I had a good sleep last night, it was so nice to be back in a proper bed again. I walked up to the Willis (Sears) Tower and stopped for a coffee and breakfast at the Starbucks there. 
I then caught the water taxi that left from opposite Union Station. The water taxi was a new experience and I got off at the Michigan Avenue stop. 
I had a lovely walk along the river to McClurg Ct where the boat was to leave from, it took about twenty minutes along the river side. I had booked the ninety minute Architecture Tour, on arrival I checked in and waited to board.
While waiting to board, I chatted to a guy from Norwich (UK), my uncle lived not too far from there. The lady with him and wife was from Sheffield (UK), my mum was born in a village not too far from there. A very small world as I am constantly reminded!!! We also noticed a family of ducks swimming around the boat!
It was a very interesting cruise, full of the history of Chicago. So very many architects have been responsible for the buildings in various parts of the city. There are so many different styles from the different times the parts of the city were built. Not all the buildings are rectangular in design, some are curved and one is triangular. 
Areas of the city were developed at different times and the river has been a central point around which the city has developed. We passed so many famous buildings - The Trump building, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun, The Chicago Tribune Printing building. 
We also had some excellent views of the Willis (Sears) Tower. Many of the buildings contain a lot of glass and this means there are some neat reflections of other buildings,
The river has been an important part of the history and a canal was built to link Chicago to the south. At one time it was the centre of the timber industry, buyers would buy up whole boat loads of timber at a time. There are still some areas that need development but there is also a lot of building happening at the present time. 
There were originally six train stations in Chicago but Union Station is the only one that remains and it is mostly underground now. Of course, with such a large river many bridges are needed. some of these have been renovated but in the original style. Most have two leaves, opening from either side but there is one single leaf bridge that is permanently raised. 
As the boat travelled under the bridges most of the surface was a lattice work effect so we could see the underneath of the cars driving over them.
At some point, a decision was made that any building placed near to the river had to leave space for the river walk and public access. There are 18 miles of walks along which the public may freely access. There are also small park areas and some of the walks are very pretty.
We also went through the area where the great fire took place and we were told how dangerous living conditions were in those times. The fire leaped the river twice until it eventually burnt itself out 24 hours later.
After about half an hour we could see the clouds building up and it was not too long before the heavens opened on us. 
There was a cover for the boat folded at the top rear of the boat and I have no idea why this was not opened out, it surely could not have taken long to pull it over!
Instead, we were handed ponchos but by the time I got mine I was very wet. I was concerned at keeping my camera dry so I did not take too many photos in the rain!!! 
We passed some renovated Pullman Cars that are used on special rail trips. We also heard the story of George Pullman and his influence on the railway industry.
There is a town of Pullman Illinois was Pullman;s idea and was supposed to be a model industrial town. When times were hard Pullman was charging his workers the same to live there but paying them less.
This lead to some of the worst strikes and ended up with many people killed. Today, the town has a strong historical community.
It rained for most of the rest of the cruise, stopping just as we returned to base dock, lol!! I walked back along the same path and as I squelched along I decided a water taxi did not appeal. I flagged down a land taxi and was soon back at the hotel, only paying 5c more than the water taxi, lol!! I grabbed a hot coffee from Starbucks and hurried to my room. I hung my various pieces of clothing and footwear around the room. Thank goodness I have a spare pair of sandals!!
I was more worried about my back pack as I will need that tomorrow but it did start drying out thank goodness.
After such a day, I did not feel like going far for dinner so I ended up at the Elephant and Castle Pub next to the hotel. It reminded me of an area of London (UK) and it is styled somewhat like an English Pub. Even the menu had some English concepts so I ordered the Yorkshire Pudding stuffed with Roast Beef, mashed potatoes and green beans. I have never had this meal served this way, usually the Yorkshire Pudding is served either as a separate dish or as part of the meal but alongside the meat.
I asked if they had some cider, they had Strongbow on tap, this is a very English cider. For dessert, I had a Monte Cristo coffee minus the Grand Marnier but including the Kahlua, lol!! The whole meal was very enjoyable!
I popped across the road to a 7-11 to buy some Ice breakers mints, nothing special about that but the female assistant asked me how old I was. Wow, never had that happen before, I was so shocked I had to get her to repeat the question!! I replied "old enough and wise enough" and left, LOL!!
Of course, by this time, the skies had cleared away and it was a lovely sunny evening. I saw on the TV later that a storm passed through so I guess we were lucky there was no thunder and lightening!
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