August 2017

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It’s up for debate, but I think Chicago has probably been our favorite long weekend trip we’ve ever done, and that’s a bold statement because it’s got some stiff competition! Andrew had a work conference so I flew in to meet him there for the weekend. We packed our weekend full to the brim with activities and had so much fun!

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Things we’d recommend:

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-Stay at Hotel EMC2, Autograph Collection! It’s a boutique hotel so it had a very different vibe than your typical standard hotel. They call their aesthetic a mix of art and science. The all-glass shower was positioned in the middle of the room, the bedroom was very high-tech, and there was literally a robot that came up the elevators to deliver us towels!

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-Get the City Pass! This is a must. With the pass you get to choose 5 activities from the 7 they offer, all for one price, and it’s valid for 9 days. Even though it seems a little bit pricey, it was so worth it! We only had three days, but like I said, we booked it around the city and made it to 4 out of our 5! With our City Pass we saw:

-Skydeck Chicago

-360 CHICAGO Observation Deck (and the tilt experience)

-The Art Institute of Chicago

-The Shedd Aquarium

(The other three things the City Pass offers that we didn’t see were the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum, and the Adler Planetarium)

We were most interested in the Skydeck and 360 Chicago, but were able to experience the other two because they were included, and we loved that. I’m not much of a museum person, but I have to say we had a lot of fun checking out the Art Institute and seeing (and recreating) “American Gothic” in person (real mature, I know, I know). Same with the aquarium, we probably wouldn’t have put it in our plans otherwise, but it really was a fun little stop (would be great for kids). The best part was that we didn’t have to feel bad if we didn’t spend hours in each place because we hadn’t paid for them individually.

 

ADDITIONALLY, biggest perk of it all, was that for the Skydeck, which I’m guessing is the most popular destination on the pass, we jumped to the front of the line. And let me tell you, the line was LONG. That alone was worth the price.

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-Take a river tour. I don’t remember the exact name of the tour we took, but it was an awesome experience getting to boat through the canals and be surrounded by skyscrapers. Unlike anything I’ve ever done.

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-Check out The Bean, because duh.

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-Go for a walk along the Magnificent Mile. Andrew’s not as much of a shopper, so I did this by myself the day I got there when he was still working at his conference. It was like 5th Ave in NYC, just fun to walk around if you enjoy that sort of thing!

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-Check out Howl at the Moon for a dueling piano bar experience. I know Chicago isn’t the only place that has a HATM, but we met our friends Jenn and Chaz there for a drink and we had so much fun dancing and singing along! So much so, that we really didn’t want to leave, but we had tickets to Second City. Which brings me to…

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-Go to a show at The Second City. Andrew booked us to see an improv show there and it was a lot of fun. Just being in the same building where comedy greats like Steve Carell, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler came up was pretty neat.

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-Take a walk on the Chicago Riverwalk, nice long walk by the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Bring a coat, it can be windy!

 

Places to eat:

-Stan’s Donuts & Coffee-Andrew loved this place. He got up each morning and walked to get us donuts. If I remember correctly, they sell out quickly, so if you have a specific flavor in mind, get there early!

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-Chicago Cut Steakhouse- okay I’ll be honest, I wore too tight of a dress to this restaurant and it cut me off at my middle and made me feel sick. I may or may not have taken my strapless bra off in the bathroom and carried it back to the table like it was a clutch purse. Not my proudest moment. ANYWAYS, this place was awesome. Floor to ceiling views overlooking the river and the city and we were seated right by the windows! The food was so delicious once I could finally breathe 😉

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-Molly’s cupcakes- if I could eat one of these cupcakes every day I would. We got the blueberry cheesecake and the cookie monster. They were so GOOD. We ate those and went back for a second blueberry cheesecake! Also they have swinging chairs and that wins me over every time.

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I'd meet Andrew here for a conference any day. Hopefully see ya soon, Chicago!

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