Travel Smart With Jodie

Archive for the ‘Chicago’ Category

Stand on the sidewalk at Wacker Drive at the Chicago River west of Michigan Avenue. It looks fine, now. But mid-summer 2010 the area was a battle zone.

Wacker Drive, backed by the Wrigley Building, Marina City and the Tribune Tower, was a prime filming location for Paramount Pictures’ Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Released mid-summer 2011, the film stars Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Josh Duhamel.   Guests of Hotel 71 which borders the other side of the river had front window seats of the action.

Below where you are standing is lower Wacker Drive – scene of Batman’s race to rescue a high level Gotham official. Chicago was Gotham in the Dark Knight released in 2008. Bruce Wayne’s bedroom was shot in Hotel 71.

Indeed, downtown Chicago is rife with Dark Knight movie locations. The city was also used in the 2005 release of Batman Begins.

Transformers 3, Dark Knight and Batman Begins are only a few of the many movies and TV segments filmed in Chicago.

Avid movie buffs might track down all the sites of their favorite Chicago locations such as The Blues Brothers or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

However, there is a not widely known way to get the info and go by many of the sites. Arguably in the category of best kept secrets is Chicago Film Tour owned by movie buff John Brinkman.

From Wrigley Field on the north side to Chinatown on the south with several places in between, Chicago Film Tour does a two-hour loop that passes locations used in more than 80 movies filmed in the city.

A buyout left Brinkman ready for a career move a few years ago. “I remembered a Sound of Music tour I took with my father in Austria. I loved it,” he said.

But instead of concentrating on one movie made in Chicago, Brinkman thought visitors and residents would enjoy seeing and hearing about all the movies with Chicago sights except a full tour could easily take a day.

“I had to narrow it down. I drove around the city and mapped out a route,” he said.

Brinkman does do private tours and some all day tours that include lunch. For his regular two-hour public tours, he has knowledgeable guides. All tours include film clips and interesting tidbits that might not be known except by movie aficionados and critics.

On a recent trip, the bus turned down Argyle, a narrow residential street in the Uptown neighborhood where it paused in front of St. Augustine College.

“Essanay” was emblazoned over a doorway. It is an amalgamation of Spoor and Anderson for George K. Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson.

The building and back lot stretching from 1333 to 1345 had housed Essanay Film Manufacturing Company  whose most famous star was Charlie Chaplin. The silent movie legend had filmed “His New Job” in Chicago with Ben Turpin for Essanay.

After the tour HollywoodChicago.com movie critic Patrick McDonald, the guide for that day’s bus tour, said he enjoyed sharing movie knowledge with riders and introducing them to places they might not know.

“You can see where Essanay Studios was. It’s living history. Imagine rolling up to the place where the Great Chaplin walked through and did a film,” McDonald said. (Chaplin filmed “His New Job” in Chicago with Ben Turpin.)

Chicago Film Tour Details: Tickets $30 a person. Pick-up is Clark Street in front of the Rock ‘n’ Roll McDonalds between Ohio and Ontario Streets. Because the bus only seats 36 people and most trips are sold out, reservations are highly recommended.

(All photos by Jodie Jacobs except Terminator 3 location shot)

Second in series on Spring vacation destinations is Chicago and the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Warm weather welcomed visitors to Chicago even though the calendar said it was only the second weekend in April.

Couples were downing salads and sandwiches on the Park Grill patio at the edge of Millennium Park.

Youngsters were dashing up the park’s steps for a closer look at Cloud Gate, known as The Bean and the wild Frank Gehry sculptural roof of the Pritzker Pavilion

About 20 miles north, visitors kept pouring into the Chicago Botanic Garden by bike, SUV and on foot.

Spring had finally come to Chicago.

April and May are fine times to make Chicago a vacation destination. Paths along Lake

Michigan are not yet crammed with beach-goers. The Magnificent Mile of North Michigan Avenue isn’t jammed with shoppers and lookers. The theater and symphony seasons are still in full swing. Museums don’t have lines out the door.

And about a half hour drive north, colorful blossoms line the Chicago Botanic Garden entrance, paths and surprise visitors around every corner.

Where to stay:

As a convention city, Chicago is blessed with more than 100,000 hotel rooms so finding one that meets budget, style and location specifications is usually easy.

Hotels with special stay and play packages usually list their current deals at

Parking in Chicago is pricy so look for a package that includes parking.

A recent check of hotel deals listed W Chicago Lakeshore which is convenient to Navy Pier, the Amalfi Hotel which is convenient to North Michigan Avenue shopping and the Hyatt Regency which is near Millennium Park.

What to do:

Check the Chicago Symphony Orchestra schedule. Symphony Center is across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago.

See “Kings, Queens and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France” at the Art Institute of Chicago through May 30, 2011.

The exhibit ends with a work by Leonardo da Vinci and his studio.

While there, be sure to explore the galleries either side of the special exhibit’s Regenstein hallways to see fine Whistlers and works of other famed artists.

Also take the elevator from the modern wing upstairs to the rooftop patio. Visitors can snap a great view of Millennium Park and the skyhline even if they aren’t eating in the adjacent restaurant.

Go over to the Merchandise Mart on the Chicago River, a few blocks west of Michigan Avenue. The main floor has showrooms open to the public with great home decorating ideas. If at the Mart April 29 through May 2 see Art Chicago, an international fair that showcases contemporary and modern works.

Take a Chicago River Architectural Tour. Spring is the start of the boat tour season and Chicago is known as an architectural destination. Several organizations and companies offer good tours.

Drive north to Glencoe on I94 to Lake Cook Road and turn east for half a mile to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Spring is a fun time to explore its paths. Just about every turn uncovers another bulb opening or another plot of color. Take paths through the Japanese Islands and other islands to watch birds returning north and see trees beginning to bloom.

Stop in the Circle Garden to see colorful foxglove set against artistic fountain sprays and see what’s blooming in the English Garden and in the vegetable gardens.

Even though the weather is fine for walking outdoors, save time to visit the greenhouses to see cute topiaries and find out what is blooming indoors.

Add the Garden to a Chicago vacation.

You’re not alone if you have a mega fever – cabin fever that is. Just as all that snow melted from the last blizzard and the weather seem to be turning the seasonal corner, either another blast of icy cold or the white stuff has us hurrying back indoors.

Here are four doable prescriptions to ease cabin fever.

• Green isn’t just the color of lawns and leaves when the weather finally cooperates. It also comes with an Irish accent and a lively, musical lilt. Plan now to host a fun St. Patrick’s Day party or talk with friends about getting together at an Irish pub that will have a dance group or live music. Begin planning now to have something to look forward to a few weeks away.

• Take a stay-vacation where you only have to travel to a nearby B&B, resort or downtown hotel. Many places are offering good deals before the Spring Break and Easter rush. Choose a place with a spa or one that is near a fine restaurant or live theater to make the getaway even more special. Need an excuse? Isn’t it a half birthday or anniversary of something?

• Start planning your summer vacation. Look on line for a range of accommodations, things to do and transportation options. By starting now you should have more lodging and price choices. And you start to feel more connected to the places you hope to go instead of house bound by snow and cold.

• Remember the 2011 blizzards will be conversation items for years to come. So, gather your photos and memories, put them in a scrapbook and close the book on this winter.

Imagine going into a hotel room and liking it a lot  – not just for the décor and view but also for the air. That’s room air, not the breeze blowing outside.

By the end of 2010, all the Hyatt Hotels in the US will have some rooms that have under gone a treatment to make them hypo-allergenic. As of mid-October, 65 of the chain’s hotels have some guest rooms that have undergone a hypo-allergenic treatment.

It’s great news for people with asthma or who are allergic to dust and fragrances. It’s also good news for travelers who simply appreciate breathing in pure air.

The treatment includes a special attachment on the room’s heating-air conditioning system and a separate purifying filter in the room.

It also has undergone a special cleaning of all surfaces which are then sprayed with an anti-bacterial “screen” so that bacteria cannot adhere to them.

The room is zapped to kill any other organisms still lurking. A special protective casing is put on the pillows and mattresses.

A card left on the room’s desk says it is Pure Room certified and explains what that means.

Hypo-allergenic treatment is performed by PureRoom, a Buffalo, NY based company that has partnered with Hyatt. Rooms are checked and re-certified every six months. 

I recently stopped at the Chicago Regency Hyatt to check out a PureRoom.

News such as this is really welcome to someone who is allergic but has to travel for work.

I start sneezing when any dust is around though I don’t have asthma. My nose clogs and my eyes water when sitting in a theater next to someone wearing perfume or in a hotel room where someone used a hairspray or cream that was not odor free.

I was told that even if someone did use something with a fragrance the purifier in a PureRoom would have gotten rid of its scent.

The air quality was excellent.

As someone who is often checking into a place eager to relax but finds the room has stale air, I love that a hotel chain understands about  people with allergy problems to help them breathe easier.

The Hyatt charges an extra $20 to $30 for these rooms but this traveler thinks the benefits are worth the price.