Hi everyone! I’m finally catching up on all of my past trips! While I’m currently writing the Venice, Italy series, I thought I’d go ahead and post something more recent! This past weekend, I flew out to meet Tristan in Chicago, Illinois! He was there for a work event, and I just came for fun!
I finished work on Thursday and drove the 6 hours to Baltimore that night with Deacon. My ETA was 10:30 pm. Yeah, that didn’t happen. My GPS routed me through DC, which I KNEW I should have backed out of. I eventually made it to the house around midnight. My flight was at 8:55 am the next morning out of BWI. Luckily, I was able to doze on the plane (I was pretty tired after the night of stressful traveling!)
I made it to Chicago’s Midway International Airport around 10 am and ubered to the hotel, the JW Marriott Chicago!
For lunch, Tristan and I went to Beatnik on the River, which was a 13-minute walk from our hotel. This restaurant looked like it was straight out of Alice and Wonderland, which I LOVED! There was a room full of mirrors, funky tile, Bohemian furniture, and living plants. Tristan and I started with drinks: “Barefoot in the Park” (Vodka, Tio Pepe Fino, Watermelon, Lemon, Mint, & Guajillo Spice) and “Second Fiddle” (Bourbon, Pineapple, Lemon, & Turmeric Syrup). For lunch, I had Smoked Burrata & Avocado Toast (full of avocado hummus, apricot mostarda, sunflower seeds dukkah, za’atar olive oil, arugula, & sourdough)! Tristan had the Jerusalem Smoked Salmon platter (with a Middle Eastern Sesame Bagel, marinated smoked salmon, sumac cheese, kalamata olive tapenade, & Arabic salad). Although the meal was pricier than a normal brunch, we loved the atmosphere and would definitely come back!
We left early for our next event so we could stop by Millennium Park. Yes, we saw Cloud Gate aka “The Bean.” I love how petty the artist, Anish Kapoor, is. You should research his feuds- very interesting! We grabbed a few photos and then walked to Michigan Bridge so we could take an Chicago Architecture River Cruise. If you’re visiting Chicago, you have to do this, especially at the beginning of your trip! Chicago is known for diversity in its skyline. On our tour, we had an architect student as our tour guide. The perfect guy for the job. We saw everything from Art Deco to Classic Revival styled buildings. The tour was 90 minutes long (but I wish it was longer!).
After our boat ride, we went to dinner at Aba in the historic Fulton Market District. This was another fantastic meal. We tried to get reservations days before and they were booked up. However, we lucked out and found they had an opening at 9:30 pm that day, so we went! The restaurant and bar were packed even at the late hour- that’s how you know it’s great! They served their entrees in tapas form. I love small plate dishes so you can sample several items! We ordered: classic hummus, marinated olives & feta, pork belly with orzo, and brussel spouts. At the end of the meal, we were stuffed!
The next day, we had a full day to explore! We had brunch at Hampton Social. If you’re looking for a great Instagram spot, this is it! Tristan and I made reservations for 10 am (when they open). I’m so glad we did- I got the PRIME Instagram spot! (LOL). Thank you to Tristan for not only agreeing to come to this Instagram lover’s dream spot, but also standing and taking a photo of me in this full restaurant. And yes, we ordered drinks at 10 am. I had “Never Too Early” (w/ rosé, giffard apricot, lemon tonic, & grapefruit) and Tristan had the “Hampton Bloody Mary” (his go-to). Brunch was delicious too! I got the Classic Eggs Benedict and Tristan had Crab & Avocado Toast. I would come back again just for the food!
After we ate, we walked to the Willis Tower so we could go on the iconic Sky Deck above the city. Literally weeks before we were to come, one of the Sky Deck’s safety windows CRACKED. Luckily, they replaced it the next day and there were no problems. When we went around 11 am, there was a 2 HOUR WAIT just to go on the elevator! Then an additional line to go on the Sky Deck. We made a game time decision to pay the additional $50 each to go through the fast-pass lane. Just like our Toronto adventures in the CN tower, we felt like celebrities skipping the line. In most situations, we would NOT pay another $100 just to skip, but we were only in Chicago for the weekend and didn’t want to wait in lines the whole time. If you don’t want to pay them more dinero, get to the tower early (9 am is opening time!).
We made it to the top of the tower within 10 minutes. Fantastic views! If you’re into architecture, you should do the boat tour first, then the bird’s eye view second. I liked observing the buildings from a new angle. Sadly, the fame and glamour stopped when we had to take the elevator back down. At that point, they already have your money, now you can wait in line like everybody else! While we were in the 15-minute line, we bought tickets to the Cub’s game. I love spur of the moment decisions! It was a beautiful day out and SeatGeek had decent tickets available.
When we reached the ground, we ran back to the hotel a block away to grab our Cubs hats. We ubered to the game…and it took forever! The game had just started when we arrived, and because everyone was already seated, we had no problems getting to our seats quickly. Just two large beers, chips and nachos, and a hot-dog later, we were ready to watch. Sadly, the Cubs lost that game (bummer!), but I loved stopping by Wrigley. Tristan and I want to go to a game in each stadium! Crazy how different each ball field can be!
After the game, we went to Navy Pier. We walked around the botanical garden, Centennial Wheel, and small stores scattered about. We picked up a few macarons and bought water taxi tickets. The weather was perfect and the taxi fare was the same price as an uber ride. Might as well take the scenic route!
We ended our day with deep-dish at Giordano’s. When in Chicago, right? Two pieces did me in. We ate well on this trip!
We went back to the hotel, changed, and decided to hit up a popular rooftop bar. What we didn’t expect, was another elevator line! We waited in line for 20 minutes before we reached the top of London House. The view was worth it. We were lucky and grabbed two seats right by the edge!
The next day, we went back to Fulton Market District for brunch at Beatrix. If you ever go, you need to order a juice! They had so many options to choose from, and they were all fresh-squeezed! I ordered a mango, orange, & pineapple nectar juice and Tristan picked out a blue boost juice. For the meal, I ordered the light & fluffy lemon pancakes and Tristan had braised pot roast & egg sandwich. Yum! When we left, there was a Lamborghini car show right outside! We had to stroll by those!
We ubered to Millennium Park once again, to walk around and take a few more photos. We then walked to the Art Institute of Chicago and spent a few hours picking out our favorite paintings. You might recognize this one: does “American Gothic” (Grant Wood) ring a bell?? The gallery also had exhibitions by Georges Seurat, Edward Hopper, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, & Claude Monet.
We checked out of our hotel and took an uber early to the airport. We both had some work to complete and thought we’d cut down the stress to commuting earlier. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed! So we were at the airport for a long time. The rain that was supposed to mess with our weekend plans held-off until takeoff. We were on the tarmac when they said our plan was being re-routed to exit off the north side. And we were 50th in line. 50TH. It took another hour or so until we took off. We got home around midnight.
Despite the slow travel at the end, I had the best time in Chicago! If the winters weren’t so bad, I’d want to move there! I can’t wait to go back again!
