and a pink ribbon logo on its hat, because October happens to be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month--that time of the year when pink is more popular than the fall colors.

The word "Hope" is also embroided on the monkey's chest...which reminded Miss Iggy of that medical TV series "Chicago Hope." Breast Cancer research efforts also fuel hope for breast cancer patients in the search for the cure. How can one help? By volunteering or by joining fundraising efforts such as the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk that Miss Iggy joined recently.

While waiting for her flight back to Newark at Chicago's Midway Airport, Miss Iggy thought that the pink suitcase is too small for both her and the monkey. But her kid seems to like to keep it as a pet.