Tourists are ALWAYS bad on Michigan Avenue... Seriously I avoid Michigan like the plague. They stroll along, 8 people from rural Indiana who came to the big city for their vacation walking side by side so that no one can pass by them.
I don't think any of then actually even shop, so why they stroll down michigan beats the hell outta me, but they certainly do.
And the best? They stop the bus (The bus full of people trying to get to work!!!!) to ask the bus driver
"DO YOU GO TO THE MUSEUM?"
Then depending on the bus drivers answer the convo goesNO? WHICH BUS DO I TAKE TO THE MUSEUM?
Or "OH OKAY GREAT! DO YOU HAVE CHANGE FOR A TWENTY?"...
"AND CAN YOU LET US KNOW WHEN WE NEED TO GET OFF THE BUS FOR THE MUSEUM?"
while they load up grandma and their triple wide stroller that they use to push their 9 year old in.
They take their sweet time while everyone is getting pissed off as we sit through ANOTHER green light waiting for them to load up.
Then grandma or mom doesn't hold on to the railings on the bus when it starts going and stumbles and has to catch herself in someone's lap because oh my Gosh he just took off so fast and wasn't that so funny?!?!No. No one is laughing.
But the first few weeks of "spring" weather? THE WORST.
It's 45 degrees and sunny in Chicago today... and that means they're here. (shudder)
Waiting at the bus stop on Michigan Avenue this morning in their MATCHING ELMO SHIRTS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY.
So yeah... tourist season is upon us.
And I need a new freaking bus route.
My favorites:
ReplyDeleteCAN I WALK TO THE MUSEUM FROM HERE?
CAN I WALK FROM THIS MACY'S ON STATE STREET TO THE MACY'S ON MICHIGAN AVENUE?
Aaaaaaand, drumroll please:
HOW DO I GET TO THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY?
That said, I encounter plenty of nice tourists all the time. The ones who check out the bus route and politely ask someone at the stop, prior to the bus arriving, if they are doing it right. The ones who walk in a line rather than a row so the commuters can get by, and the ones who don't GASP at the prices or wait time at a restaurant. Those nice tourists? I will totally tell them that they are on the wrong bus, or there is a better way from A to B. The rest of them I shun.
Those shirts are tragic. I felt the same way about New York at Christmas time. So frustrating.
ReplyDeleteEven the Bebe model is looking away from this fashion disaster
ReplyDeleteNote to self: When I come to Chicago next, get matching Elmo outfits for me and my group so we can make it into one of your posts. :)
ReplyDeleteThat photo is hilarious. Poor manners as a visitor is not. I've been a tourist there and even I HATE those families of 8 walking like a chorus line down ANY street!
ReplyDeleteThose Elmo shirts are FABULOUS. And NYC is basically the same way. My mom thinks a law should be instituted where all tourists have to clear off the streets/mass transit during rush hours. They can go to a museum, they can get food, but they can't be on the street.
ReplyDeleteUgh don't even get me started. I live in a small, coastal New Enland town so I know the situations are a little different, but we turn into a tourist mecca from May-Sept. I spend those months swearing in my head on my drive to work that goes from 20 minutes in the off months to an hour during the tourist season. I can't even talk about trying to walk downtown during those months!
ReplyDeleteThose Elmo shirts are tragic but yet so hilarious. Good luck dealing with the tourists. My brother moved to Chicago a few months ago so I am sure I will be one of those tourists soon. I'll try and not make the mistakes listed above :).
ReplyDeleteTourists are hilarious. When I worked in the city, I always just took the L during the summer, because the bus was always such a disaster, especially during cubs games. That being said, they are a necessary evil, because they come from their small towns and throw $ at places natives would never ever go like the American Girl Store.
ReplyDeleteAt least you don't live in fucking DC, where people walk around dressed in Americana because they think that's a really good way to fit in here. I've literally sat between an Uncle Sam and a Statue of Liberty on the train before.
ReplyDeleteI HATE THE TOURISTS. Look, I'll tell you how to get to the lake or to a museum or whatever, but can you please just not take up the entire sidewalk or stop all pedestrian traffic because you're going to take your nine millionth picture of the Sears Tower? Seriously? It's just a city.
ReplyDeleteAlso, no real life person can afford Michigan Avenue. Tourists would be much better off and probably like the city way more if they went into the neighborhoods. BUT NO. ZAGAT'S DOESN'T TELL YOU THAT.
Sigh.
OMG, too funny!! Matching Elmo shirts, are you serious!?!
ReplyDeleteI'm GLAD tourists stay on Michigan Ave and don't wander into the neighborhoods. I never go all the way downtown, especially during tourist season. I do remember when I had the bar exam though that I literally trampled dozens of tourists to get to/from the testing center. And really? Why are there tourists on Michigan Avenue at 7 a.m.??? Nothing is open.
ReplyDeleteUmm.... I might be one of those tourists this weekend. So apologies in advance if you see a bachelorette and a bunch of girls in Elmo t-shirts traipsing up and down Mich Ave.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, minus the Elmo t-shirts. I should have thought to order those ahead of time...
What a creepy family. EW. I hate DC during tourist season. If you think Chicago is bad, try DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival. OUT OF CONTROL. Every person from Iowa, the Dakotas and Arkansas are out in full effect with horrible jorts, fanny packs, and their 8 million misbehaved children. And now, making it worse, they are dressed as tea partiers. AND, the icing on the cake...all the Asian tourists come to town for the festival as well. And after cherry blossoms, it does not let up until Labor Day!
ReplyDeleteHAhaha. I love this. I am thankful to work almost in the West Loop to mostly avoid the idiots.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! This is such a hilarious post. When I used to go to school in Chicago, I would also avoid Michigan Avenue unless it was during the week when most tourists were not around.
ReplyDeleteLove the Elmo picture!