Travel Tuesday: Chicago

I can’t believe it’s already been five weeks since we were in Chicago! You might remember that we were in the area for our friends’ wedding. Actually, the wedding was in Copper Harbor, Michigan, but we decided to make a vacation out of the trip since we were already paying for the flights. So we spent the first few days in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in wedding mode and then drove south to Green Bay and then onto Chicago. I don’t have enough pictures of those places for a full travel post, so I’m skipping to the Chicago part of the trip today. 

OK, so let’s talk Chicago! We stayed two nights at the Inn of Chicago on the Magnificent Mile (booked on Priceline). The hotel was fine (the room was pretty small), but the location was perfect. It was walking distance to pretty much everything. We started by walking to Millennium Park and taking our picture in front of The Bean (Cloud Gate).

It was hot, humid and crowded. I’d be lying if I said that we weren’t completely overwhelmed, but we carried on and just walked around the city until dinnertime. Of course we had to try deep dish pizza! Luckily there was a Lou Malnati’s not far from our hotel and we were early enough that we got a table right away. We decided to order the Malnati Chicago Classic plus an appetizer while we waited for our pizza to cook. Anyway, the pizza was really good, but I still prefer thin crust. Although, it’s probably not fair to compare the two because they really are two different dishes.

After dinner we went on an Architectural Boat Tour down the Chicago River (8 p.m. tour with Chicago Line Cruises). I booked it through a Groupon I’d purchased and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It was a great way to see the city and some areas we wouldn’t have made it to during the rest of our trip. Our guide was interesting and we learned a lot about the city and its buildings.

It ended up being the best time of the day to go on the tour because it was still light out when we left, but it was dark by the time we returned so we got to see everything in the daylight and at night. I definitely recommend taking a river tour if you are in Chicago. Also, check Groupon because we saved $25 with our deal!

The next day we started our morning at the top of Hancock Tower. It was a great way to see the whole city. There’s Navy Pier and some of the buildings downtown. 

Afterwards we met one of my friends and her friend for lunch at Portillo’s. The food was decent, but the company was fantastic! I went to high school with Casey, but she moved to Florida for college and now lives in Chicago, so I’ve only seen her a few times since high school, which is a total bummer. We haven’t seen each other in years, but we picked up right where we left off. She’s one of my best friends and I can’t describe how happy I was to see her!

After lunch we all went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It’s free (which is awesome) and is a great way to spend a couple hours.

After the zoo, Casey drove us by Wrigley Field and then we headed to Navy Pier. Casey and I went on the Ferris wheel (everyone was else was too chicken) and then we all played a round of mini-golf. It’s definitely a touristy spot, but it surprisingly wasn’t that crowded and was a fun way to spend the evening.

We had dinner at the Billy Goat Tavern and hung out on the pier until the fireworks started (free fireworks show every Wednesday and Saturday during the summer). I didn’t get any pictures of the fireworks, but I did get this sunset snap while we were mini-golfing.

After fireworks we said goodbye to Casey and prepared to leave Chicago the following morning. Chicago was fun and hopefully I’ll go back soon to see Casey and visit one of the many places we didn’t have time for this trip. The Art Institute of Chicago and a tour of Wrigley Field are on my list for next time! What else is a must-see?