a few days in chicago...
Chicago.
The windy city.
Chicago was not originally on our radar for travel. In the early months of 2018, I had convinced my husband, Lewis, to take a July trip to Disney World - just him and me. Fast forward to April 24th. Lewis had a horrific work accident. (More on that here.) Even though he worked hard to get back to a normal life, tons of walking and theme park rides would not be possible yet. Disney would have to wait.
Lewis progressed beautifully with his healing and recovery and was even released on light duty in late June. In the meantime our local airport started offering daily flights to Chicago. Once he was back at work, he came home one afternoon to surprise me with plane tickets to Chicago.
Three things immediately came to mind when I would think of the windy city:
deep dish pizza
the bean (AKA Cloudgate)
Sears Tower (now known as Willis Tower)
Our arrival day had us landing late in the evening so our Lyft driver recommended dinner and fireworks at Navy Pier. Navy Pier is a beautiful area for shopping, strolling, boat tours, etc. We grabbed a quick dinner in the food court and took a spin on the ferris wheel before finding a spot for music and fireworks. (You can still see video of this on my IG Stories travel highlights.)
Our first full day included lots of touristy stops:
The Bean (Officially known as Cloudgate)
Buckingham Fountain (the fountain seen at the beginning of “Married with Children”)
Giordano’s pizza
Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower)
Route 66
Double Decker Bus Tour (HIGHLY RECOMMEND for seeing most of the city)
The 2nd day was just as awesome:
breakfast at Yolk
Mike Ditka’s “Da Porkchop” lunch
The Disney Store (Walt Disney was born in Chicago and his dad had a huge part in the design of Chicago.)
Lake Michigan
More time on the Double Decker Bus Tour
Portillo’s for dinner
We enjoyed the John Hancock Observatory with the Tilt attraction more than Willis Tower. One quick tip when visiting either one of the towers is to visit those early, possibly first thing in the morning before the crowds start pouring in.
fun fact: Walt Disney was born in Chicago and his dad had a huge part in designing the city. :)
*In addition to being known for its deep dish pizza, Chicago is also known for its hot dogs. However, I do not eat hot dogs and settled for spaghetti here. But if you are in to trying the Chicago “dogs,” our bus tour guide says this is the place to go.
We decided to sleep in on our fly out day. And, of course, have one more round of THE BEST deep dish pizza at Giordano’s. On the way to the airport we made one last stop at the United Center where the Chicago Bulls play. Lewis is a huge basketball and Michael Jordan fan.
We can’t wait to visit Chicago again and take our son. We didn’t even scratch the surface when it comes to seeing and doing all that the city has to offer. Let me know if you have any questions or tell me your favorite Chicago sights!