Archive for July, 2009

Things to Do and See When Visiting Chicago

Chicago, also known as the Windy City is located in the state of Illinois and is the largest metropolitan area in the Midwest. It is a gorgeous old city located on the edge of Lake Michigan offering it fantastic water views from the several high rise buildings there . Chicago had a horrible fire in 1871 where a large portion of the city was ruined and had to be rebuilt by contractors in Chicago. During that period, beautiful architecture was produced by a Chicago general contractor and architects and most of it can be enjoyed on the architectural cruise in the city .

There are so many wonderful things to do and see in Chicago and this article will point out a few favorites. It is recommended that you stay in one of the fine hotels near the magnificent mile on Michigan Ave. or near the recently built Millenium Park. Both of these locations are wonderful and are central to the various sites to visit . If you are not afraid of heights then a visit to the tallest building, The Sears Tower is a must see for a total high point view of the downtown area as well as the lake . Because it is so high , the building has been known to close the higher floors off during windy weather .

For sports fans, Chicago is one of the best with two major league baseball teams, The Chicago Cubs and The Chicago White Sox, a huge football stadium to watch the Chicago Bears NFL team play and the famous NBA team the Chicago Bulls where Michael Jordan played for years. All of these professional sports can be watched in the downtown area and many visitors center their trip around one of these games. The Chicago fans are some of the most loyal and vocal fans in the US so buying a ticket to a game should be done well in advance .

Chicago is also known for the fabulous museums, zoos and aquarium. If you are a art lover , the Field museum and the Contemporary Museum of Art rival art museums from bigger cities and should be seen . The Shedd Aquarium also is a wonderful thing to visit and has the largest collection of Beluga Whales in North America . The Lincoln Park Zoo is also one of the oldest free zoos in the country so a trip there is recommended and obviously inexpensive also .

Food is a big reason people like to visit Chicago. There is a Little Italy as well as a Greek town in Chicago that have amazing restaurants to be found. Two dishes that Chicago is famous for are the Chicago style deep dish pizza and the 50+ year old Superdawg hot dog that is served with a variety of condiments special to Chicago like mustard, no ketchup, onion salt and a kosher pickle. There are many high end restaurants available for the foodies traveling here as well .

Chicago is a great city to see and many celebrities are proud to call it their home like Oprah Winfrey, President Barack Obama, and several actors and musicians.

WHAT IS THE OPTIMUM TOURIST INSURANCE COVERAGE

Tourist medical insurance sites insist on buying a tourist insurance policy once you plan for a trip abroad. To understand why so much emphasis is given for the tourist insurance policies, one should be aware of the approximate estimates of medical emergencies.

For instance, you may need shell out about $5000 for a single day in case you are admitted in a hospital situated at New Jersey. An appendectomy surgery in California could possibly cost you about $18000 which includes medical expenses and hospitalization charges of 2 days. The costs of treatments and medical services have largely increased in the last couple of years. Hence, insurance companies need to pay higher and higher to reimburse the claims submitted by the insured.

Hospitals also face a lot of problems for the settlement expenses to be paid by insurance providers. Nowadays, people try to get an estimate of the medical expenses before undergoing any major hospitalization or surgery unless it is terrible emergency.

The victims of the inflation of medical expenses are not only the insured people of any tourist insurance plan but also independent patients who have not purchased any insurance. The bills and discharge summary given by the hospitals are sometimes complex and ambiguous and hence, they cannot be understood by many. In this situation, people end up paying huge bills right from their pockets in case they are not insured.

In a few cases, maintenance issues in the hospital may give rise to further complications for the patient undergoing treatment leading to further increase in the costs. The inflation of the medical services is also resulting in individuals paying higher premiums as the insurance providers try to balance with the higher expenses incurred every year by the insured.

To Protect yourself against the contingencs purchase a insurance for tourist plan. Usually, the permanent residents of US ensure that they are covered for $5 million - $8 million. In the case of tourists, the recommended coverage would be typically up to $500,000.

Exclusion section of the tourist insurance policy details out those circumstances under which the insured would not be reimbursed. Also, coverage is not available for pre-existing conditions which refer to any disease, illness or abnormalities that exist at the time of applying for visitor insurance plan.