May 4th: Happy Star Wars Day
After Josh got home from work, I headed to the airport to pick up Katey and Emily. They had an early flight out of Vegas, so they got into Chicago around lunch time.
[Katey brought snacks!]
I haven't seen Katey in person since our girls trip in September 2019 and I haven't seen Emily in person since July 2021. BUT it doesn't feel like it's been that long since we talk almost daily on MarcoPolo (the best app EVER!).
Our first stop in Chicagoland was Portillo's. Everyone here is obsessed with this place! It's pretty equivalent to In-n-Out in California or Whataburger in Texas. The locals LOVE it and the lines are long at lunch time, but other people think it's just okay. It's the nostalgia for sure.
Anyways! I took them to Portillo's for lunch and Emily got the hot dog Chicago style (mustard, relish, celery salt, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle and sport peppers piled onto a perfectly steamed poppy seed bun. Chicagoans call this “dragging the dog through the garden” according to the Portillo's website). Katey and I both got the hot beef. Everything was great!
We then headed to our house where we introduced Emily to Theo and reintroduced Katey to Theo. He was a little hesitant at first, but he warmed up pretty quickly.
[Katey and Theo]
For dinner we got Giordano's "Meat and More Meat" deep dish pizza. I'm definitely going to give these ladies the full Chicago experience!
That night we played with Katey's Oculus. I only tried it for a few seconds since I get motion sickness so easily, but Josh was REALLY into it!
The next morning, May 5th, we had pancakes with peanut butter (a long standing tradition), while Theo had OT with Ms. Laura. She was so excited for us to go into the city and kept suggesting things for us to do or places we should go eat. Ms. Laura goes into the city quite frequently, so she knows all the good restaurants!
After Josh got home from work we headed into the city! We found our Airbnb building and parked the car. Since we had a few hours to kill before check-in and the weather seemed to be holding off, we decided to walk to Navy Pier. It was gloomy, windy, and cold (welcome to Chicago), but the rain held off until we were heading inside.
[View of the city from Navy Pier]
After exploring the shops we walked over to Brown Bag Seafood Co. It's a fast-food seafood place with amazing truffle-parm tots!
[White fish tacos]
[Lobster roll 😋]
["Chowdah"]
At 4:00 PM we headed over to North Harbor Tower and found our Airbnb! Our three bedroom condo was located on the corner of the 55th floor (top floor). Even though it was cloudy and rainy, the views were amazing!
We relaxed in the condo and made plans for the next day. The rain started to lighten up, so later that night we ventured out a bit and ended up at the Nutella Cafe.
I love the large living room at the condo. There were large windows everywhere and plenty of seats.
Each bedroom had two large windows.
Friday, May 6th, was our rain day. We knew it was going to rain most of the day so we made plans to be inside as much as possible.
When we woke up we were in a cloud!
[View from my bedroom window]
After sleeping in we headed to the best brunch place in town: Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe!
We each got a hot beverage, an omelet, and a stack of "specialty pancakes" (cinnamon roll, key lime pie, and signature berry bliss). We shared the pancakes and everything was delicious!
After brunch we headed south to Millennium Park.
["The Bean!"]
After taking our pictures with Cloud Gate (aka The Bean) we headed to the Art Institute of Chicago.
I've been to this museum multiple times and I still love to take my time and wander through the exhibits.
After getting our fill of the arts, we left the museum and headed back to our condo. During the walk I slipped on a storm grate and landed right on my knee. It hurt SO BAD! Luckily, I didn't twist it, but it is swollen and bruised.
[You can see all the spots from where the grate punched me]
Once we got back to the condo we took naps, ate snacks, and just relaxed until it was time to leave for dinner.
I made reservations at The Gage. I went there once with Josh a long time ago and I remembered how delicious it was! The three of us shared crab cakes and poutine royal (fries, wisconsin curds, braised short rib, brown gravy) for an appetizer. I then got ahi tuna tartare for dinner and the girls both got a white fish dish. It was just as good as I remember!
After dinner we went back to our condo and witnessed this gorgeous sunset!
We sat in one of the bedrooms and took pictures until the sun went down. Luckily, the clouds cleared out and we were able to make the most of our view!
I think I need a new watch! Emily and I were comparing number and while we were a little off on the steps we were WAY off on "flights climbed!" I don't know if it's because I swing my arms a lot when I walk OR because I'm secretly doing mountain-climbers while no one is looking... BUT we had a good laugh at my 190 flights climbed!
No comments:
Post a Comment