Our trip to Chicago was wonderful! While I don’t think any city will capture my heart quite like Savannah (I’m definitely overdue for a trip there!), Chicago did its damned best to come close. I loved everything about this city! The tall, tall buildings that surrounded me whenever I walked around the city, the beautiful Chicago River, the gorgeous weather (<– good thing I didn’t come in the winter, eh?). It was easily one of the best cities I’ve been to and I can’t wait to return someday soon.
We arrived in Chicago on Sunday around 4:30pm but didn’t make it to our hotel until after 6pm, whew! It’s quite a drive from O’Hare to downtown Chicago! (Not to mention, it felt like we walked the entire airport to find the Uber/Lyft pickup area!) Eventually, we checked into the hotel (we stayed at the Hyatt Regency right on the Chicago Riverwalk) and were greeted with this amazing view:
Okay, Chicago, I am already impressed by you! 🙂
We didn’t do too much on Sunday night, aside from catching the latest episode of Big Brother and having a meal in the hotel bar. We thought about venturing out for dinner, but we were worn out and were going to have an early start to our day, so we opted for something easy.
On Monday, we kicked things off with the famous architectural boat tour, which I have heard so much about from other people who have traveled to Chicago! As a lover of all things history, I knew I wanted to fit this into our schedule. And I’m so glad I did because it was magnificent! (We went with the Chicago’s First Lady boat tour, thanks to a recommendation from Kim!) The boat winds slowly up and down the Chicago River for an hour and a half, and we had a historian from the Chicago Architecture Center telling us all about the different buildings, their architecture, and what they all meant for the Chicago skyline and the city as a whole. I was fascinated from beginning to end, and we really lucked out with the weather, too. Sunny in the mid-70s with a nice breeze – perfection! (Even the historian kept remarking how this was the most beautiful day he’d ever seen in Chicago!)
(Sorry for the Trump Tower in the background of this photo. *shakes fist*)
After our tour, we took a quick jaunt over to Millenium Park so we could see the Bean! It was so cool to finally see it in person after only ever seeing it in pictures on social media. It was also much dirtier than I expected? Haha. I don’t know why I would think it was this pristine landmark when thousands of people likely flock to it on a daily basis. Of course it gets dirty! But it was still a delight to see.
After seeing the Bean, we had to deal with an injury—the first and only of the trip, so that’s major progress for us. My mom got a bad blister on her right foot but thankfully, there was a Walgreens right next to Millenium Park so we headed over there for bandages. By then, we were getting hungry and I was hoping to eat at Park Grill and then do a little more exploring, but the restaurant was closed. Womp, womp!
Instead, we found a different restaurant that was close to our hotel: Sweetwater Tavern. I know my mom wasn’t feeling great from her blister, even with the bandages, so after a delicious meal, we headed back to the hotel for naps before dinner. We did this every day we were in Chicago, and I highly recommend it. Could we have pushed ourselves and seen more of Chicago? Sure, but that’s just not the kind of travelers we are. We value rest and it was really nice to take a break after our adventuring to relax in our room.
Monday evening was the highlight of my whole trip, as I finally got to meet (and hug!!) Kim. We’ve been reading each other’s blogs for a long, long time and she’s become someone I feel really comfortable confiding in, and it was such a joy to be able to have dinner with her. And she brought us rocks! Kim is a super-talented rock painter and I was so touched that she created an adorable rock of Chip and Lucy for my mom based on one of their Instagram photos as well as brought me my own “cat mom” rock.
We met at Quartino Ristorante for dinner and it was delicious! There were so many yummy options on the menu that it was hard to choose what to eat, but I stuck with my old favorite (chicken parm) and we ended the meal with gelato (for mom and me) and sorbet (for Kim). It was lovely to just chat with Kim – we could have honestly sat there for hours and hours, but alas. We had to wrap it up since Kim had an hour-long drive home. I am so grateful to her for driving into Chicago to meet us for dinner! Yay!
Have you ever been to Chicago? What’s your favorite U.S. city you’ve ever visited?
Those rocks are so beautiful! She is super talented!!
I am so glad you had such a great visit to Chicago. You really lucked out with the weather as it can be really hot and humid. But your weather was perfection! Chicago is such a cool city. There is so much to see and do and the lake and river make it so picturesque!
I like your approach of doing sight seeing in the am and then chilling in your room before dinner. We have a similar approach. You can’t go go go the whole time – everyone needs a little down time!
Thanks so much, Lisa! <3
I love that you had such a fab time and had such fantastic weather. It was just a perfect day for the boat tour. And spoiler for future posts, you had such perfect clear days for your high-rise tours! It just makes me so happy!
I never thought about how dirty the Bean is! It totally is though! Did you know when they first put it (actual name, Cloud Gate), it had seams?! Like rivets and sh*t?! They covered it up and fixed it to make it smooth. I don’t know if that was always their intent or if it was “fixed.”
I love your chill approach to travel. I love having down time to collect myself when I travel so I don’t feel completely exhausted or reach a breaking point!
I am honored meeting me was the highlight of your trip! It was such a highlight for me too. I know you will understand this – I usually dread going to the city cause it can be a hassle but all day I was just so pumped to meet you and your mom and felt so energized going there and being together and coming home. It was just such a pleasure to chat and I really appreciate you fitting me into your trip! I hope we get to spend time together again in the future – we could chat all day. And thanks so much for the nice words on my rocks! I am glad you like them!!! <3
I’m so glad you loved it! I was in Chicago for a conference back in 2000, and it was really nice! I think it was October I was there. I remember taking the train from O’Hare to downtown Chicago and it was kind of stressful, from what I remember! I think it’s so lovely you travel so well with your mom. Now I’m going to go follow your friend Kim’s blog.
I am SO GLAD you had such a wonderful experience in Chicago. I did one of the boat tours years ago and I remember having a similar reaction. I tend to be go-go-go on vacation, and it’s really hard for me to slow down. I want to see All The Things. (Let’s just say spreadsheets are usually involved…). I think you and your mom are on to something, though, in terms of truly enjoying what you *choose* to do, vs. just trying to cram it all in. More time to reflect, to pick the things you really really want to do…
Wow, the photos are amazing (and the weather was really nice too!). I have only seen Chicago’s airport – on a stop-over LOL – but would love to visit the city sometime.
I am so happy you were able to meet up with Kim. It’s so awesome to meet blog friends in person – because it’s like you already know each other (which is true!).
My favorite city in the US is Boston. <3