Chicago

Gess had to go to Chicago for business, so I cashed in some frequent flier miles and tagged along! He had to be there for a meeting on Tuesday, so we flew out on Saturday to enjoy a couple of days in the Windy City.

Unfortunately we stayed out in the suburbs, which was a pain, but oh well.

We got in on Saturday afternoon and got to the hotel, and settled in. We were hungry, but the hotel restaurant wasn't open, so we headed into the a suburban mall for some food. We ended up a Famous Dave's BBQ which was really good, and found out that there is one not to far from us! After that we decided to do a little shopping and go to a movie (because of course movies are special in Chicago!). So, the trip got off to a boring start, but oh well.

We got back to the hotel and did a little work and then went to sleep in our fabulous king bed (I really really need one of these at home!!)

The next day we made plans to meet a friend for breakfast in the city. This is actually a good friend of mine that I made on the internet through the CF chats, so it was really fun to meet him in person. I don't know why we didn't take a picture, but we didn't. We were incredibly late because the train and L took forever to get from suburban hell to the Heartland Cafe in Paul's neighborhood. We also had the pleasure of meeting one of Paul's friends and just enjoying a great brunch (or lunchfast as Paul calls it).

After brunch, we hopped on the L and headed in the heart of downtown Chicago. I have been to Chicago before, but this was Gess's first time. We walked around Millennium Park and saw the Bean (which is officially called the Cloud Gate).

I am not sure how it started, but we ended up doing some shopping--or I should say Gess did some shopping. Somehow we ended up in the Nordstrom Rack (a Seattle store) and he found a suit. We ate an early dinner at Italian Village, which had a nice atmosphere, but mediocre food. Gess was really tired and didn't want to deal with the train, so we took a $75 cab ride back to the hotel (tip: never, ever, ever stay in the suburbs!).

Nap, work, and then late night cocktails/food in the hotel bar, and then sleep.

Monday Gess had to do some work in the morning, so we hang out at the hotel for awhile. Then we went back into the City. This time we took a little water taxi ride from the train station to Michigan Avenue. It was really a beautiful ride. We had a late lunch at the Oyster Bar at Shaw's Crab House. I had crab cake sliders that were good, as well as some organic hard cider. The best part of Gess's food was the key lime pie! It was pricey (we spent about $100 for lunch), and the food was okay.

More walking, back to Nordstrom Rack to pick up the suit that had been altered. Then we went to Chinatown where I carried said suit around.

On the L to Chinatown we witnessed some really stupid teenagers drinking on their way to the Sox's game. These girls were really chugging it down (in an attempt to impress some boys I think). I doubt they made it passed the first inning without vomitting. Seriously, they each had two "pop" bottles. One with diet coke and the other with rum. They would take a big swig of the rum and then chase it with diet coke. In the 15 minutes or so we were there, these girls had probably each drank half of their 20-ounces of rum!

After Chinatown we headed back to the train, but Gess's LONG trip into Walgreens made us late, so we hung out at Barnes and Noble for a bit. Then, took the long train ride back to the hotel. We ended up having a late dinner in the hotel bar and met Gess's colleague.

The next day Gess had to work all day, so I had the day to myself. I took the train into the city and went to the Art Institute of Chicago. It really is a great museum! I loved it!!

I stayed at the museum until I had to go to the airport. Overall it was a nice trip. The weather was perfect, I got to see a friend, and Chicago really is a beautiful city. I would love to live there someday!